Now that the first day of Autumn has come and gone, it’s time to gear up for fall activities. And that means football! We Americans do love our football, from Pop Warner leagues to the NFL. If we’re not tailgating at the games, there are practices demanding our attendance during the week.
Autumn days are also shorter than those we enjoyed during the Summer. While grilling is still enjoyable, there isn’t always time for it. There are various ways to prepare a Pot Roast that will come close to making its own gravy, and greet your hungry team with the warm, savory aroma that says, ‘Dinner is almost ready.’
Here’s an easy, adaptable recipe for Pot Roast using our juicy, delicious Buffalo Roast. But whatever preparation method you use, your rowdy football friends will love it.
Easy Slow-Cook Pot Roast
Cowboy Free Range Buffalo Roast
3 lb. average – $27.95
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil (canola or your preference… try olive oil too)
- One 3 to 4 lb Buffalo Roast
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 medium onion, chopped (white or yellow)
- 1 stalk celery, sliced
- 1 carrot, sliced
- Pepper, freshly ground to taste
- 6 cups light stock or water (bison, chicken or vegetable)
Directions:
Set oven at 250°F.
Put oil in a 6 quart Dutch oven. Heat over medium heat and when hot, add roast. Turn roast every couple of minutes to brown it on both sides; do not allow to scorch. When nicely browned, remove roast from Dutch oven and set aside.
Immediately add the onion, celery, and carrot to the Dutch oven. With a wooden spoon combine and scrape in any of the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Sauté until vegetables start to turn golden, 10 to 12 minutes.
Sprinkle in flour and stir in completely. Add the stock and/or water. Bring to a low boil, then remove from heat. Return roast to Dutch oven. Cover the Dutch oven with a sheet of aluminum foil to make a seal. Put the lid for the Dutch oven on top of the foil and roast until tender, about 4 hours.
Same Day Serving
Remove roast from the Dutch oven and place on a serving platter. Cover the platter with the foil from the top of the Dutch oven so the meat doesn’t dry out. Hold in the oven of your stove with the door slightly open while sauce is being turned into gravy.
Place Dutch oven on surface burner, set on low heat initially. Thicken sauce into gravy by adding flour a tablespoon at a time and mixing it in thoroughly with a wire whisk. Repeat process until desired thickness is reached. Bring sauce to a gentle boil for a minute or two, stirring it to prevent sticking. Season to taste with salt and pepper. If you like roasted red pepper, now is the time to add it, or it can be sprinkled on top of individual servings.
Slice roast into 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick slices. Layer meat slices in a shallow casserole dish, cover with gravy. Hold in warm oven until ready to serve. Serve with potatoes, rice, noodles or spaetzle. Add a tossed salad and you have an easy, hearty meal.
To Serve the Following Day
Remove Dutch oven from stove’s oven, discard foil seal. Allow roast and sauce to cool to room temperature. Leave roast and sauce in covered Dutch oven. Refrigerate overnight. From the refrigerator, reheat in a 300°F oven for 1-1/2 hours or until heated through. Then follow ‘Same Day Serving’ directions.
NOTES:
If you don’t have a Dutch oven, you can use a heavy skillet to brown the roast and saute the vegetables, then transfer everything to a covered casserole, large enough to hold everything. When the time comes to thicken the sauce, pour off the liquid into the skillet, leaving the roast in the casserole and replacing the lid. When the sauce is thickened to your liking, simply pour it back into the casserole over the roast.
If you would rather not have your oven on for 4 hours without being there, you can use a slow cooker to do the same work. Brown the roast and saute the veggies in the heavy skillet and put them in the slow cooker. Add stock and/or water, set heat on ‘medium’ or ‘high’, cover and go to practice or the game. When you return, turn off the heat, remove the roast to a platter, pour the sauce into the heavy skillet, and thicken.
Tags: easy slow-cook pot roast, following day serving, same day serving
