Adventures in Pot Roast & Mixed Berry Cobbler (cobbler recipe inside!)

Well I figured out I can make a decent meal that takes more than a half hour to make. I made my dad's pot roast recipe yesterday and it came out really well...well except for the gravy

I'm cooking illiterate and I had to make a White Roux. Well my dad was alittle vague on the steps so after trying to make one 3 times (and ruining a frying pan..went to dump out the first one and I touched a plastic bag in the trash. Couldn't get it all off. D'oh), I wound up having some iffy gravy when the roast was done so I dumped it. I didn't think the roast needed it, but my dad was like "What? You threw out the best part!". Even so, it was still very good, and my wife and I had no complaints. She said she wouldnt've used it anyway. She's never had RB with gravy anyway apparently Ah well, I'll do it next time. I find a video on google that shows how to make one and it's more clear to me now. I also didn't know you're supposed to flip the roast halfway through...again he missed that step in the recipe But again, it was sitll very good.

I also made a Mixed Berry Cobbler that I saw on Good Eats on the Food Network. It was great, and simple to make. Here's the recipe.

Cobbler Topping

In one bowl combine (just use your hands):

5 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 1 cup
2/3 cup sugar
*1 1/2 cups chopped nuts such as; walnuts, pecans, or almonds
**1 1/2 cups crushed crackers, gingersnaps or cereal
4 ounces unsalted butter, cubed and chilled

*The nuts are optional, I didn't use any.

**I used Graham Crackersl.

Berry Mix

In a seperate bowl combine (again, just use your hands):

*12 ounces frozen berries
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cornstarch
**1/2 cup plus 2 cups of the cobbler topping

*I used mixed berries. Blue, Rasp & Strawberry.

**The episode on tv said 1/2 cup, not 1/2 cup plus 2 cups. I just used about 1 cups worth. Whatever looked good

Either divide the berry mix among seperate bowls, ramakins etc.. (I used shallow flat bottom soup bowls that have handles) or put into a small casserole dish and top with the cobbler topping. If you use individual bowls or ramakins, put them on a cookie sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 30-35 minutes until the fruit bubbles and the topping is nice and brown and crispy.

Let cool for 15 minutes before eating. If you don't, the juice from the berries won't have time to turn into a thicker syrup, and well, you'll burn your mouth

yum! that cobbler sounds delish!! I love that show, Good Eats, its very informative as well as having tasy recipes RB is a tricky one my mom makes it the same way everytime and sometimes its great, other times its like shoe leather

Originally Posted by katiemae1277

yum! that cobbler sounds delish!! I love that show, Good Eats, its very informative as well as having tasy recipes

RB is a tricky one

my mom makes it the same way everytime and sometimes its great, other times its like shoe leather

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Well making the RB itself was easy, it was just the Roux I screwed up, which in turn screwed up the Gravy. Here is what I did:

2-5lb Chuck Pot Roast

Heat a pot on high on until it's hot and smokes a bit. Add just enough olive oil to cover the bottom of the pan, then put in the meat and brown it on all sides (open a window, you'll smoke up the house) *lol*

Then add one cup of Tawny Port Wine and let it reduce to about half (without a lid). After that reduces, add one can of beef broth. Cover and drop the heat to low and let simmer for about an hour and a half - 2 hours depending on the size of the roast.

Flip it over (which I didn't know I had to do), and add the White Roux, 3 cloves of garlic crushed/minced, and salt/pepper. Cover and let cook for another hour to hour and a half until a fork pushes easily into the roast and you can tell it's very tender and will fall apart.

Then, take out the roast and put on a plate to carve. Bring the gravy to a boil until it thickens to the desired amount.

The Roux recipe my dad told me was to just heat 2 tbsp of flour and an equal amount of butter over high heat, whisking constantly until it forms sort of a tan glue look. Where I screwed up was, I probably should've started on maybe medium high heat, melted the butter first, THEN put in the flour. I put everything in all at once, which is what he said to do.

But I've read everything from using just flour and oil (from Emeril) to using more flour than butter (4tbsp butter, 6 tbsp flour), melting the butter first on medium high, then putting in the flour until you smell like it's toasting and it starts coming together. Then lower the heat and stir for an additional 2 minutes. That one comes from Alton Brown. I really wish they'd air the Gravy Confidential episode again so I could make sure

I love a good pot roast but I NEEEEEED my gravy.

I've never put the roux in before the roast was finished. When the meat is finished I bring the remaining liquid to a boil and thicken it with just flour shaken up with cold water and stirred into the boiling liquid. Bring to a boil again and let it cook the flour for a couple minutes. (The secret to no lump gravy is always have the liquid HOT and the flour/water mixture COLD and stir while adding the cold to hot. You should never get any lumps if you do that.

The only time I add a roux to anything before it is finished cooking is in the case of a beef stew or something of that nature that I want the juices to be a bit thicker.

Making a roux is very simple. I don't actually usually measure - just use a chunk of butter and add whatever flour I think to make a certain consistency. I just cook it on medium heat until it smells "nutty". It's really just to cook the flour

Originally Posted by Yosemite

I love a good pot roast but I NEEEEEED my gravy.

I've never put the roux in before the roast was finished. When the meat is finished I bring the remaining liquid to a boil and thicken it with just flour shaken up with cold water and stirred into the boiling liquid. Bring to a boil again and let it cook the flour for a couple minutes. (The secret to no lump gravy is always have the liquid HOT and the flour/water mixture COLD and stir while adding the cold to hot. You should never get any lumps if you do that.

The only time I add a roux to anything before it is finished cooking is in the case of a beef stew or something of that nature that I want the juices to be a bit thicker.

Making a roux is very simple. I don't actually usually measure - just use a chunk of butter and add whatever flour I think to make a certain consistency. I just cook it on medium heat until it smells "nutty". It's really just to cook the flour

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Thanks, I'll try that next time.

I'm going to be doing a Port Wine Chicken recipe that calls for a Roux and I don't want to screw it up again

..need to buy another frying pan though

Actually, you can make a roux very easily and quickly in the microwave and you don't burn anything! Just make sure you whisk it well!

Originally Posted by LokisMum

Actually, you can make a roux very easily and quickly in the microwave and you don't burn anything! Just make sure you whisk it well!

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Really. How would you do it that way?