Santa Maria Pot Roast
Have you ever had smoked tri-tip? It’s truly, truly delicious. The blend of seasonings is usually the same across the board, a mix of savory with a hint of sweetness. The meat is tender and juicy; it’s hard to stop eating, really. If I had a smoker and an unlimited meat budget we’d eat it once a week. Alas, life has its boundaries and those two conditions are out of reach so I let go of that fairy tale. Then, I stumbled across the idea of usin ga similar seasoning blend on a chuck roast and letting it get nice and crispy on the edges to kind of (sort of) replicate a smoked tri tip. Is it the same? No, but it’s pretty darn delicious and much more attainable on a regular Sunday with my limited resources.
Ingredients:
2-3 pound chuck roast, cut in half lengthwise
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon italian seasoning
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon onion powder
black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1-2 cups chicken broth
more salt and a teaspoon of red wine vinegar to finish
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. Grab a large dutch oven and place the two halved roast pieces in the pot. Sprinkle over the sal, italian seasoning, smoked paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, brown sugar, dijon mustard, and red wine vinegar. Use your hands to run it all over the roast. Pour enough chicken broth around the side of the roast to come up almost halfway.
Pop it in the oven for 90 minutes. At this point, check the liquid level to make sure it’s not getting too low. You don’t want it to get below the 1 inch point on the meat.
Cook for another 90 minutes and take it out of the oven. It should shred apart easily. If not, pop it in for another 30-60 minutes until the meat is fork tender.
When it’s shreddable, pull it into chunks, removing any large fatty pieces. Let the meat settle in the juices. Bump the oven temperature up to 450 and put the pot back in the oven uncovered for another 10 minutes. This will give the top a bit of crispy bits. It’s ready to serve!
