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Classics: Yankee Pot Roast

Classics: Yankee Pot Roast

by Malcolm Bedell on September 26, 2011

Learning how to make pot roast is one of the more satisfying culinary endeavors you can undertake. There’s something immensely reassuring about taking big, cheap, tough cuts of meat, and, whether through slowly smoking or in this case, through braising, turning them into the moistest, most flavorful, most tender roasts ever to fall apart under the lightest pressure from a dinner fork.

Admittedly, this is Fall weather fare; I got the idea during last week’s peculiar cool snap, and didn’t actually get it in the oven until today, which seems to be unseasonably warm and humid. No matter. It will be cold here in Maine soon enough, and this is the kind of meal you will need to keep you warm until the next Summer begins…sometime in mid-July of next year, I suspect.

Yankee Pot Roast
Serves 6-8; Adapted from a recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 pound thick-cut bacon, diced
  • 1 3-4 pound beef chuck roast
  • Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 large yellow onion, diced
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 3 tablespoons (about 3 branches) fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
  • 1 cup dry red wine
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1 can (14 ounces) diced tomatoes
  • 1 pound small white potatoes, halved
  • 1 bunch of small carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3 stalks of celery, cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 2 cups pearl onions, trimmed and peeled

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 325. In a large Dutch oven, brown bacon over medium heat, stirring ocassionally, until bacon begins to crisp. Using a slotted spoon, transfer bacon to drain on paper towels.

2. Pat beef dry, season liberally with salt and pepper, and add beef to pot. Increase heat and turn using tongs to brown meat in bacon fat, on all sides. Transfer beef to a plate.

3. Reduce heat to medium, add 2 tablespoons butter to pan, and add yellow onion. Cook, stirring ocassionally, until onions begin to turn translucent, about 6 minutes.

4. Add garlic and rosemary and cook until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add wine and water and cook, scraping brown bits off the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon, about 1 minute.

5. Add tomatoes (and juice) and check seasoning, adding more salt and pepper if needed. Return beef to pot and bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover, transfer to oven, and cook until beef is almost tender, about three hours.

6. Remove pot from oven, and add potatoes, carrots, celery, pearl onions, and cooked bacon around roast. Cover, return to oven, and cook until vegetables are tender, about an hour more. Remove beef from pot and let rest 15 minutes, then slice against the grain. Arrange on platter with cooked vegetables, and drizzle with braising liquid.

Our “Classics” series tackles some of our favorite dishes from Maine’s rich culinary tradition. You can think of them as “traditional” dishes, or more accurately, things you might have had for hot lunch in the fourth grade, had you attended St. George Elementary. To read more from this series, click here.


About the Author:

My first memories of cooking start in Maine at six years old, when I wore a yellow rainslicker to avoid getting spattered by the bacon I was frying in a skillet. My interest in both Mexican cooking and recreating classic New England dishes from scratch developed while living in Mexico, on a steady diet of pork and habanero peppers. You can see more of my writing and photography online on Serious Eats, the Huffington Post, BlogHer, and Foodista, as well as in print for Downeast, Indulge, and Cigar Snob magazines.

{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }

Mom September 26, 2011 at 7:08 pm

WOW! Coming soon….

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Trina Fulton September 26, 2011 at 10:32 pm

YUMMY! Making this for dinner tomorrow night, will let you know how it comes out…

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Malcolm September 26, 2011 at 11:31 pm

Awesome, Trina, please do!

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Patrick September 26, 2011 at 10:51 pm

MMmmmm, pot roast.

My other half doesn’t eat beef, and I can’t eat 4lbs of it all myself. Halving this recipe probably wouldn’t work, and I haven’t had pot roast (Yankee or otherwise) since my mother passed, 15-odd years ago.

What to do… what to do…

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Malcolm September 26, 2011 at 11:34 pm

I’ll tell you what: it’s not an unmanageable task. I cooked a three pound roast, which yielded about 7 good slices. One was lost to picking, after it came out of the oven and was resting. You can knock out two more slices having actual meals. The rest goes into a roast beef hash, and boom! No more pot roast.

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Patrick October 12, 2011 at 9:15 am

Sold!

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Malcolm October 12, 2011 at 11:02 am

The weather is getting cool enough again…this makes a great project for a Sunday with nothing to do…

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Juls October 12, 2011 at 1:57 am

I am always looking for new things to do with the less costly cuts of meats (often, if cooked right, they taste so much better than the expensive cuts!) so thank you for this recipe, it looks dvine!

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Malcolm October 12, 2011 at 11:01 am

I totally agree, Juls…a little patience can coax some major flavors out of even the junkiest cuts of beef.

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Ali October 12, 2011 at 6:40 am

I’ve heard this once at a friend’s, really liked it but never got the chance to know how it was cooked. This post has really helped me. The dish is such a delicacy. Nice photos… so mouth watering.

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Malcolm October 12, 2011 at 11:01 am

Thanks, Ali! If you try it, be sure to let me know how it came out!

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Vicky October 12, 2011 at 8:37 am

Sounds delicious. I’ve never made pot roast before – but I’m thinking of trying this one out soon!

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Malcolm October 12, 2011 at 11:01 am

You’ve got to give it a try, Vicky…it’s enough food for a week!

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Elizabeth October 12, 2011 at 1:24 pm

Pot Roast is my proudest culinary accomplishment. I wasn’t raised on it and hadn’t even tried it until two years ago when I decided to learn. It is my husband’s favorite meal and he now tells me I make better pot roast than his mother. This looks delicious. Now I want some!

Thanks!
http://www.southernelle.com

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Loren October 29, 2011 at 5:27 pm

This may be the perfect comfort food for the looming nor’easter! We’ve got a roast in the oven. Thanks for blogging and for the inspiration.

Cheers!

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Stephanie November 13, 2011 at 8:23 pm

I came across this site a couple of weeks ago, and I’ve already made two dishes: the turkey chili and this one! You guys are AWESOME!

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Malcolm November 15, 2011 at 1:58 pm

Thanks, Stephanie! So glad to hear it! Thank you for reading!

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ELM March 14, 2012 at 6:31 pm

In the oven now. Can you tell me why it’s called “Yankee” pot roast?

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Malcolm March 15, 2012 at 9:18 am

I’m assuming it’s just due to the dish’s popularity in the Northeast.

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Lisa November 17, 2012 at 6:55 pm

It’s in the oven right now – house smells yummy!

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Noreen January 21, 2013 at 5:46 pm

This has to be the best roast I have ever eaten!

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