In search of a new way to cook chuck roast? Try this adapted mediterranean-inspired recipe found in Deborah Krasner’s excellent cookbook, Good Meat: The Complete Guide to Sourcing and Cooking Sustainable Meat. It’s an easy go-to meal in our family now and is especially delicious shredded and served with buttered egg noodles or cous cous or polenta. It makes great leftovers. But they don’t last long in our house!
Chuck Roast with Tomatoes, Cinnamon & Allspice
Written by Jennifer Curtis,
Ingredients
Approx. 3.0 lbs Firsthand Foods Chuck Roast
Kosher salt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more as needed
1/2 cup pine nuts*
3 medium onions, roughly chopped into small pieces
1 tsp. ground allspice
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Generous amount of ground black pepper
1 (28 ounce) can chopped tomatoes
2 TBL white wine or vermouth or vodka
1 TBL pomegranate molasses
For the garnish: freshly grated zest of 1 orange
Instructions
- Bring the meat to room temperature and blot it dry. Sprinkle both sides with salt and let sit for 30 minutes.
- Heat a braising pot and add the olive oil. When it simmers, fry the pine nuts until crisp and golden, watching closely and stirring nearly constantly to make sure they don’t burn. The process takes about 45 seconds. Remove nuts with a slotted spoon and set on a plate. Reserve for garnish.
- Using the remaining oil in the pot, sear the meat until browned on both sides. Remove with tongs and let rest on a plate.
- Using the same oil (adding more if necessary), sweat the onions over medium-low heat until they are soft and translucent. Stir in the allspice, cinnamon, and pepper. Make a space in the bottom of the pot and return the meat along with any juices it has released. Add the tomatoes and their juices, along with the wine and the pomegranate molasses. This liquid should reach about three-quarters of the way up the meat OR MORE. It it doesn’t, add a little water or use a smaller pot. Bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and simmer until the meat is tender and shredding, 4-5 hours. Or, alternatively (and I like this option best), cook it in a 275-degre oven for the same period of time or more, making it a good candidate for leaving all day. (I use a piece of parchment paper under the lid to minimize evaporation and keep the meat nearly covered in liquid while it braises).
- Remove the meat with tongs and let rest for 15 minutes. Cook the sauce down over medium-low heat to concentrate its flavors. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- If serving as a pot roast, slice the meat across the grain (very important to ensure tenderness!) and return it to the pot, along with the pine nuts. Serve at once with rice or couscous, garnished with orange zest.
- If serving as a pasta sauce, slice and shred the meat and return it to the gravy, stirring it in. Cook the pasta and drain it and dress it with half the sauce. Reserve the rest for another night (it freezes well, without the pine nuts and orange zest).