Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Pot Roast w/ Red Wine Gravy

Served piping hot!
I've started a wine bottle collection.  I have this genius idea that I'm going to incorporate them into our wedding table decor, but I haven't the slightest idea of how to do so.  I keep going back and forth with whether I want to just simply put some flowers in them, some candles, some sticks - who knows.  But I do know that I'm starting to not have any room for these wine bottles. Seriously, I've got over 100+ in random closets/pantries around the house.

And before you guys gather together and hold an intervention in my honor, I didn't drink all of the wine in those bottles.  My friends did.  Hehe.

But besides empty wine bottles, I also have a bunch of almost full ones in our bar area.  Lots of half-drunk red wine bottles.  I'm a white wine drinker, myself.  I don't mind red wine, but it's just not my preference.  So I end up opening them, drinking a glass, and forgetting about them.

So what to do with all of that red wine?  Hmm, I cook practically 7 days a week, so why not use them in some dinners!  Why was is not that obvious before?  Yeah, sometimes the things you need are right in front of you.  First thing I thought of to use that red wine was pot roast!  Red meat and red wine just can't be beat.

Ingredients:


2 lb. beef chuck roast
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 & 1/2 cups red wine (I used a Merlot)
2 & 1/2 cups beef stock
1 large onion, sliced
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
10 slices of bacon, chopped
1/2 cup flour
salt and pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Place roast in a large plastic bag and pour red wine in with it.  Seal bag tightly and let marinate in fridge for about 3 hours.

Remove roast from bag and pat dry, reserving the wine.

Plug in your crockpot and turn it to the high setting.  Pour beef stock, sliced onions, and mushrooms into crockpot.

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil under medium high heat.  Add roast and sear, about 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove roast from pan and set aside on a plate.

In same skillet, add chopped bacon and fry for about 8-10 minutes, or until bacon is browned.  Remove bacon from skillet with a slotted spoon and dry on a paper towel-lined plate.  Once dry, add bacon to crockpot.

Stir in flour, onion powder, garlic powder, and cayenne pepper to liquid in crockpot.  Mix until flour is dissolved and no clumps are present.  Add roast to crockpot and pour remaining red wine from marinade over top.  Sprinkle thyme over roast and season with salt and pepper, if desired.

Let cook in crockpot for about 6 to 8 hours, or until roast is tender and falls apart when cut with a fork.  Serve with mashed potatoes or other comforting side dish.


This was one flavorful gravy.  And you all remember my love for gravy right?  Andy loved this too.  He's not normally one for leftovers, but he made sure he had some set aside for his lunch today.  This isn't traditionally Irish or anything, but it could definitely sub in for a comforting St. Patty's Day meal!  Enjoy your Wednesday guys!

24 comments:

  1. What a great idea for how to use an open bottle! I do the same thing with red wine---open it, drink a glass, and then forget about it...

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  2. I vote for using them as flower vases...I love that idea! This pot roast look A-MAZING...especially since I gave up meat for lent! You're killing me ;)

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  3. I collect glass bottles too, not wine so much but I do have an old Bombay Sapphire gin bottle (such a pretty blue and nice shape). I use them to put flowers in or paint the clear ones with glass paint and place on a window sill.

    Lovely recipe! There is nothing quite like slow cooked beef with mashed potato, classic and delicious.

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  4. My hubby used to keep wine bottle open for months and drink from there as sips, however his friends told him he is not drinking wine but vinegar, then he stopped doing that. so I can understand what you mentioned about opened wine bottles. By the way gravy looks delicious.

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  5. This sounds delicious - I've been looking for good crockpot recipes!

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  6. That's a great use of wine! That sauce is just calling out to be sopped up!

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  7. This is awesome! I love cooking with wine too & this looks so tempting :)

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  8. This looks scrumptious! I love some pasta with it.

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  9. I like your idea of using wine bottle as decoration. We gave each of our guests a bottle of Nobile di Montepulciano as a wedding guest, but we got married in Italy so it made sense. How is it that all of you have half empty wine bottles in the house? Mine are always empty...

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  10. I collected wine labels at one stage. When we built our bar in our house in S.Africa I papered the whole ceiling with them. Apart from a crick in the neck the effect was amazing. Diane

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  11. I LOVE the idea of putting flowers in the wine bottles and using them as table decorations! my roommates and I also have a wine bottle collection...if one of us gets married I'll know what to do with them!

    I'm not a big wine drinker myself but i love cooking with it. THis pot roast sounds delicious!

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  12. When I lived in France, we would save pretty bottles, clean the labels off, and use them to serve water at dinner parties. It was such a lovely effect...

    And I can't believe how well your picture turned out! I have tried several times to take pictures of my pot roasts, but it always looks so brown and blah.

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  13. Oh I bet you can come up with something really unique out of those bottles for your wedding! Fun!

    I like to freeze left over wine in individual portions (like ice cubes) so that I can use them in cooking without opening up a whole bottle.

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  14. I wish I could pretend my chocolate collection was for something as noble as a wedding ;) Well done you! This looks wonderfully warming.

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  15. Your pot roast looks great, and I bet that gravy is to die for!

    I pass on an award to you! Feel free to check it out, pass it on, or ignore if you have already received one.

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  16. Perfect fork-tender pot roast!! It doesn't get much better than that! Good use for the red wine you didn't feel like drinking :)

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  17. This looks delicous!i am not usually a big fan of the slow cooker, but I may have to give this recipe a try! :)

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  18. thank you for stumbling onto my blog, it directed me here. So now I can drool!
    LC
    ;)

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  19. That roast looks delicious, and the red wine must have made a wonderful gravy for it! I have to get a slow cooker, they do come in handy!

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  20. WOW! Your photos and recipes definitely need to be in Food & Wine!

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  21. Red wine with a roast is so savory, I love those meals. Your potatoes look ideal! I could eat this meal each and every day.

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