Slow Dutch Oven Roast
12" deep dutch oven
8-10 coals below
10-12 coals above
- 2 Tbsp olive oil
- 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
- Kosher salt
- Coarse ground pepper
- 3-5 lb beef roast
- 3-4 large potatoes
- 3-4 medium onions
- 1-2 carrots, sliced
- 2-3 stalks celery, sliced
- 1/2 lb bacon
- 1 Tbsp coarse ground pepper
- 1 Tbsp Kosher salt
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1/2 cup honey, maybe a little more
- 2-3 Tbsp flour
- ~1/4 cup of water
I started out thawing the roast. It had been thawing in the fridge for a day or two, and I put it in the sink with some cool water. A hint I learned: Next time, I'll take it out of the package and off of the styrofoam tray, then put it in a ziplock before putting it in the water. The tray insulated the meat and it was still frozen on the bottom for quite a while.
Meanwhile, I lit up some coals and pre-heated the dutch oven with the oil in it. I tossed in the garlic and let that sautee a little bit. Meanwhile, I coated the meat with kosher salt and coarse-ground pepper. I let it sit for a little bit, then put the roast in the dutch oven and browned it on each side.
While that was browning, I cut up the vegetables. The potatoes and onions I cut into large quarters. My idea was to have those on the bottom and to rest the meat on top, that way the juices would run down under the meat.
Once the meat was browned, I lifted it out of the Dutch oven, and put in the onions and potatoes. I scattered in the celery and the carrots to fill in the gaps. I laid the meat down on top of the bed of veggies and set on the coals. I also laid strips of bacon across the top of the roast.
Since I was kinda learning how to do this, I also set a thermometer into it. I closed up the lid and put the proper coals on. My idea was to cook it at 200-250 degrees for about 4-5 hours. It took a while, but it eventually got up to 200. From then on, it was just a matter of keeping the heat steady with fresh coals.
About an hour before serving time, I made the glaze. I mixed all of the ingredients together and dabbed it over the meat. The recipe reflects not so much the actual ingredients I used, but the ones I would recommend. The one I did ended up too peppery. You probably won't use all of the glaze at once, but after another fifteen to twenty minutes, you can add more to the roast.
At about the same time, I got my basting syringe and sucked up most of the juices from the bottom of the dutch oven, and put them into my 8" dutch oven. I set that on top of about 8-10 coals to heat up and begin boiling. While that was getting boiling, I stirred up the flour and the water. I stirred it up pretty vigorously. The idea is to get out all the clumps, so it can pour into the juices and make gravy. So, add flour or water as needed to make the right consistency.
Once the broth was boiling, I added the flour/water mix, a bit at a time. I stirred it in and let it boil for 5-10 minutes before adding any more. I've had problems making gravy where I ended up adding too much flour too fast and it got too thick.
In the end, the meat was done, it tasted great, if only a little too peppery. I wonder if I simply should have cooked it longer to get to that "fall apart" state. I cooked it for about four hours, but maybe I should have done 6 or even 8. Anyone's advice? I'll be trying it again, obviously...
Mark has discovered a love of Dutch Oven Cooking. Mark also has other sites and blogs, including MarkHansenMusic.com and his MoBoy blog.
You said you used a thermometer, what did your final temperature get up to? That will make a big difference on how fall apart tender it is.
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