Braised to Perfection Pot Roast from the Modern Proper: Simple Dinners for Every Day
Why This Recipe Caught My Eye
I’ve never made pot roast before. But I remember my grandma making it for Sunday dinners when I was growing up. I’m personally not much of a red meat eater, but Tom and the boys love it. So I decided to test out this recipe from the Modern Proper and give pot roast a whirl.
My Experience Making It
First, let me start by saying wow! Pot roast is expensive! Now, I am making this for a family of five. . . so I know that when we divide the cost per person it is still significantly less expensive than eating in a restaurant or even bringing food in. But that said, if like me, you don’t buy red meat that often then know that you are making an investment in this meal.
The recipe was very straight forward and easy. First you chop everything up — cube the meat, dice the carrots, onions, celery and garlic. Then you brown the meat on all sides (not gonna lie, this can get messy with the oil splatter, so definitely wear an apron!), add the pancetta and veggies. Get them browned, add liquids and pop it in the oven for a good long while.
The hardest thing for me is keeping an even temperature on my cooktop because I have an electric oven. Our cooktop takes forever to get going, and then once it’s hot, it takes forever to cool down. This can result in things suddenly going from seared to blackened in a minute’s time.
What Makes This Recipe Special
The pancetta and wine really make this pot roast extra delicious. The pancetta almost melts into the meat as it braises, so you’re not particularly aware that there is pancetta in the final dish as you are eating it. You just know that each bite has a rich, saltiness to it that comes from something beyond the complexity of the wine. It has a depth of flavor that is way more delicious than the pot roast I remember from growing up. Not that there is anything bad about a simpler pot roast recipe — becuase what’s not to love about tender meat that simply falls apart. I’m just saying, this is kicked up a notch.
The Cookbook Behind the Recipe
I’ve written about this cookbook before, and I still really, really like it.
Holly Erickson and Natalie Mortimer do a great job of making each recipe accessible through easy-to-find ingredients, helpful suggestions for ingredient swaps, and everything is extremely tasty.
For my full review of this book, click here.