Gloomy, Lazy Sort of Sunday Got You Down?
“Why you asking, Mom?”
Well, your uncle Bingley’s off to the wilds and he usually handles the weekend bloody beef porn, so I thought…wellllll…
“What, Mom? Whatcha thinkin’? WHAT?!?!?!”
I thought, schmaybe, we could handle the bloody beef thing for him!
“PUHLEEZ!! Don’t you toy with my emotions!!!!”
Ozzie, would I ever do that? I say, “Let’s make a potroast!”
First you take a big, ol’ hunka beef…and, oddly enough, I have one right here.
Liberally salt and pepper EVERY square inch of him. Then put together some other stuff we need, like onions, garlic, potatoes, couple cloves (yes, CLOVES)…
…and a bouquet garni with a healthy-size rosemary sprig, lotsa thyme, a bayleaf or two and some peppercorns, all tied up neat in a cheesecloth pouch…
…and standing ready with the liquids. The oven’s heating up at 350°.
(Meanwhile, that roast is browning up GOOD on all sides. And I mean GOOD.)
(This is how I make sure the sides get done.)
I lift him out for a bit so I can drain the rendered fat off and put some lovely olive/canola oil in. Then back he goes into the oval oven and the aromatics get scattered all about…
…and worked down to the heat and added oil so some of the rawness cooks off. It’s not exactly an easy thing ~ especially when you go a tad overboard on the size of the roast to begin with ~ but keep them moving, then add a couple tablespoons of flour and repeat.
Scatter the potatoes and add another good pinch of salt and several good grinds of pepper.
My incomparable major dad, sommelier par excellence, suddenly presents me with his pick for tonight.
Oh, LOVELY!!!
Time to fill the pot halfway with the red wine, stir around and scrape yummies off the bottom as much possible. Then top off to the roast’s upper edge with beef broth (Only if it’s as large [4.5 lbs] as this one. If it’s a 2 pounder or thereabouts, watch for the roast to float a tad and call it quits.), add the bouquet garni and give the sides a gentle stir.
Bring to a boil, cover and pop in the oven for 2 hours for a 2-3 lb one. This one we’re giving at least 3-3 1/2 to work it’s magic.
“You will NOT believe the smell that fills the house.”
“Makes me swoon.”
Well, thank you, Oz!
My very unscientific test for doneness is a long-tined dinner fork twisted in the center of the roast. If a piece pulls out easily or, even better, the chunk falls apart completely…um…DONE!
Gently remove Monsieur le Boeuf (be careful because he SHOULD be falling apart), then pull the veggies out with a slotted spoon. Left in the dutch oven will be a rich, silky, beautiful gravy for slathering every last thing on your plate. Slurpable!
If you’ll excuse us…
Fun, Swill Food and Grog | tree hugging sister | 
August 2, 2009 9:16 pm
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“Bloody beef porn”
[sigh] Does it get any better?
Well, not sure if this competes but how about some cured pork porn?
I trust that you shared with the Scotties and the Labradork. After all that anticipation, they were probably drooling…..
Three cutie-puppies… Who needs a man? 🙂
Schweet baby jeebus, Sis, that looks tasty!
Lip SCHMACKing, Bingley!
Ah, Julie, that would be true if only the man weren’t major dad…::school girl giddy:: (and that’s just the dogs…;))
Julie, don’t let the cuteness fool you. Those Scotties are man killers.
Looks yummy and the dogs are adorable.
I like the gauze trick around the bay leaves. My wife got a bay leaf lodged in her throat from a fish restaurant last year, and that was miserable.
Fantastic lab picture, and the dinner looks faboo! Of course, if you want to fool us into thinking that Bings is at work, you need to bump that wine picture up to the top, and liberally intersperse shots of glasses in varying states of empty…
“Death by Scottie dogs”… I bet Moriarty never thought of that one, JeffS.
Probably because he knew it was too gruesome to contemplate, Julie.
And Jeff exaggerates ~ he left here with all his limbs…
That Major Dad is a lucky man. I can almost smell dinner from here.
Yum! That must’ve been a very happy household after that. Are the dogs on backyard patrol in the first picture? I love how they are all lined up!
Oh, Major Dad and THS can cook up a storm! Mmmmmmmm…..I can still taste those pork ribs……