Recipe Rating: EASY*
This is a recipe I found years ago in a cookbook put together by a women’s group my mother was in. It became an instant favorite for my beef loving crew, and I like it because I can throw it on and pretty much forget about it til dinner. Plus, it will feed a small army for not much money. A win/win/win situation! I usually make this dish with an arm roast but a chuck or rump roast will work, too. I used a chuck below because Walmart didn’t have an arm roast.
The key to this recipe is time–Not prep time because it’s super fast to put together–but time to cook. It needs at least 8 hours to simmer–12 or more in a slow cooker.
Here’s what you need–plus some red wine, a little chili powder, grated black pepper, and a pinch of cinnamon. Sorry. I left a few ingredients out of the picture. And I added something that I didn’t use–salt. What can I say–I got distracted. Trust me when I say you don’t want to know why.
Put a 3 to 4 lb. roast in your cooker of choice. I use a dutch oven on top of the stove. Add 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano, 2 tsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 tsp dried rosemary), 1 1/2 tsp savory, 1/2 tsp chili powder, a tiny pinch of cinnamon, and 3 cloves of minced garlic to the pot. Pour in 1 can of onion soup–I used French Onion because that was all I could find. Any type of onion soup will work as long as it’s not cream of onion–you could even use a bouillon cube dissolved in a cup of water and add a thinly sliced onion. Lastly add 1/4 cup of red wine and 1/4 c. water.
And that’s it! Flip the roast over a few times to mix the spices into the liquid and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, clamp on the lid, and cook for 8 hours.
About 4 hours in, check the liquid and add a good dusting of freshly grated pepper and salt to taste, if necessary.
After 8 hours, the roast should be very tender and soupy–fork tender and almost falling apart. If it’s not, put the lid back on, and cook it til it is. Then shred the meat with two forks.
Spoon onto buns and serve extra sauce on the side for dipping. This is also good over mashed potatoes or rice. Versatile little recipe, eh?
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3-4 lb arm roast (or chuck or butt or any kind of roast) 1 1/2 tsp dried oregano 2 tsp fresh minced rosemary or 1 tsp dried rosemary 1 1/2 tsp savory 3 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 tsp chili powder pinch cinnamon 1 can onion soup (broth not creamed soup) or 1 bouillion cube dissolved in 1 c. water 1/4 c. water 1/4 c. red wine Put the roast in a dutch oven. Sprinkle the spices and garlic over the roast. Mix soup, 1/4 c. water, and 1/4 c. red wine together and pour over the roast. Flip the roast over a couple of times to mix in the spices. Bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for 4 hours and taste the liquid. Add a good grating of fresh pepper and if necessary, salt. Put the lid back on and cook another 4 hours. Roast should be soupy, very tender, and falling apart. Shred meat into the broth with two forks and serve on buns or over mashed potatoes or rice.
