Pot Roast

The weather has been SO nice lately. I knew it was still too early to plant, but Spring fever hits me hard. I deny that snow is emminent, especially after a couple of weeks of 70 - 80 degree weather. Well, it snowed last night. It's still snowing. I heard 6 - 12 inches of wet, heavy snow, including 2 nights of a hard freeze.
My green beans, cucumbers, peas, and pumpkins are sprouting. I hope they make it through. By the time you read this, it could be 90 degrees. For today, it's cold. A good old-fashioned pot roast is on the menu. It's filling and warming. While I'm at it, I'm going to make the girls something warm to eat, too. 

I've got a sirloin tip roast that's been resting on the counter for about an hour. 

Mix salt, pepper, garlic, and onion in a bowl. It's a 'go to' seasoning for me. It's really good on burgers and chicken, too.

Add oil or lard to the bottom of a heavy-bottomed pan. Rub the roast with a little oil. Cover all sides with the spice mix.

Sear each side on high heat on the stove. This should only take a few minutes on each side.

Deglaze the bottom of the pan. I don't have any small bottles of red wine (wine happens to be my favorite deglazing liquid), so I used cold brew coffee. I love a roast rubbed with Brazilian espresso, so I'm thinking coffee isn't going to hurt this roast.

Wash and split potatoes in half. Add them to the bottom of the pan, surrounding the roast. 

Wash and chop carrots. I chop them 3 - 4 inches long. They won't take as long to cook as the potatoes, so they go on top of the potatoes.

Slice onion into quarters. Place them on top of the roast and vegetables. Sprinkle all with the spice mixture. 

If there isn't an inch or two of coffee left on the bottom of the pan from deglazing, add water to make it so. Cover and cook. 

The standard for cooking a roast is 325 degrees for 25 minutes per pound, until a meat thermometer reads 140. 

Just the way we like it. 

• 4 lb sirloin tip roast; chuck roast is good, too.
• 5 potatoes, halved
• 5 carrots, ends cut off; chopped 3 - 4 inches long
• 2 onions, quartered

• *Spice mix
• 1 T salt
• 1 T ground pepper
• 1 T onion flake, or onion powder
• 1 T garlic podwer

• *Deglazing
• 1/2 - 1 C strong coffee; I use cold brew

• *For the pan
• 3 - 4 T high heat oil such as avocado or grapeseed. I use tallow that I've kept from cooking beef. If I don't have that, I'm more likely to have lard (mostly from the bacon I bake), so I'll use that. The ultimate is tallow or lard. Even though it's so easy to keep, I realize that a lot of people don't keep it. Oil is an acceptable substitiute.

This is simple, easy, and delicious. The clean-up is quick, and it's nutritious and tasty. A warm roast with roasted vegetables hits the spot on a cold and wintry day. Kevin adds butter to his potatoes. Because everything is better with butter.