Picante Pot Roast

 

                This luscious dish works best with chuck, preferably the boneless shoulder cut. When cooked long and slow, chuck shreds as easily as cotton and absorbs these lively seasonings as smartly as a biscuit takes gravy.

Serves 6 to 8

• One 3-pound boneless shoulder chuck roast
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, slivered
• 1 to 2 pickled jalapeno, slivered
• Lone Star Dry Rub (click here for the recipe) or similar blend of dry Southwestern seasonings
• 2 tablespoons bacon drippings or oil, canola or corn
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• 20 ounces peeled whole tomatoes plus 1 to 2 chopped roasted green chiles, preferably New Mexican, or 2 x 10-ounce cans Ro-Tel tomatoes and green chiles
• 1 cup unsalted beef stock
• 6 small carrots, cut in halves
• 1½ medium onions, sliced in rings

1. Insert the garlic and jalapeno slivers into openings in the meat's surface ; rub the meat well with the dry rub or other seasoning blend, and let it sit about 30 minutes to come close to room temperature.
2. Preheat the oven to 300F (150C).
3. Heat the bacon drippings or oil in a heavy lidded skillet or Dutch oven ; dredge the meat in the flour, and brown it in the drippings or oil, and turn off the heat.
4. Pour in the tomatoes and ½ cup of stock, and add the carrots and onions to the pan ; cover the pan tightly, and bake the roast for 4 hours.
5. Check the meat after 3 hours, and add more stock if it is getting dry ; if it seems a little soupy, uncover it for the last 30 minutes of baking.
6. The meat should be falling-apart tender when done ; serve the meat and vegetables hot.

BON APPÉTIT