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Discerning Diner...with Elan Head
Winter’s treat: The humble but savory pot roast

Here in the Kyrene Corridor, where temperatures are always mild, medium or extra-hot, it’s easy to forget one of those staples of good home cooking: the pot roast.

It certainly figures into my own repertoire less frequently in Arizona than it did, say, last winter in Colorado. There, in a drafty, miserable short-term rental, my stove did double duty as a radiator. Long-simmered dinners were a natural fit.

It’s a real testament to the virtues of pot roast that, despite such negative associations, it’s still one of my favorites.

A well-prepared pot roast is moist, succulent and marvelously savory; it’s hearty but not really heavy. It’s a rich brown without, and it isn’t boiled (the boiled dinner, or pot-au-feu, is another column entirely).

You’ve probably guessed that I have some pretty strong opinions on pot roast, and I do, starting with the beef. Pot-roasting is a good way to use lackluster roasts from the round, but to do the method justice, select a chuck roast.

Chuck meat, from the shoulder of the animal, is generally more flavorful than meat from the round, or rump. Bones make it more flavorful still. A bone-in chuck roast like the 7-bone variety makes an ideal pot roast, though the boneless brisket, while different, is also delicious.

Now, to my mind, the most critical step in the pot-roasting process is thoroughly browning the meat.

Browning is what makes a pot roast taste “roasted,” not boiled. It also supplies an appealing color. Boiled meat is gray; meat that is browned and then braised is, well, brown.

Here’s what to do: Dry your roast thoroughly with paper towels and rub it with coarse salt and pepper. Select a pan large enough to contain the meat comfortably, add oil to film, and heat over medium-high heat until the oil is smoking.

Then add the roast and let it sit. When one side is a deep, rich brown, turn the meat and brown another side. Repeat until the whole roast is dark and crusty. The heat should be high enough that the roast sears; if the heat is too low, it will steam instead.

Browning a 3- to 4-pound piece of meat will take some time: budget 15 to 20 minutes. Be patient. (I find  the best way to brown meat is to wander into another room and forget about it for a while, though obviously this is not a technique that I can in good conscience recommend to others.)

If you’ve browned your roast in a dutch oven and haven’t scorched it, you can braise it in the same pot and take advantage of the fond, those wonderful brown bits that adhere to the bottom of the pot. Dissolve, or deglaze, them by adding a little water to the hot pot and scraping the fond loose with a spatula or wooden spoon.

Most pot roast recipes simmer the meat in a generous amount of water, but I find that roasts cooked half-submerged, like icebergs, lose too much flavor to the broth.

Obviously, you can cook the roast in a flavorful liquid like red wine or coffee (or both--the combination is fabulous). Surprisingly, however, the best simple pot roast is made with no liquid at all.

Pot roasts lose moisture and fat as they cook, and if your pot has a reasonably tight seal, you can stew your roast in nothing but its own juices.

Use the oven for this technique. Set the temperature to 300 degrees and add the roast in its covered dutch oven. Check it occasionally to be sure there’s enough liquid; you can add a tablespoon or two of water if it seems dry.

Meat cooked this way is exquisitely flavorful and needs only a few spare flavorings to make it sublime. Add a few sprigs of fresh thyme, if you have them, or some garlic cloves or peeled shallots.

For a wonderful Asian pot roast, throw in a cinnamon stick, a few slices of fresh ginger, three or four whole cloves, some peppercorns and a star anise. For supplemental liquid, use a tablespoon of soy sauce mixed with two or three tablespoons of water.

Finally, give it time. Pot roast needs at least two hours to become tender, but four hours is better and six is ideal. If you want to add vegetables to the pot (peeled potatoes, carrots or turnips, for example), do so in the last 45 minutes of cooking time.

To serve, spoon off any fat and slice the meat thinly against the grain. This is comfort food at its best--in any weather.

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