Cookin' ATVS Style: Cajun Pot Roast, with Abita Turbodog

I spent most of Tuesday in, well...what you might call a bit of a funk, but writing the Aftermath post was at least therapeutic enough to get me up and moving, and it occurred to me that some comfort food would be nice. So it was off to the grocery, where the inspiration hit me -- pot roast.

There's a recipe in the Abita beer cookbook (something I've referenced in the past) for it, but I kind of winged it and put my own spin on the recipe. For one, I used Turbodog instead of Abita Amber, mostly because that's what was in six-packs at the grocery store. It's hard to know if it makes a difference without trying it both ways, but this is pot roast, and everybody has their own version, right?

Ingredients

1 3-3.5 pound beef roast
2 small onions, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 cup diced celery, diced
½ cup oil
½ cup flour
4-5 cloves garlic
1 can condensed beef broth
1 bottle Abita Turbodog
¼ cup worcestshire sauce
¼ tsp thyme leaves
¼ tsp paprika
¼ tsp red pepper
¼ tsp white pepper
½ tsp garlic powder

Note: Again, at a recommendation from Kleph, I poured the beer into a measuring cup and allowed it to sit a while and get flat. It's been said that when cooking with beer, this helps enhance the flavor.

Instructions

1. Take a knife and pierce the roast a few times, cutting slits and inserting the garlic cloves. Dust it lightly with salt and pepper, or your favorite Cajun seasoning like Tony Chachere's or Slap Ya Mama. Pre-heat an oven to 350 degrees.

2. Heat the oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat, and brown the roast on both sides. Remove from the pot and set aside.

3. Whisk the Flour into the oil and make a light brown roux.

4. Add the diced vegetables and sauté until wilted, stirring to make sure the roux coats as much as possible.

5. Add the can of beef broth, the beer, the worcestshire and the seasonings, stirring constantly to maintain a good consistency.

6. Bring the mixture to a boil, and simmer for 5 minutes or so to let the flavors marry. Adjust your seasonings as needed to fit your taste. Then return the roast to the pot, cover and place in the oven for 3 hours or until the meat is tender.

7. When done, remove the roast from the gravy and allow to rest on a platter for 10 minutes or so before slicing and serving. I served this over a bead of steamed rice, and it'll serve 6-8 people.