Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Pot roast smothered in onions and bacon

Since it had been a week and a half since I had done anything with bacon I figure I was alright to go back to it. I found this recipe a couple of months ago and was holding on to it. It had three of may favorite things: bacon, garlic and onions.

It also took advantage of my favorite way to cook: braising. Other than grilling I can't think of a better way to prepare something. Braising enables you to take some of the toughest cuts of meet and make them tender and delicious.

That said, this recipe turned out just ok. I used a chuck roast, but didn't tie it I just sliced it into one-inch pieces. I cooked the bacon, letting the fat render, but not until crispy. This was my first mistake. I should have cooked it until crispy. Then I started browning the roast, but I forgot to season it with salt and pepper, my second mistake.All said the meat was tender, but it was lacking in flavor. Even when I added salt it was just ok. I might make it again, but since there are so many other pot roast recipes out there I'll probably try something different next time.One thing I will definitely make again is the potato side: Lori's skillet smashed potatoes. These turned out really well and I made just one slight change. I threw five or six large garlic cloves into the water while boiling the potatoes and then fried them up with the potatoes. They had a great flavor and texture.

1 comment:

Steve said...

Thanks for the links to the spuds -- I had something like this in a breakfast joint outside of Boston once that serves skillet-fried mashed potatoes. When I tried to make them myself using premade mashers, they didn't work out so good....