Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Sensational Slow-cooked Roast with Onion-Mushroom Sauce

Sensational Slow-cooked Roast with Onion-Mushroom Sauce


The other night I made the best roast I have ever made in my life! I'm not trying to brag or be prideful, I just want you to know that it was so absolutely delicious, that I want to make it over and over again.

Let me tell you how I feel about beef.

First of all, I love roast, but only if it is tender, juicy and flavorful. If roast is cooked to my stringent specifications, I like it better than steak. Unless the steak is grilled properly and is fork tender with an out-of-this-world rub. Those kind of steaks don't come around very often.

I usually prepared my roasts in the crock pot. They are my "go to" meals when I'm going to be gone most of the day and want an easy-to-serve meal. Sometimes my roast are tender and juicy, sometimes they are not so tender and juicy. I know they would be better if I took the time to brown them in oil before I put them in the crock pot, but that doesn't always happen. Actually, it hardly ever happens.

The main reason for this laziness concerning the browning of the roast is because I hardly ever think far enough in advance to get the roast out of the freezer and thaw it before it is time to cook it. I would say that 80% of all my roasts are thrown in a crock pot, fully frozen and left to their own mercy in the crock pot.

Now don't get me wrong, I don't throw them in there without any devices. I usually throw in something, like a can of cream of mushroom soup, a package of onion soup mix, etc. Then after the roast is cooked, I pour the left over juices on the roast for flavor.

But let me tell you, I simply adore sauces. Any kind of sauce. Sauce just adds such dimension to any dish. Let's consider a few...

Cheese sauce... who can eat broccoli or cauliflower without cheese sauce?

Vanilla sauce... oh my goodness, add to any dessert and you make it a dessert you'll never forget.

Fudge sauce... now I'm drooling.

Marinara sauce... what's pasta without marinara sauce? Naked, that's what!

I could go on and on, but I won't. I can't spend all morning on this computer! The house needs to be cleaned.

Anyway, sauce is boss! Especially homemade sauce. I know you can buy sauces at the store, but please don't. You don't know what you are missing if you have not made sauce, any kind of sauce, from scratch.

Okay, back to the roast beef. Have you guessed that a sauce is involved?

Here goes the recipe.

Sensational Slow-cooked Roast with Onion-Mushroom Sauce

I used an English Cut Roast, but you can use what ever you want to. I don't see why any kind of roast wouldn't work.

Place the roast in the crock pot. Frozen or thawed, doesn't matter.

Have you tried the new, well not so new, crock pot liners??? If you haven't, saddle up your horse, git to town and buy yourself some. You can find them in the plastic wrap and foil isle. I do not use my crock pot without them anymore. Talk about easy cleaning!!!! They make me so happy!

Back to the recipe, sorry, but you really do need to know about those liners.

Dump 1 can of cream of mushroom soup on top of the roast. Dump 1 package of onion soup mix on top of the soup. Dump 1/2 cup of water over that. Cover with lid and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours.

Remove roast from crock pot and place on the cutting board to rest.

In a large skillet, I use a cast iron skillet, saute 2 cups of sliced mushrooms in 1/4 cup of melted butter. When the mushrooms are beginning to turn a golden brown, add 3 cloves of chopped garlic and saute for a few more minutes until the garlic is lightly browned. Be careful not to burn it!

Remove the mushrooms and garlic from pan and set aside. Carefully dump the juice from the crock pot into the pan. Make sure to get all the stuff that might be stuck to the bottom. You need about 2 1/2 cups of liquid, so you may need to add a little water. Bring this to a boil and add 1/2 cup of red wine or cooking sherry. Allow this to reduce and then add the mushrooms. Combine 1 tablespoon of corn starch with 3 tablespoons of cold water. Add to sauce to thicken it. Mmmmmm... I can smell it just by thinking about it.

Slice your roast and serve with the sauce. We even poured the sauce over our garlic mashed potatoes.

I think that the onion soup mix makes this sauce.

Give it a try and tell me what you think!!

Sorry I didn't do this in true recipe form, but I figured there wasn't that many ingredients that you couldn't just write them down yourself. I'll try to get this in recipe form and when I do I will post it.




3 comments:

  1. Sounds yummy! Can't wait to try it!

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  2. So...I really have to quit checking out your blog when I'm hungry. MAN this looks good. - Monique

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  3. Hey you, Just thought I would let you know that I tried this recipe last night (I didn't have any wine or sherry)and it was a great success. Thanks for the recipe, I am always wanting to try something new. Leanne

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