October 07, 2006
Cola Roast Beef
Two of the values of the Crock-Pot, or any of the slow cookers from rival manufacturers, are that they operate unattended and tenderize tough cuts of meat. Assemble a few cheap ingredients before you go to bed, toss them in and turn it on before you go to work, and come home to dinner. Here's an old standby which is a prime example.
1 pkt spaghetti sauce seasoning
1 can cola (can be generic but don't use diet)
1 roast (e.g. a 3 to 5 pound chunk of beef marketted for roasting)
potatoes, onions, carrots to taste
Trim obvious fat off the roast. Scrub carrots and potatoes (but do not peel), discard the ends of the carrots, and cut into chunks. The little red potatoes which are ideal for this don't have eyes you need to worry about. Cut the onions into quarters and discard the tough outer skin. Place roast beef and vegetables in crockpot. Pour spaghetti sauce and cola over all. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or on high for 4-5 hours. Serve with sauce, piled on a plate. The leftovers can be sliced up for sandwidges.
If you want to get fancy you can substitute
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons hot sauce
or other seasonings to taste for the commercial spaghetti sauce packet. Some recipes also call for browning the roast in oil before putting in the crockpot, but sealing in the juices isn't exactly relevant. The cola provides not only flavoring, but also a tenderizing effect greater than you would get from water. There are similar recipes using beer; the major change is subtler seasoning such as bay leaf or whiskey.
Posted by triticale at October 7, 2006 02:02 AM | TrackBack