Crock Pot to the Rescue - Again

There are days I am just unprepared. No ideas in mind for dinner at all. It's already after 10:30 AM and I have nothing thawed. What to do?

I went to the freezer and mulled a bit. We have a freezer full of a half a cow, so it isn't that there aren't options. Still. It's been such a long winter. Far too cold except very recently to even consider grilling. I have made my One Skillet Hamburger Meal about 15 times in the last few months. At least it seems that way. I've made stews over and over. A couple of roasts, either in the crock pot or oven. The trouble is that most of the meat is either hamburger or roasts. Some of them are cut strangely and look far different than what you see in the supermarket. Anyway, to make a long story shorter, I got out a chuck roast.

Crock Pot BBQ Chuck served on Root Vegetable Flatbread

The roast was probably about 2½ or 3 pounds, though I forgot to weigh it to see. It was very thick, but small enough around to set into my crock pot. To speed things up just a bit, I put the roast into the microwave to defrost just a little. I never thaw something completely in the microwave. I hate to even use the microwave at all, frankly. With that in mind, I set it to defrost something that weighed 1 pound. I turned it over twice during that short period. It was still hard as a rock when I was done, but I know it had to have some effect. 

Next I wondered what to do for flavor. My husband has always loved roast beef, but since he had some bad teeth, then had to have one extracted, and it didn't heal as well as it might have, due to constantly chomping down on things, he has been rather resistant to the idea of a roast. The pieces are larger, and it's too much bother to cut them smaller for eating. So I have made a couple of roasts, but he doesn't come back for leftovers. Not good, because that usually means I need to make something else. And who gets to eat the leftovers? 

I recently had made a new batch of my:

Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce

Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce

Makes 5 cups

2 tablespoons olive oil (or other cooking oil of choice)
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 teaspoon salt
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 jalapeno, seeds & membranes removed, finely minced
½ cup pineapple juice
¼ cup orange juice
3 tablespoons lime juice
3 tablespoons Barbecue Spice Mix (below)
1½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon celery seed
3 tablespoons yellow mustard
1 tablespoon tamarind paste
½ cup honey
3 cups ketchup
1 teaspoon liquid smoke, optional
6 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter cut into ½-inch cubes

Mince the garlic and the jalapeno together and set aside. Heat a large saucepan. Chop the onion finely. Put the oil into the hot pan and add the onion, along with the salt and sauté at medium heat for 15 - 20 minutes, or until the onion is deep golden brown. Add in the reserved garlic and jalapeno and sauté for 5 minutes more. Add in the juices and stir to dissolve any browned bits on the bottom of the pan. Add in the Barbecue Spice Mix, black pepper, ground ginger and celery seed and stir to combine. Add in the mustard and tamarind paste and stir to dissolve the tamarind. Add in the honey and ketchup, with the liquid smoke if using. Stir to combine all the ingredients. Bring the mixture to a boil, being very careful it does not splatter on you. Cover the pan, reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, remove lid and add in 2 little cubes of the cold butter at a time, stirring to dissolve before adding more.

Allow the sauce to cool before storing in the refrigerator. If desired, it may be frozen until needed. 

Barbecue Spice Mix

Barbecue Spices

Makes ½ cup

4 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons smoked paprika (Pimenton de la Vera)
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon ground cassia cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground thyme
¼ teaspoon ground white pepper
¼ teaspoon ground dried ginger
¼ teaspoon dried chipotle powder

Directions: Combine all herbs and spices together and store in a glass jar with tight fitting lid.

NOTES: If using as a spice rub for a meat, mix into the entire amount: ¼ cup each of Kosher Salt and light brown sugar. Mix well and rub all over one whole chicken, cut up and allow to rest overnight, refrigerated, before grilling.

I was thinking BBQ, though I had never really done this with beef. I decided to chop a half onion left in the fridge and threw that into the bottom of the crock pot. I set the roast on top of the onions, to allow some juices to get underneath the meat while cooking. I poured on 1 cup of the BBQ Sauce. I happened to have a bottle of Fonseca Bin 27 Port setting on the counter (we hadn't gotten around to finishing the bottle), so I poured in 1/2 cup of the port. I added 3 cloves of garlic, sliced very thinly, 2 little bay leaves and a teaspoon of salt. Put the lid on, turned it to the higher temperature and hoped for the best.

After 6 hours, the meat was tender and there was plenty of sauce in the pot, though it was thinner than my husband likes. It did have a lot of fat floating on top, so I took some paper towels and did a quick slide over the surface to pick up fat. It took quite a few of those half-sheets sized paper towels to get most of the extra fat off there. I took the roast out and mixed up about 3/4 cup of water with a half cup of flour and whisked that into the pot. Still on high, it came back to a simmer quickly, so I covered it and let it go. Meanwhile, I started pulling the meat off the bones and other thick things in there - I tell you, this "chuck" looks nothing like chuck in the grocery. All in all, there wasn't that much meat, considering the size of the original roast. It was still plenty though, so once I had it off bones, and took off any fat, I shredded the meat and added it back to the pot. It tasted really great. I am sure the port was not 100% necessary, but it would add just that little sweetness, so it's up to you.

Crock Pot BBQ Chuck

Crock Pot BBQ Chuck

Serves about 6

1 chuck roast 2½ to 3 pounds
1 cup Sweet Tangy BBQ Sauce, or your favorite brand
½ cup port, or other liquid
1 small onion, diced
2 - 3 gloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon salt

To Thicken:
½ to ¾ cup water
½ cup flour

Place the onion in the bottom of the crock pot and set the roast on top. Pour the BBQ sauce and port over the roast and add in the garlic, bay leaves and salt. Cover and cook about 6 hours on high if the roast is frozen or mostly frozen, or on low if the meat is thawed. Turn the meat over once during this period so both sides are flavored well. 

Once cooked through, remove the roast from the pot and set on a plate until cool enough to handle. Meanwhile, whisk together briskly the water and flour. If it is too lumpy, pour it through a strainer into the crock pot to thicken the sauce, whisking at first to blend well. Cover the pot while working with the meat, allowing the sauce to thicken and the starchy taste to cook out.

Remove any bones or large chunks of fat from the meat. Shred the meat as desired, then add it back to the pot to reheat through. This is good on a bun, or on my Root Vegetable Flatbreads.



My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.

A Little Wine Tasting Last Night

Sweet Salty Rolled Flank Steak

We had some new friends over last night and introduced them to some wines and wine and food pairings. It is a subject I am passionate about, as one can get the wrong impression about some wines if they are tasted alone, or with the wrong food for the wine. These new friends are involved in a fund raiser in town, where there will be a lot of wines to taste, with appetizers presented as well. My goal last evening was to have this couple recognize how much different a wine can taste when alone, versus with a food.  Then, tasted with a food that really does not pair well and again with a food that does pair well. We tasted 5 wines: a California Cabernet, an Australian Pinot Noir, a German Riesling Spatlese, a French Sauternes and a Warre's Warrior Port. I was not looking for very high-end wines, but mainly for wines that taste very good for their price range.

My Favorite Pesto Crostini

A little about my wine knowledge. I started learning about wine about 24 years ago. I am no sommelier, and have had no professional schooling on wine. When I met my husband and found he was interested in wine, we began going to local wine tastings. We bought a few bottles here or there, to try them out and find out what our taste was. We are lucky enough to both really prefer the same types of wines, in general. I bought Hugh Johnson's Wine Atlas of the World and read it cover to cover, taking notes all along the way. We continued tasting, and using my notes, went looking for wines Hugh Johnson wrote about. I ordered the Wine Spectator and read them religiously for years. I found that the ratings they gave for wines coincided with what I would rate those same wines; another felicitous happenstance. We began buying some wines with a little more forethought. I love to cook, so we had some lovely dinners, paired with some equally lovely wines. I got a better sense of what different wines tasted like, and was better able to pair the right wine with the foods. I made 5-course dinners, serving at least 4 and sometimes 5 different wines. Practice makes perfect. My food and wine pairings got better. My taste has refined.

Green Pea, Feta and Mint Spread

We began our wine tasting and learning in Florida 24 years ago, have traveled all over the US and lived in 8 states and soon-to-be 12 different houses since then. A few years back we chanced upon a wine store where they specialized in the road less traveled, so to speak. Wines from lesser known regions and of excellent quality were the norm, and we were introduced to smaller areas such as Faugeres, in France. I fell in love with the two wines we tried from Faugeres. The people at the store were extremely helpful. We came away with 2 bottles of this, 2 bottles of that and began filling our brand new 600 bottle cellar. More recent discoveries have been Torrontes and Albarino. I discovered a wonderful Red Zin from Pezzi King. I love French, South African and Australian wine styles best, but have had great wines from all over the world.


Savory Blue Cheese Coins with Apricot Jam

Some of the appetizers I made for last night's tasting were the Green Pea, Feta and Mint Spread, served with either Triscuit Black Pepper crackers or slices of toasted, fresh No-Knead Bread. I made a wonderful broiled flank steak, sliced it thinly and rolled the slices. I served little Savory Cheddar Crackers with a dab of Apricot Jam. I served more slices of No-Knead Bread spread with Basil Pesto, Parmesan Cheese and broiled briefly. I set out a tray with salami and cheese.

Some things we found were that the Green Pea Spread went perfectly with the German wine if spread onto the toasted No-Knead bread, but not if spread on the Black Pepper Triscuit crackers. The salami and cheese tray was best paired with the German Spatlese, though they also went well with the Cabernet; less so with the Pinot Noir. The Cheddar Crackers went okay with the Pinot Noir, but far better with the Cabernet. The rolled Flank Steak went well with either of the red wines - no surprise.

The dessert wines were tasted alone. I served a tiny dessert but it was not meant to pair with wine. If one has never tried a good dessert wine, such as a Sauternes, Trockenbeerenauslese, Ice Wine, Muscat or a good Port, the chances are about 50-50 whether they are enjoyed or not. This couple loved both the dessert wines, which was great. A truly great Port is a magical drink, but the Warre's Warrior is about as similar to a really good port as one can hope for, and at a fraction of the cost of a good aged vintage. A good time was had by all. The remnants of a lovely table are seen in this photo above, taken though my (empty) port glass.


My passion is teaching people how to create a harmony of flavors with their cooking, and passing along my love and joy of food, both simple or exotic, plain or fancy. I continue my journey in ethnic and domestic cuisines, continuing my journey to explore diverse culinary experiences and hopefully to start you on a journey of your own. Join me also at A Harmony of Flavors on Facebook, and Pinterest.