The Right Way to Cook Chuck

Roast, that is!

I learned way too late in life that the best way to cook meat is low and slow. Eight hours at 250F is the very best way to cook many cuts of meat.

When I was a kid I hated roast for two reasons - it was dry, tough, and chewy, and because of the fat (I HATED fat and gristle and would spend half the meal carefully picking the meat away from them). If you cook a chuck roast at a low temperature for a long time, the connective tissue kind of dissolves, the moisture stays in (more on this later) and the meat separates easily from the fat and gristle. It's the ultimate kid-friendly way to do beef (or pork).

You can do it in the oven, and if you do you get ultimate control over the temperature (assuming you have a functioning thermostat), or you can use a crock pot which "they" say is more energy efficient, and doesn't heat up the whole house. I mostly use a crock pot these days. If you start with a frozen roast, put the crock pot on high the first 4 hours, or the oven around 300. Then you can turn the crock pot down to low or the oven down to 250F. Make sure there is some fluid in the bottom of the crockpot. If using the oven, put it in a baking dish big enough to hold fluids that will come out of the meat and cover it tightly with aluminum foil or parchment if you know how to do that, or use a well-fitting lid. If you don't keep it tightly covered, and check it a couple of hours before it's done cooking the fluids may all evaporate and then you'll wind up with jerky (but it can be rehydrated by returning it to the cooker with some water added and continuing to slow-cook it for another 30 min. to an hour).

I like to put prepared horseradish on the roast when I put it in to cook, then around 4 hours before mealtime add onions cut into halves or quarters, carrots cut into large chunks, and potatoes for my husband and kids. If you aren't using horseradish you can season the meat generously with pepper and garlic powder, or 4 hours before it's finished surround it with peeled garlic, or whatever else you like.

You need to stay out of the house the last few hours as much as possible or the smell will drive you mad with hunger and you'll wind up eating other foods and being full when it's finally mealtime. And be merciful, dogs smell better than we do! Take the dog for a walk before dinner! LOL!

Food log for yesterday:
Snack - glass of water before walk, then yogurt & fruit smoothie
Breakfast - egg, sausage, pepper, and onion cooked together
Lunch - Chinese vegetable soup - carrots, onions, peppers, zucchini, garlic, snap peas, and "chinese vegetables" with chicken stock from the freezer, pepper, ginger, and toasted sesame oil
Snack - dried date
Dinner - refried beans, cheddar cheese, adobo sauce