Remake of a Classic Favorite - Yankee Pot Roast

I was going to write about this yesterday, but changed my mind, as it being the 10th anniversary of September 11th, I thought it would be insulting to think about food more than the heroes, and all those who died from the tragedy.

Today is another day and what better recipe to write about than an American classic, the Yankee Pot Roast. Now originally the pot roast was brought over by the British; a meal of corned beef and vegetables which were boiled or stewed. This became known as the colonial era "New England Boiled Dinner. However, with the availability of fresh game in the "New World" or what is now called the United States of America; and some cooking tips from our neighbors, the Native Americans, roasting the meat and vegetables together opened up a new culinary world for us. The name Yankee refers to the recipe coming from New England, or the Yanks as the British referred to us.

History lesson over, let's get to cooking up this simple and tasty dish. Now originally I used a recipe handed down from my mom and she made it on the stove top. Being busy, I didn't have time to babysit a Dutch oven on the stove, so did some changing of the recipe for cooking in the crock pot. I also made the recipe a little more health friendly by cutting out browning the meat in oil and sauteing the vegetables in butter.

Another tip, at least 3-4 cups of extra liquid is produced during the cooking process. Spoon it out, strain it and put it in the freezer for an hour; any excess fat can then be scooped out before it is stored back in the freezer. This liquid can now be used as a starter for the next time Yankee Pot Roast is made, so the step concerning mixing the beef broth, soy and chili sauces together can be skipped. As you continue doing this, your starter liquid will become more rich and flavorful, making your pot roast sensational.

Yankee Pot Roast

Ingredients:
1 lb small red potatoes, quartered
1 (16 oz) package frozen crinkle cut carrots, thawed
1 (28 oz) plus 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 cup each chopped onion and celery
2 Tbsp sliced garlic
1 tsp each ground black pepper and fine sea salt
¼ cup flour
4 lb chuck roast trimmed of exterior fat
1 cup beef broth
¼ cup soy sauce
¼ cup chili sauce

Preparation:

Spray a 6 qt crock pot with nonstick cooking spray; put the setting on low. Layer the ingredients following the list of Ingredients (sprinkle the salt, pepper and flour over the vegetables) until the roast is placed in last.

In a small bowl, mix together the beef broth, soy and chili sauces; pour over the roast. Lift roast slightly to allow liquid to get underneath. Cook for 10 hours.

Makes 8 servings.

Oh, to go with this classic, I made a peach crumble dessert using my previously posted recipe for Apricot Crumble. Num Yummy!

Mary Cokenour