This Little Piggy Had Roast Beef

I have been cooking like crazy, and I made a roast with potatoes, carrots, and onions this weekend. Nothing says "comfort food" like a roast. If the sight of raw meat grosses you out....just scroll down.


Here are a few rules I follow for a roast that isn't dried out, and full of flavor:

1. You have to sear the meat first. It seals in the moisture, and provides depth to your sauce or gravy.
2. LOW and LONG. --Cook on low heat for a long time. This can be in a crock pot or in a clay pot in the oven. 
3. Use a clay pot or Dutch oven. I love my Pampered Chef covered dish. 

Dishy Decorator's Roast and Vegetables

Ingredients:

• 3-5 lb. beef rump roast
• 2 cloves of fresh garlic
• 3 teaspoons kosher salt
• 3 teaspoons black pepper
• Garlic powder
• Onion powder
• 2-3 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil
• Cooking spray
• 2 large onions, peeled and sliced into thick slices. Leave slices intact.
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 4-5 large carrots, peeled and diced into 2 inch pieces
• About 2 lbs of potatoes (use whatever kind you prefer. I usually peel and dice Yukon Gold, but decided to do some "2 bite" potatoes this time.)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
• Trim roast of all excess fat. 
• Peel and slice fresh garlic into slivers. Using a sharp knife, poke holes all over roast and insert garlic slivers all the way into meat.

• While you're heating the oil in a large cast iron skillet, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, 1 teaspoon of black pepper on one side of meat. Thoroughly sprinkle garlic and onion powder on that same side.

• Once oil is heated, add roast (seasoned side down) into skillet. 
• Repeat the same seasoning on the side that's facing up.

• Brown both sides of the roast until a deep brown.

• In a clay pot or covered Dutch oven sprayed with cooking spray, place thick onion slices as a "bed" for the roast.

• Add white wine. Put cover on pot, and put into preheated oven.
• Bake at least 4 hours, checking once an hour to make sure you don't need to add water or flip the roast over.
• You can check the temperature with an internal meat thermometer. It needs to be at least 165 degrees. This isn't a roast that you want to be rare. It gets more tender the longer you cook it. 

• If you have a large crock pot, you can also cook the roast in there, then add the vegetables when the roast is almost done.

• Make sure when you check the roast to rotate it or spoon some of the sauce over the top.
• Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees. Add vegetables and cook another hour or so. This isn't an exact science, so stick a fork in your potatoes to see if they're done. 

It's done! Enjoy!