Curry Pot Roast Day 1
Related Video: https://youtube.com/shorts/Yh-WfzIZO1k
Pot Roast
Pot roast involves cooking tougher cuts of meat (famously a chuck roast) over long periods of time in some kind of liquid. I love them because of the general ease of the process, allowing time to do much of the work. I find that 5-6 hours is the sweet spot to the points where the roast going from a tough, seized hunk of meat to a tender and juicy mass that goes with any size (and the liquid as a sauce or even a stew).
Curry
Originating from South Asian cuisine, curry typically consists of a mix of spices, herbs, vegetables, and proteins simmered together to create a rich and aromatic sauce. The complexity of curry lies in the subtle balance of flavors, which can vary greatly depending on the region or recipe. Whether it's a spicy Thai red curry, a fragrant Indian masala, or a mild and versatile Japanese curry, each variation offers something different and every single one of them is personified comfort and warmth.
Dish
So for the purposes of this recipe I decided to cook a pot roast in curry. While this removes the element of “ease” from the equation (curry isn’t exactly easy) I find that the extra layer and what you get out of the recipe makes it worth it.
Tip: Make at least twice as much as you need. Both curry and pot roast taste better the next day and there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get 2 or more meals out of this over the course of your week
Recipe
Servings: 6
Ingredients:
1 Chuck Roast (I get mine from Costco so they are rather large)
3 Yellow Onions, rough dice
4 Cloves Garlic, minced
2 thumbs of ginger, peeled and grated (2oz)
3 Tbsp Curry Powder
2 Tsp Fresh Ground Black Pepper
2 Tsp Ground Cumin
4 Star Anise
1 Cinnamon Stick
3 Cardamom Pods
2 Tbsp Whole Fennel Seeds
4 Whole Cloves
4 Cups of Beef Stock
1 Can (15oz) Tomato sauce
Salt To Taste
Ghee or Olive Oil for frying
Any sweet or solid you’d like to add, (I like carrots, potatoes, parsnips, sliced broccoli stems, cauliflower…)
Directions
Preheat the oven temperature to 200ºF
In a medium-hot pan greased with 1 tablespoon ghee or olive oil, add in the garlic and ginger and distribute evenly through the oil, takes about 30 seconds.
Before they start to brown push the aromatics to one side of the pan and add in a tablespoon more of oil and add the curry and cumin powder and gently stir until aromatic and fully distributed into the oil. A paste might form, that’s fine just make sure there’s no dry powder left.
Add in the onions and sweat them out while they mix with the aromatics and spice, things should smell incredible. We’re not trying to caramelize the onions here, we just want them soft and translucent. They will be golden from the spice. Takes about 5 minutes.
Put these into a high powered blender and grind on low into a paste before adding in the tomato sauce and the beef stock. Purée smooth before putting it into a pot (nonstick is best for this).
Add in your whole spices as well as the chuck roast and cover, place in the oven and allow to cook for at least 5 hours (but give yourself an hour or two more for wiggle room, it goes from tough to tender pretty suddenly after some time). If it’s ready before you need it, you can allow it to sit for two hours before serving.
In the last hour add in your additional vegetables
Cut up what roast you need and serve over rice
Reserve the rest of the roast and the curry in a container and store in the fridge, ideally remove all the vegetables before storing
Why is it better the next day?
In the case of curry, there is more time for the whole spices to seep into the sauce and there’s also more time for the flavors to meld. In the case of pot roast, there is some moisture loss from the meat during cooking, allowing the roast to cook while still in the cooking liquid, gives it time to reabsorb that (even tastier) liquid from the curry giving you a more flavorful roast the next day.
How do I reheat?
Reheat your roast with some curry in a smaller pot and place back in the oven and let it slowly come back up to temperature (about 140ºF) over the course of 45 minutes. You can add more spices or more vegetables during this time.