Sauté pan pot roast

Winter is for braising and so are sauté pans. I have a six-quart All-Clad pan that I love and have been wanting to cook one of the roasts we've got in the freezer and pulled a chuck roast on Friday night for supper today. Perfect for winter Sunday supper!

Then it was unseasonably warm today but whatever.

Anyway, this turned out well and I was sort of winging it based loosely on The Food Lab's All-American beef stew but didn't have an actual recipe—so am preserving this for posterity.

Yes, I add MSG. If you do eat foods like miso, Parmesan, dashi, Marmite, soy sauce, Worcestershire, anchovies, but never use MSG, you should reconsider—here's David Chang on the science behind MSG.

Served this with Yorkshire pudding and that turned out great. Could be really good with mashed potatoes, too, but then I'd leave out the potatoes in the liquid, maybe substituting rutabaga or parsnips instead.

Stovetop Pot Roast
Serves 6-8
3 lb chuck roast, quartered
beef drippings, duck fat, or neutral oil (high smoke point)
1 medium carrot, peeled and quartered lengthwise
3 whole stalks celery
1 medium yellow onion, peeled and quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled and halved lengthwise
4 large anchovies, coarsely chopped

2 cups beef stock (from bouillon is fine), hot
1 tbsp gelatin
3-4 dashes Worcestershire sauce
Big pinch MSG

1 cup full-bodied red wine

small bunch fresh thyme (or two big pinches dried thyme)

2-3 bay leaves
3 dried shiitake mushrooms
4 small Yukon gold potatoes, large chopped

4 medium carrots, peeled and cut in a (as a?) faux tourné

4 medium shallots, peeled and quartered
200g mushrooms, quartered

salt and fresh ground pepper
chopped fresh parsley

Pat meat dry and season on all sides. Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil over medium heat until hot enough that the meat sizzles enthusiastically when added to the pan. Brown on all sides, then move to one side of saute pan off direct heat. Over direct heat, add yellow onion, celery stalks, and long quarters of carrots. Turn once as they start to brown and then add garlic and anchovies.

While meat and vegetables are browning, sprinkle gelatin over beef stock and whisk to dissolve. Shake in a few dashes of Worcestershire, add a big pinch of MSG, and give another quick whisk.

When vegetables are browned, deglaze the pan with red wine. When all brown bits are scraped up, redistribute the meat to the centre of the pan in a single layer. Turn the heat down low. Add broth mixture, thyme, bay leaves, shiitake mushrooms, and potatoes. Nuzzle the herbs and veggies around the meat, then cover and braise over low heat for an hour.

Remove whole celery sticks, long pieces of carrots, onion quarters, and thyme stems. Garlic and anchovies will have melted into the liquid. Taste braising liquid and season. Now add faux tourné carrots, mushroom quarters, and shallots. Cover again and simmer for another 45 minutes.

When meat is pull-apart tender and vegetables are cooked, the meal is ready. Garnish with chopped fresh parsley to taste. Serve meat and veggies with fresh bread or Yorkshire pudding and braising liquid served as gravy.