Irish-Style Pot Roast

Pot roast is not only a comfort food, but a great way to cook a chuck roast: low and slow, in a mixture of vegetables along with some tasty beer.

Servings	Prep Time
4 – 6servings	20minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
6hour	2 – 24hour

Servings	Prep Time
4 – 6servings	20minute

Cook Time	Passive Time
6hour	2 – 24hour

Ingredients

Coffee Star Anise Spice Rub Ingredients:

Irish Style Pot Roast Ingredients:

4 – 5pound boneless chuck roast,well marbled
2 – 3tablespoon rendered fat,such as Irish bacon or olive oil
2each onions, yellow, large,peeled and sliced
1each leeks, large,cut in half, washed and sliced (white and light green part only)
1pound mushrooms, crimini,washed and quartered
5each carrots, largepeeled and sliced in to thicker rounds
3each turnips,washed and quartered
3each bay leavespreferably fresh
1/4bunch thyme, freshchopped fine
16ounce Irish Dry Stout,such as Beamish, Murphy’s or Guiness
1quart stock, beef

Roux for Stout Gravy Ingredients:

Instructions

Coffee Star Anise Spice Rub Directions:

In a small bowl, mix together the salt, pepper, thyme, star anise and coffee grounds.
Use about 2/3 of this to season the pot roast, rubbing into all sides of the meat. If possible, re-wrap the pot roast and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours to help fully season the meat.

Pre Slow Cooker Directions:

In a cast iron skillet or sauté pan, preheated over high heat for several minutes, add the fat/oil and brown the pot roast on both sides, about 4 minutes each side. This step will add that roasted meat flavor to the final dish. Not browning the raw meat before cooking it in a slow cooker, will change the final texture of the roast and miss the opportunity to create those flavors of milliard reaction, or browning, that are the same as melanoidin, that the stout has from the roasted grains in the malt bill, that are further expressed by browning the meat. Remove the seared meat from the pan and place into a Crock-Pot/slow cooker.
Add the prepared onions and leeks to the skillet/sauté pan and let caramelize for 7 – 9 minutes, stirring frequently. Season with the remaining salt blend. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 or so minutes, until the mushrooms have released some of their juices.

Slow Cooker Directions:

Add the carrots, turnips, bay leaves and thyme to the Crock-Pot/slow cooker and turn on high, setting the timer for 6 hours.
Deglaze onion/leek/mushroom mixture with half of the Irish Stout, stirring to remove any of the fond, and pour into the Crock-Pot along with the beef stock and remaining Irish Stout. Cover and let cook until the timer goes off; resisting the temptation to open the lid!

Finishing the Dish:

Once the timer goes off, check the pot roast to see that it is fork tender; If so, carefully strain the beer/beef liquid into a saucepan. Place the sauce pan over medium-high heat and reduce the cooking liquid by half. In a small bowl, mix together the butter and flour, making a paste-like substance called a beurre manié. Using a whisk, add some of the beurre manié to the boiling reduction until it has thickened to a gravy-like consistency. Cook for another few minutes to remove the flour starch taste. Remove the pot roast from the Crock-Pot and carefully transfer it to a cutting board. Slice the meat against the grain, transferring a few slices to a plate with a scoop of the stewed vegetables and top with a ladle full of the Irish Stout gravy. Garnish with some fresh herbs and a few cracks of cracked black pepper and a touch of salt.

Recipe Notes