Cranberry Balsamic Pot Roast
I am utterly fascinated with what foods different families and cultures include in their holiday celebrations. Not having come from family with strong food opinions and traditions, it feels like peeling back the wrapping paper to listen in on what others consider holiday food musts. I know many families are team turkey for Christmas, while others are beef roast advocates. Still others have other cultural influences...there are as many opinions as there are families celebrating around the world. I personally like to switch to a luscious braised beef dish for our Christmas table as I’ve not yet grown an appetite for another turkey dinner so soon after Thanksgiving. I’ll never forget the year I burned our (quite expensive) beef roast to a crisp. I’ve improved my timer setting skills a bit since then and like to experiment with different pairings in our roast. This cranberry balsamic roast was inspired by a bag of leftover cranberries I snagged on sale after Thanksgiving and it delivers all the sweet and savory notes with a hint of acid that has us coming back for seconds!
Ingredients:
Makes 8 servings
1-2 tablespoons olive oil or ghee
2-ish pound chuck roast
generous salt and pepper
1 onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
1 cup cranberries, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons thyme and rosemary, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Heat an oven proof dutch oven over medium heat. Salt and pepper your roast generously. Put some oil or ghee in the pan and brown the roast on all sides. While the meat is browning, cut the onion and garlic. When the meat is browned all around, set it aside and put the veggies in the pot. Add the cranberries, balsamic vinegar, beef broth, brown sugar, herbs, and mustard to the pan and give it all a good stir, scraping the bottom of the pan to get the browned bits up. Snuggle the roast down in the middle and put the lid on. Pop it in the oven for about 3 hours, checking for adequate liquid about halfway through. If it’s getting dry, add more broth. The roast should be very fork tender and easily pulled apart when it’s done. Serve over golden mashed potatoes with the cranberry juices and enjoy!
