Sometimes you get a fever… and the only prescription… is pot roast. Get yourself some choice chuck beef shoulder roast (3-4 lbs) depending on how much leftovers you want. Trim the fat, salt and pepper it, then coat in flour. Brown it in a dutch oven. Then set it aside.

Cook onions and garlic in the same pan (or dutch oven) for 5 minutes. Then deglaze with red wine and tomatoes.

Nestle the pot roast in the tomato/onion/garlic mix. Add enough water to cover 3/4 of the way. Then add herbs… parsley, thyme and bay leaf and let it go in the crock pot for several hours. It’s getting close to ready when the meat is falling apart or fork tender.

Add some vegetables: carrot, red potatoes, celery, and maybe mushrooms if you’re in the mood.

Let it go for another hour or two. Then it’s ready to serve:

Crock Pot Roast

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 springs fresh parsley
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 TB vegetable oil
• Flour
• 1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 4 lbs)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 6 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 (15 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 4 medium carrots, cut in chunks
• 2 ribs celery, quartered
• 1 ¼ pounds medium red potatoes, quartered

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat oven to 325°F. Tie parsley, thyme together with a piece of kitchen string.
2. In a large Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid set heat to medium-high. Spread flour out on a plate. Season beef generously with salt and black pepper. Coat beef with the flour and shake off excess. Sear the meat on all sides, turning until well browned, about 12 minutes. Transfer beef to a plate.
3. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring until browned, about 5 minutes. Add wine and deglaze until syrupy, about 3 minutes, using a wooden spoon, scrape up the brown bits that cling to the pan. Add tomatoes, crushing by hand as you add them. Season with salt and pepper. Nestle beef in the tomatoes and add enough water to cover meat ¾ of the way. Add bundle of herbs into liquid, cover, and allow to simmer until meat is tender about 4 hours.
4. Scatter vegetables around meat; continuing to cook until the beef and vegetables are tender, about 1-2 hours. Discard the herb bundle and bay leaves and season broth with salt and black pepper to taste.
5. Arrange vegetables on platter and serve meat with gravy.

 

I love this recipe. Real chili doesn’t have beans in it right? Well, you can still add them if you want. My feeling is that a real chili recipe should have a lot of chili powder in it. So I kept looking until I found one that respected the chili powder, included beer, and can be made in a crock pot. We all know that more time cooking usually means more delicious.

Brown the beef, drain it, and add it to the crock pot.

Sweat the onions, garlic and habanero until translucent. Habanero is a killer pepper. Get this stuff under a fingernail and you will suffer. But when you cook it down and sweat it with onions and garlic it mellows out a bit.

Be sure to season the onion/garlic/habanero mix with salt, then add it to crockpot.

Next, add the spices – chili powder, oregano, cumin and cayenne and mix well.

Add the canned tomatoes along with their juices, and here’s a handy tip. Use some kitchen shears to chop those bad boys right up.

And, Boom! A little cerveza (12 oz to be exact) for more flavor, right?

Add some cilantro and give it a mix, then let it go on high for 5 hours. This will bring all the flavors together and make everything tender.

30 minutes before serving, add the kidney beans. I use dark and light red kidney beans.

I always make some elbow macaroni to go with the chili. I usually spoon my chili directly on top of the pasta. Then what really gives the dish some panache is the toppings. There is a straight up chili topping bar that has to happen. I like to include the following in mine:

Oh, and let’s not forget cheese. Taking a page out of the queso fundito recipe. Here I’m adding a Mexican white cheese (panela) option to my typical medium cheddar.

INGREDIENTS

• 3 1/2 pounds ground chuck beef, ground for chili
• 2 TB olive oil
• coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1 large white onion, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 habanero chili, seeded and very finely chopped
• 1/4 cup chili powder
• 1 TB dried oregano
• 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 (28-ounce) cans whole tomatoes, coarsely chopped with their juices
• 1/3 cup fresh cilantro, plus more for serving
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle amber beer
• 2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
• tortilla chips, for serving
• shredded cheddar cheese, for serving
• chopped tomatoes, for serving
• sour cream, for serving
• lime wedges, for serving

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches if necessary, add beef and cook until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; drain in a colander, discarding fat, and set aside.
2. Add remaining tablespoon olive oil to skillet and reduce heat to medium. Add onions, garlic, and habanero; season with salt. Cook until translucent, about 5 minutes
3. In a 6-quart Crock-Pot, combine beef, onion mixture, chile powder, oregano, cumin, and cayenne pepper; stir to combine. Add tomatoes, cilantro, and beer; cover and cook on high, stirring occasionally, for 5 hours.
4. Add kidney beans and season with salt and pepper. Continue to cook uncovered, until thickened, about 30 minutes. Garnish with cilantro and serve with desired toppings.