O
OutinChgoburbs
Guest
I have two ways to do this.
The lazy way:
In a big dutch oven on the stovetop, brown the chuck or brisket. trim no fat unless you are a fat hater. When brown, turn off the stove, and cover the roast in onion soup mix (two packs). Just roll it around right there in the dutch oven. Wash the potatoes, carrots and celery, but don’t peel them, and only cut them up to make sure they fit in the pot. If you are adventuresome, add a few mushrooms if they are not too expensive. Add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of red wine. Put the lid on the dutch oven. Stuff it in the oven at 225 degrees until the veggies are done, and the meat is ready, which can be up to 6 hours.
The more-effort way:
Perform the same browning ritual, making sure to salt the meat to achieve decent browning (I like kosher salt for this). You will already have on hand 1 medium onion, sliced thinly, which you will layer on the meat. Tuck the potatoes, celery, mushrooms and carrots around the edges, again making sure NOT to peel, only wash, and not to cut unless necessary. Add another thinly sliced onion over that. Add a half-cup red wine, 1 TSB. basil, and a sprig or its equivalent of thyme.
Lid on, into the oven, 350 degrees, about an hour to an hour and a half.
Now the fun part: Scoop the meat and veggies out of the pot and into a serving bowl or onto a platter, keeping as much liquid as possible in the pot.
In a separate container, mix together 2-3TBS flour and some lukewarm water to make a slurry (not quite paste, not quite flour water). Add 1 TBS Kitchen Bouquet or some other carmelization product. Stir well.
Put the dutch oven back on the stovetop, low heat, and slowly stir the slurry into the juices. Keep stirring until the gravy reaches the desired consistency for your family, and the gravy doesn’t have that uncooked flour taste.
The lazy way:
In a big dutch oven on the stovetop, brown the chuck or brisket. trim no fat unless you are a fat hater. When brown, turn off the stove, and cover the roast in onion soup mix (two packs). Just roll it around right there in the dutch oven. Wash the potatoes, carrots and celery, but don’t peel them, and only cut them up to make sure they fit in the pot. If you are adventuresome, add a few mushrooms if they are not too expensive. Add a 1/4 to 1/2 cup of red wine. Put the lid on the dutch oven. Stuff it in the oven at 225 degrees until the veggies are done, and the meat is ready, which can be up to 6 hours.
The more-effort way:
Perform the same browning ritual, making sure to salt the meat to achieve decent browning (I like kosher salt for this). You will already have on hand 1 medium onion, sliced thinly, which you will layer on the meat. Tuck the potatoes, celery, mushrooms and carrots around the edges, again making sure NOT to peel, only wash, and not to cut unless necessary. Add another thinly sliced onion over that. Add a half-cup red wine, 1 TSB. basil, and a sprig or its equivalent of thyme.
Lid on, into the oven, 350 degrees, about an hour to an hour and a half.
Now the fun part: Scoop the meat and veggies out of the pot and into a serving bowl or onto a platter, keeping as much liquid as possible in the pot.
In a separate container, mix together 2-3TBS flour and some lukewarm water to make a slurry (not quite paste, not quite flour water). Add 1 TBS Kitchen Bouquet or some other carmelization product. Stir well.
Put the dutch oven back on the stovetop, low heat, and slowly stir the slurry into the juices. Keep stirring until the gravy reaches the desired consistency for your family, and the gravy doesn’t have that uncooked flour taste.
Don’t care if it’s really “Yankee” or really “dutch”. It’s got flavor, tatses like I’ve been working for hours, it’s MEAT, it’s STARCH, I love it.
