The Improvisational Chef Strikes Again...
Feb. 26th, 2006 07:18 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lagilmanSo, had a large chunk of chuck roast in the freezer I decided I should do something with. So I defrosted it...and it sat there until I figured I should do something with it. I thought -- hey, haven't done a dry rub for a while. So I stood in front of the spice rack and went "hrmmm...what's coming to the end of its usable life, I can finish off?"
Rosemary, check. Sea salt, check. White pepper. Dill. Thyme. No garlic, mainly because I didn't feel like chpping any. think that's it. Tossed it all into a frying pan and added a dollop of oil to heat it up (the better to release the flavors). But -- oops -- the spout on the oil came off as I was dolloping, and the dry rub turned into a wet marinade.
When the recipe goes south, improvise!
Put roast into zip-lock bag, pour marinade in and massage well. Refrigerate 24 hours, or until I had time to cook it. Drop in dutch oven with a 1:2 mixture of water to merlot, and simmer in an oven heated to about 350 until meat starts to shred.
Mmmmm. I don't know what specifically made this a standout, but the meat is glaze-crispy on the outsides and meltingly tender on the inside and the wine and rosemary and thyme combined to create this nicely spiced flavor that's, if I do say so myself, really really good. The remains of the wine didn't deglaze as well as I'd like, but since I didn't throw any veggies into the pot, I'm not going to worry about it -- the meat soaked up enough not to need gravy.
In a word, yum.
Boomer's begging for his share now. Sorry, kitten...
(oh, and the wine was an Anakena merlot reservado, from Chile, if anyone's curious. $9.99 and good to drink, too.)
Rosemary, check. Sea salt, check. White pepper. Dill. Thyme. No garlic, mainly because I didn't feel like chpping any. think that's it. Tossed it all into a frying pan and added a dollop of oil to heat it up (the better to release the flavors). But -- oops -- the spout on the oil came off as I was dolloping, and the dry rub turned into a wet marinade.
When the recipe goes south, improvise!
Put roast into zip-lock bag, pour marinade in and massage well. Refrigerate 24 hours, or until I had time to cook it. Drop in dutch oven with a 1:2 mixture of water to merlot, and simmer in an oven heated to about 350 until meat starts to shred.
Mmmmm. I don't know what specifically made this a standout, but the meat is glaze-crispy on the outsides and meltingly tender on the inside and the wine and rosemary and thyme combined to create this nicely spiced flavor that's, if I do say so myself, really really good. The remains of the wine didn't deglaze as well as I'd like, but since I didn't throw any veggies into the pot, I'm not going to worry about it -- the meat soaked up enough not to need gravy.
In a word, yum.
Boomer's begging for his share now. Sorry, kitten...
(oh, and the wine was an Anakena merlot reservado, from Chile, if anyone's curious. $9.99 and good to drink, too.)
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Date: 2006-02-27 12:41 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 12:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 01:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-02-27 10:52 am (UTC)Using wine in the braising mixture often leads to a nicely crisped exterior -- the trick is to keep the braise to a slow, even, swirling simmer. Or so I'm guessing, based on experience. None of this is scientific, you understand. If the recipe is created under controlled circumstances, it ain't the Improvisational Chef.