I can’t believe we’ve nearly reached the end of Emeril’s One-Pot Blogger Cooking Party. Today I’m sharing my 8th post; if you’re curious about the first 7, you can find them here. This cola-braised pot roast almost didn’t happen. When the book first arrived, Shane placed little blue sticky flags on about 20 recipes he was interested in, and the pot roast didn’t make the cut. But as I sat deciding what to make for my final few posts this week, I kept coming back to it. It was easy, and I had almost all of the ingredients on hand – two critical factors in menu planning for me. I asked Shane why he hadn’t flagged it, and it turned out he wasn’t exactly sure what pot roast was, so he’d skipped over it. Goes to show you how often I make pot roast around here π Once I explained the dish to him, he was completely onboard.
The recipe called for a 4 pound boneless beef chuck roast, but with just two of us, I bought one that was 2.5 pounds instead. I scaled back the other ingredients accordingly as well. You start by cutting small slits in the roast and filling them with a paste made from salt, garlic and thyme (which I subbed for rosemary since I already had it in the fridge). The meat is browned then braised in a combination of cola and beef stock for 3 – 3 1/2 hours, until it’s fork tender. Vegetables are added to the pot for the last hour or so of the cooking period – Emeril suggested onions, potatoes, parsnips, carrots and celery. I love parsnips, but didn’t find them in the store I went to for the roast and was too short on time to drive around to other stores, so they were omitted. I also made mashed potatoes to serve on the side instead of tossing the potatoes in with the meat. The final step in the recipe was to thicken the cooking liquid to make a gravy but I skipped it. I’m starting to think I’m the only one (this is especially evident at Thanksgiving), but I don’t like gravy and the meat was plenty flavorful without it.
We shredded the meat before serving it and while I ran upstairs to take a few pictures, I told Shane to dig in. When I came down a few minutes later he was back with a clean plate looking for more! Needless to say, the dish was well received. I don’t make pot roast often enough to offer any comparisons about whether the cola really added any sweetness or flavor that would have been missing had we just used stock. Guess I might need to do some more research this winter, I’m pretty sure Shane wouldn’t complain.
I can’t share the recipe unfortunately, but Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders was released on Tuesday and is now available for purchase if you’re interested!Β We’ve really been enjoying the recipes we’ve tried so I highly recommend it.Β Also, just a reminder – I’m giving away a set of Flame Table Art by Emeril from Zak Designs.Β You can find more details and enter the giveaway here.
{Disclaimer: I received a free copy of Sizzling Skillets and Other One-Pot Wonders in exchange for participating in the party. All of the opinions expressed are mine alone.}
Mmm, this looks fall-apart good! Roast is a humble and delicious dinner, so satisfying. Yours looks ready to please π
Hi Tracey, thank you for sharing this recipe. Coincidentally, I’m making pot roast this weekend and this would be a great recipe to try. Jackie
Oooh, this looks like great comfort food. Glad you both enjoyed~
This was a really great dinner, thanks for making it!
Yum – looks fantastic Tracey. I’ve never shredded it before, will have to try that with the next pot roast!! Great pics!
XO
Heather
Yum! Pot roast is one of my favorite things.
Hi Tracey!
I stumbled across your blog a little over a month ago when I was on a mission to make croissants. Your post from last year was very helpful and I really enjoyed your blog. I have been checking in every since. I love your pictures and explainations. The roast looks wonderful, but everything you post always does. π
Thanks everyone π
Amanda – glad you decided to say hi! Hope your croissants turned out well π
This seems like an old-fashioned recipe, but a good one.
That pot roast looks amazing! I don’t make pot roast enough, either. Yum π
Looks great! Love the garlic paste idea.
This looks amazing and so comforting!
Your roast looks wonderful! I thought my youngest son was the only one who doesn’t like gravy!
Your recipe looks really yummy! I would love to prepare this for dinner…Keep on posting.
I love pot roast! I’ve seen a lot of recipes lately using cola for cooking. This one sounds great.
Pot roast would have been the first recipe my husband would have flagged. Sometimes when he’s been on deployment for awhile, he’ll send me an email saying I could really go for some of your pot roast right about now. And it’s almost always the first meal he wants when he comes home. Such great comfort food! Can’t wait to check the book out…
This looks comforting and delicious! It has been way too long since I have made a pot roast! I am going to have to do that very soon!
mmmm! I’m making a roast tonight too!! And don’t worry, you aren’t the only one who doesn’t like gravy!!!
I like gravy, but not when it gets on things it’s not supposed to. =) That’s my problem at Thanksgiving–I don’t like my food all smooshed together on the place, with the gravy getting on the wrong stuff.
I’ve been looking for a good pot roast recipe, and this looks yummy. I’ll have to take a look for the book the next time I’m at a bookstore.
emerile posted this recipe on foodnetwork.com so everyone can go there and print for their use.
i plan to make this weekend….with the gravy π