Pot Roast
Ingredients
Directions
Brown the roast
Heat a kettle until very hot.
Add 1 tablespoon of lard and slice 1 small onion; let it brown slightly.
Place the roast in the kettle and turn until browned on both sides.
Season with coarse sea salt and add a small amount of water to prevent burning.
Braise
Continue adding water as needed until the roast is done, about 2 hours for a small roast.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
What each ingredient does
- Lard
- Fat that conducts heat well and helps the roast brown and develop savory flavor.
- Onion
- Softens and browns in the fat, adding sweetness and aroma to the cooking liquid.
- Small roast
- Main protein that becomes tender through long, moist, slow cooking.
The step that matters
Keep adding water as needed. Without enough liquid the pan can scorch and the meat can dry out. Slow simmering in moisture breaks down connective tissue, so the roast becomes tender rather than tough.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
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