Braised Pot Roast Of Beef

Total Time: 3 hrs 40 mins Preparation Time: 40 mins Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients

• Servings: 15
• 10 -12 lbs trimmed whole bottom round beef roast
• vegetable oil
• 6 tablespoons flour
• 4 cups beef stock, about
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 carrots, roughly chopped
• 2 large onions, roughly chopped
• 1 large celery rib, roughly chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
• 1 large bouquet garni, tied in cheesecloth (10 parsley stems,4 bay leaves,1 tsp thyme, 6 allspice berries)
• 1 bottle healthy young wine, zinfandel,chianti or of like quality

Recipe

• 1 tie roast firmly with string; brush all sides with oil and set on a jelly roll pan; brown slowly on all sides under the broiler; watch closely and do not burn.
• 2 in a heavy saucepan, stir 5 t oil with the flour; continue stirring over moderate heat until roux turns a dark nutty brown,about 10 minutes, do not burn;remove from heat, let cool a bit and stir in beef stock; set aside.
• 3 preheat the oven to 350°; using 2 tsp (less if using salted bouillon), salt the meat on all sides and set fat side up in a large, covered roaster or roasting pan with 3"-4" high sides.
• 4 place the vegetables, garlic and herb bouquet around the roast and pour in the wine and stock/roux mixture; add more stock if necessary to come almost halfway up the meat.
• 5 bring to a simmer on top of the stove; cover (use aluminum foil if necessary) and set in the lower third of the oven; bake 1/2 hour or until sauce is bubbling quietly; baste with the gravy and turn heat down to 325°.
• 6 the gravy should continue bubbling gently throughout the cooking so regulate oven accordingly; baste and check every 1/2 hour for another 2 hours; begin testing for doneness with a meat thermometer; remove pan from oven.
• 7 allow roast to rest 1/2 hour, basting every 10 minutes and turning it several times; remove roast from pan; sieve contents of roaster into a saucepan and squeeze juices out of the braised vegetables into the saucepan.
• 8 simmer liquid and skim fat from its surface for 1/2 hour; simmer down until the sauce coats a spoon as it will the meat; taste for seasoning and strength; if necessary thin with more stock or thicken with 2t or more of potato flour or cornstarch stirred into several spoons of stock or wine, simmer for 2-3 minutes.
• 9 (roast may be carved and served at this point but is better if cooked several hours or a day in advance).
• 10 if not serving immediately, pour the sauce around the meat, cover with foil and refrigerate; the roast may be reheated whole or sliced and sauced.
• 11 to reheat whole, cover the meat closely and place in a 300° oven or simmer it over very low heat on top of the stove, turning it every 15 minutes until internal temperature is 120°, about 30-40 minutes; just before serving, cut and discard the trussing string.
• 12 to reheat sliced and sauced, return the sliced beef and sauce to the roaster or a large baking pan; cover; baste with the sauce every 10 minutes and warm through slowly in a 300° oven.