Tuesday, August 10, 2010

I Heart Cooking Club - Pot Roast with Cranberries

This week the theme is "Potluck". Tonight I prepared an entree from Mark Bittman's THE MINIMALIST COOKS DINNER (Broadway, 2001) called Pot Roast with Cranberries; however, I substituted a pork tenderloin for the beef.  OMG, it was fabulous! No leftovers! This is definitely a keeper.

 

Pot Roast with Cranberries

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon butter or extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 2- to 3-pound piece of chuck or brisket
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/2 cup sherry vinegar or good wine vinegar
  • 12 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
  • 1 orange
  • Cayenne

Directions

Put the butter in a casserole or a skillet and turn the heat to medium-high. Put the sugar on a plate and dredge the meat in it until all the surfaces are coated. Reserve the remaining sugar. When the butter foam subsides, brown the meat on all sides--this will take about 15 minutes--seasoning it with salt and pepper as it browns.

When the meat is nicely browned, add the vinegar and cook for a minute, stirring. Add the cranberries and remaining sugar and stir. Strip the zest from the orange (you can do it in broad strips, with a small knife or vegetable peeler) and add it to the skillet. Juice the orange and add the juice also, along with a pinch of cayenne. Turn the heat to low and cover; the mixture should bubble but not furiously.

Cook, turning the meat and stirring about every 30 minutes, for 2 hours or longer, or until the meat is tender. When the meat is done, taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Turn off the heat and let the roast rest for a few minutes, then carve and serve, with the sauce.

With Minimal effort: Faster Pot Roast with Cranberries: Substitute a 2- to 3-pound piece of tenderloin (filet mignon) for the chuck or brisket and reduce the cooking time to about 1 hour, or until the internal temperature is 125 to 130 degrees (medium-rare); you can cook it longer than that if you like.

9 comments:

  1. Wow, I can imagine the cranberries would give great flavour and tenderness. Great pick!

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  2. I like your substitution--pork with cranberries is such a great combination. Great job!

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  3. I think that is a natural marriage, cranberries and pork. Makes me long for Thanksgiving but who needs to wait! I could make this next week.
    Nice post :-)

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  4. Wow, what a great dish and I like your idea of substituting pork. We are still languishing in winter weather here, so this is a great time for me to try this. Thanks so much for sharing.
    Sue

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  5. I can tell by the picture that was perfectly glazed and delicious. This is exactly the kind of food that I'm craving right now. I'm ready for the comfort food of fall. Thanks for joining us at IHCC.

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  6. Mmm I've been craving cranberries lately and have some in the freezer. Perfect!

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  7. Sounds lovely, full of flavour, and great for a cold night. Think I'll add this to my must try for fall.

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  8. Hi, I wanted to let you know that after IHCC finished cooking with Bittman, a few of us have taken up the mantel and are hosting a monthly Tackling Bittman blog hop. We open the Linky the first Thursday in every month and I would love it if you would join in with us sometime - linking up any previous Bittman post is perfectly fine also. Here is the link if you're interested

    http://couscous-consciousness.blogspot.com/2010/12/tackling-bittman-recipe-hop-volume-2.html

    Sue :-)

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