To Cook a Roast

First of all. My husband and father in law  taught me everything I know about cooking beef/moose roasts to perfection. Also now BTT is bitter Cos I’ve somewhat altered  his directions to suit my way of cooking

To Cook a Roast

1 roast, any cut

Garlic, 1-2 TBSP

Salt 2 TSP

Pepper, 1 Tsp

Paprika, 1TSP (optional. It’s one of 

my favourite versatile spices so I add it to every recipe possible)

Bbq sauce,  1/2-1CUP

Pickled sliced jalapeños, 4-12 slices, with brine, 1/4-1/2 

Uncooked bacon, 4-6 strips (optional. Use if cooking wild meat.)

1. He a thin layer of oil in pan big enough so your roast fits in it (I use cast iron)
2. Rub meat with garlic, salt, pepper and paprika (if you’re not in the mood for doing a rub, just sprinkle the spices over the meat.)
3. Brown as many sides of the roast as possible in the above-mentioned pan
4. Put the roast into a slow cooker
5. Deglaze the pan you used to brown the roast with about a cup of water. To do this, Dump the water into the still-hot pan, bring it to a boil, give it a little stir to loosen any pieces of meat or spice left on the pan.
6. Pour this over the meat.
7. Pour the bbq sauce over and around the meat.
8. Dump the jalapeños on top of the roast, pouring 1/4-1/2 cup of the brine over the meat
9. Layer bacon pieces on top of the meat
10. Add water. However much you think you need.  If you’re going to be making mashed potatoes and gravy at the end you’ll need a lot of broth; if not, you’ll need less, so add water accordingly.
11. Cook on low in the crockpot for 10-12 hours. At this point the meat should be cooked and ready to eat, but follow the next step to make it even better
12. Chop, pull, or slice meat and set aside the cooking broth.
13. Put it all back into the crockpot, along with some liquid for a couple more hours to finish tenderizing. If using roast for roast/ mashed potatoes meal, use a little of the broth in the meat; if making pulled pork, pour bbq sauce over it think this step is more important 

The Meat

The reason I don’t have a favourite cut is that we get whole animals cut at once instead of buying individual pieces at the store, so I don’t have as much control over which cut I cook. At some point I’ll have to cook them all.

We use a lot of wild meat (mostly elk and moose) but we do have occasional beef in our freezer too. I don’t think I’ve ever cooked a pork roast (except tenderloin) so I’m not sure how that would taste with this recipe, but this recipe is good for any beef, elk, moose, or deer roast, and even ribs.

The Jalapeños 

Surprisingly, these are not used to bring a spicy flavour to this recipe.  The jalapeños themselves might do that if you add enough of them, but it’s mostly the brine I like in this recipe. I’m not sure if my theory is legit or not, but I think the brine works to tenderize the meat. 

Speaking of tenderizing, when BTT went in search of a tenderizing agent the other day when he was making a roast, the only thing he found was a can of strawberry fruitopia left over from last winter’s boys class. He poured it over the meat and it worked well; it didn’t even leave a residual strawberry taste.  I love that streak of ingenuity in him. So if you don’t have jalapeños, but you do have strawberry fruitopia... 

The Bacon

This is a trick I learned from a friend named Krys. She had brought tacos to school for lunch and we were impressed. “This is delicious!” we all proclaimed. “Is it pork?”

“It’s elk,” she replied, and we gasped with delighted shock. (Or maybe I made most of that up.) Then she shared her unsecret method: layering bacon over wild meat as it cooks allows the fats and flavours from the bacon to run into the wild meat, giving the finished product a more domesticated and familiar flavour.  Magic. Sometimes I do use this trick, but more often I forget it.  Either way, bacon does enhance the flavour and really does work the way Krys said it did. 

The Uses

The reason this has been a go-to recipe for me is becos we inherited a lot of roasts once when BTTs parents were cleaning out their freezers. Becos we’re only two people and public health orders have kept us from having a lot of company this year, one roast goes a long way for us. We know that when we make it, we’ll be eating on it for several days.

• Use the cooking broth to make gravy and serve with the roast, mashed potatoes, and some kind of vegetable or salad. This traditional meal is not my favourite so I don’t make it a lot.  Brent enjoys it though so we’ve started making this meal together when we’re home on Sunday.
•  Mix with enchilada sauce and make enchiladas 
• For the following recipes, add bbq sauce at step 13 of the recipe                                              *serve in buns, pulled pork style.                                                           *Serve in fresh tortillas as pork tacos                                                     *Roll with in cheese into tortillas to make taquitos. Brush with oil and brown under the broiler                                                                           *Use cheese and meat and pineapple (optional) to make quesadillas.  Add to cabbage mixture to make stir fry Or spring rolls.  *use on pizza or if you’re in a hurry and have a loaf of bread, make French bread pizza.                                                                               *serve over baked potatoes (I haven’t tried this.)