The Pioneer Woman's Perfect Pot Roast

I like this picture best, with the sunlight on the plate, but the hubs feels the
meat is not "present", hidden within the shadows.

The hubs likes this one better - no sunlight, but flash on the camera.

I love Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman.  All 3 of us do, actually.  We all watch her show, I've read her book, own her cookbooks and enjoy her recipes.  One of my favorites is her Perfect Pot Roast.    When I tried this recipe earlier this year, I had not made pot roast in 10 years.  I'd given up!  Whether I did it on the stove or in the slow cooker, it turned out blah, tough and dry.  I decided to give it another try with Ree's recipe.  The 1st time I made it, I liked it.  It was flavorful, it fell apart nicely, but it was a little dry.  The 2nd time I made it was at my mom's.  I cooked it a little longer, but she did not have an oven proof pan with a lid and all she had on hand was top round, not chuck roast.  It was a little dry, too.  But everyone loved the flavor.  My mom had not made a pot roast in several years, either, and said she would definitely start making pot roast again with this recipe.

Tonight I made it for the 3rd time.  I used a chuck roast from Wegmans and cooked it for 4 hours, even though it was less than 2.5 pounds.  It came out perfectly!  Using the right meat and cooking it longer was the key.  I hope you try her recipe.  It really is pretty simple and you will be a hero to those to whom you serve it.

I served it with mashed potatoes and made some gravy from the pan juices and some masa.  I usually make terrible mashed potatoes so that is the hubs' job now.  But tonight, I decided to try them and they turned out beautifully - so fluffy, smooth and flavorful.  I made a perfect dinner tonight!  I'm sure that means the next 4 months of dinners will probably turn out crappy, but it will be worth it!  ;o)