Beer Braised Pot Roast and Potatoes

Horseradish - would you believe I can't find the root anywhere around here?  Not at the farmer's markets nor in any of the grocery stores.  Well, I did actually find some at one grocery store, but the cashier didn't know how to ring it up; she couldn't find the code listed, so she called someone from produce, who didn't know what it was, either (neither the root nor the code).  The produce guy called another produce guy, who called someone else, who called a manager, and all the while the line of customers waiting to check out was growing longer.  The good people in line behind me were alternating between being annoyed at the hold up and conversing about the "mystery root".  After several minutes of the store personnel trying to figure out how they could sell it to me, what it was, passing the root from person to person (by this time there was quite a crowd handling the odd looking root), off color jokes about the aptly named root (at which I laughed and agreed), I gave up and ended up purchasing a bottle of prepared horseradish.  Which pales in comparison by way of flavor, but definitely lends something good, none the less.

This pot roast is a slow cooked, heady mixture of beef, horseradish, garlic, onions, herbs and beer.  I love to add the potatoes right into the slow cooker so they soak up all that yummy flavor and juice, and then hand mash them with the garlic and onions as a side dish to the roast.  When I use the slow cooker, I don't like to "attend" to the contents, so I keep the potato chunks large enough to maintain their form during the long cooking time (smaller chunks get done much sooner than the meat and become too mushy for my taste).   Also, the slow cooker tends to cook the flavor out of a lot of seasonings, so don't be alarmed by the amount of each of them in this dish - just go with it; you'll be happy you did. Served with a green vegetable salad and some crusty bread, this is a most satisfying meal with hardly any work involved.

*Note - When I make this, I often make two roasts; one for dinner and one for sandwiches throughout the next few days.  Two 2 1/2 lb chuck roasts fit nicely in a 5-6 quart slow cooker.  The only amendments to the recipe you'll need to make is to double the flour, salt, pepper mixture in the beginning (to accommodate both roasts), double the horseradish, increase the thyme and rosemary, and use the whole bottle of beer.

And the broth makes a wonderful gravy (1 Tbs butter to 1 Tbs flour to 1 cup of broth) to mix with the shredded beef later in the week.

Beer Braised Pot Roast and Potatoes

• 2 1/2 - 3lb chuck roast (preferably free range, grass fed/finished)
• 1/4 c flour
• 1 Tbs kosher salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 Tbs olive oil
• 2 Tbs prepared horseradish
• several fresh sprigs thyme and rosemary (don't be shy)
• 2 bay leaves
• few good pinches caraway seeds (optional)
• 5-6 cloves garlic
• 5-6 large red potatoes, halved
• 1 onion, cut into 8 wedges
• 1 cup dark beer (a good stout is very nice)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat oil in large skillet or dutch oven over medium high heat.

In a shallow bowl, mix flour, salt and pepper.  Dredge the chuck roast in the flour mixture, using your hands to pat in all the flour mixture.  Carefully place the roast in the pan (it may splatter) and cook about 5 minutes on each side or until deeply browned.

Transfer the roast to a 5-6 quart slow cooker.  Turn the heat on the skillet or dutch oven off.  Pour the beer into the pan and scrape all the little blackened bits from the bottom.  Set aside.

Spread the prepared horseradish on the roast.

Toss in the onion, garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, caraway (if using) and potatoes.  Pour the beer (with all the flavor bits from the bottom of the pan) over everything.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

This 6 qt slow cooker has 2 roasts under the potatoes

Cover and cook on low 8 - 9 hours or on high 5 - 6 hours. When the meat is extremely tender and falls apart, it's done.

When ready to serve, remove the roast to a serving platter and keep warm.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the potatoes, onions, garlic, and herbs (if herbs still have the stems, pluck those out, and discard the bay leaves), to a large bowl and mash with a fork or hand masher.

Serve with an ice cold beer and enjoy.

Chili Beans - Shortcut #2

Today I'm going to talk beans.  Sure, it's easy and cheap to just buy a can of beans with which to make dinner, but why bother when you can toss a pound of soaked dry beans into the slow cooker with some water for $1-$2 and have about  the equivalent of 5 or 6 cans?  Often with my recipes that call for beans, I put a measurement such as "1 1/2 c cooked beans" because I keep home cooked beans in gallon size Ziploc storage bags in my freezer and scoop out what I need when I need them.  For future reference, though, 1 1/2 c equals about 1 can of beans.

When searching the cans of beans in the grocery aisle, more often than not I found additional ingredients listed on the labels: calcium chloride, disodium EDTA, modified food starch, dextrose, and even high fructose corn syrup. Those additives are mostly stabilizers, sweeteners and "flavor enhancers", and nothing we really need in our beans.  There are, however, some brands that are savvy enough to just put beans, water, and salt into their cans, but you do have to search to find them on the canned bean shelf.  The problem for me with even those isn't so much the beans, but rather the can itself.

Bisphenol-A, or more commonly known as BPA, is a toxic chemical used to make plastics, and it also shows up in cans as a barrier separating our food from the metal.  Numerous scientific studies have indicated that  BPA is linked to negative health issues such as reproductive problems, behavioral and neurological problems, breast cancer (and thyroid and prostate cancers as well), obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and many more.  Some countries have already banned the use of BPA in food vessels, but not all.  Here, in the US, the FDA has finally banned the use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups just this year, but to my knowledge, that's as far as they have gotten.  Some larger corporations have "promised" to change the liners of their cans used for tomatoes, beans, vegetables, etc, but since they don't presently "have to", I'm not holding my breath.  I will keep an eye on the progress, though.

In the meanwhile, I think I'll skip the cans and make my own, thank you very much.  And thankfully, Ziploc and Gladware brand plastic bags and containers do not use BPA, so for the freezer, that's what I choose.

(If you are interested in learning more about BPA, a simple google search will turn up more articles than you would have time in this lifetime to read.  Here is a well sited Wiki entry, and here is an article from Science News  titled "Cans Bring BPA to Dinner, FDA Confirms" from May 2011.)


Okay, back to bean basics.  It's so simple, really:
-Inspect your beans for stones (I've only ever found 1 stone in all my years of cooking dried beans, but it's worth a check anyway).
-Soak your beans. You can either soak your beans overnight in water enough to cover by about 2-3 inches or you can do the "quick soak" method by covering the beans with same amount of water, bring them to a low boil, immediately cover, remove from the heat, and let soak for about an hour.
-Drain the soaking water from the beans and give them a rinse.  Many people don't drain the soaking water, and if you don't want to, don't.  I do because I've heard that the beans release into the water some of their indigestible compounds when soaked, and I'd rather be comfortable than sorry later.
-Cook your beans.  There are three ways to do this; refill the pot with water to cover by about an inch and simmer for a couple hours (length of time depends on the bean), put them into a baking dish, add water, cover and bake at 350 for a couple hours, or use a slow cooker (add water to cover).  I prefer the slow cooker method because the beans always turn out perfect with consistent texture every time.

So, today we are making Chili Beans (not to be confused with chili with beans, but rather those flavored beans in the can at the grocery store).  We love chili beans because they are great to grab for nachos and taco salads and even as a chili starter because they are already seasoned.  This recipe makes the equivalent of about 5 cans of  chili beans, so be sure you have containers available in which to freeze them.  About 1 1/2 c of the bean mixture equals one can.

Cooked pinto beans before draining and adding sauce

Homemade Chili Beans

• 1 lb pinto beans, soaked
• 1 onion, cut in half
• 2 cloves garlic, each sliced in half once  
• 1 bay leaf
• 6-8 c water (enough to cover the beans)

Place everything in a 6 quart slow cooker, cover and cook on high 6-8 hours.  When the beans are tender, drain over a pot or bowl, reserving 2 cups of the cooking liquid.  Remove and discard the onion chunks and bay leaf. Place the beans back into the slow cooker, stir in the sauce (recipe below), cover and cook on high for 30 minutes more.  Cool, place in them freezer containers and freeze.  Thaw when ready to use.

For the sauce:

• 2 Tbs olive oil
• 1 green bell pepper, seeds removed and finely chopped
• 1 med onion, finely chopped
• 2 jalapeno peppers, finely chopped (if you want less heat, remove the seeds)
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 large tomatoes, diced (about 3-4 cups)
• 2 c reserved cooking liquid from the beans
• 2 Tbs cumin
• 2 Tbs chili powder
• 3 tsp salt
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

In a 12" skillet over medium/high heat, saute the bell pepper, onion, jalapeno and garlic in the olive oil until tender, about 5-6 minutes.  Reduce heat to medium, stir in the tomatoes, and simmer uncovered about 10 minutes.  Add the reserved bean liquid and all the spices.  Reduce the heat to medium/low and simmer about 5 minutes.  Add to the beans in the slow cooker and continue with the directions above.

There are only 3 left for me to freeze because we used 2 for dinner (Taco Salads).