What a deal!

I work in a grocery store.  No, not a grocery store.  I work in THE grocery store.  Wegmans.  They were voted the #1 grocery store chain in the country.  I love them.

When I was at work the other day I spotted a discount sticker on some beef.  I went over to look and found a beef round roast marked down to $2.19/lb.  Guess what we had for dinner???  If you are concerned about buying discounted meats, don't be.  The only thing is you need to either cook it or freeze it the day you buy it.  If you freeze it, just make sure you cook it as soon as you defrost it.  I have been buying and using discounted meats for as long as I can remember.  We have never gotten a bad piece of meat, nor have we ever gotten sick. 

A number of years ago my husband was watching PBS while the kids were napping.  He saw Jacques Pepin making a pot roast on the show Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home.  When the kids woke up he drove to the store and bought the book.  He couldn't wait for me to make the roast and it was well worth the money he spent on the book.  The recipe called for white wine, instead of the typical red.  This recipe feeds 10, but can be modified for a smaller roast.

Jacques's Pot Roast

One 5 lb. piece beef bottom round, trimmed of fat.
1 1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 to 3 tablespoons oil
2 cups chopped onion, 1 inch square
1 large tomato cored & chopped (I've used a drained can of diced tomatoes)
2 bay leaves
1 tsp dried thyme
1 1/2 cups white wine (choose one you like to drink)
1/2 cup water
potatoes, pearl onions, turnips, carrots, and other veggies you like in pot roast.  Jacques likes turnips, onions, carrots and peas.
parsley to garnish (I almost never do this, but it is nice if you have parsley)

Preheat the oven to 300.  Season the roast with salt and pepper.  Brown the roast on all sides (I don't always do this).  Put in a covered casserole and arrange onion, tomato pieces, bay leaves, and thyme around it. 

 

Pour the wine and water over it, cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours.  After that time, take the pan out of the oven.  Ladel as much of the cooking liquid into a pan as you can, add the potatoes and other veggies (not peas if you like them.  Add those at the end.)  Cook for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, adding in enough of the saved liquid as will fit.  Add peas during the last 5 minutes of cooking. 

 

Any additional liquid I have I will boil and reduce to pour over the sliced meats.

 

This is what the roast looks like when it is done cooking, without peas because I don't like them.

 

Remove your veggies and keep them warm in the oven.  Let the roast rest for 10 minutes or so before slicing.  You can thicken the cooking liquid if you want a gravy, or just use the reduced liquid for pouring over the slices of roast.  I like to serve the meat with horseradish or dijon mustard.

 

I actually prefer to make this dish in the crock pot.  I believe the extra long, slow cooking is what this dish really need for perfect flavor.  I just didn't have time to do that yesterday.

 

Give the white wine and thyme a try.  It really is wonderful!

 

Does that dinner look like a bargain basement dinner?  No, it does not!