Above: With a skillet instead of an outdoor grill, you can enjoy a pot roast year-round. (Photo: Mary Jane Miller)
By Mary Jane Miller
The words “pot roast” evoke cozy thoughts of tender beef with roasted vegetables and gravy. What’s not to love? This recipe breaks all the pot roast rules and cooks it fast and hot to a juicy medium-rare.
When my parents were first married, in the ’50s, they loved the marinated pot roast from a meat market on the northeast corner of University Avenue and Merle Hay Road. The owner wouldn’t divulge the recipe, so Dad just figured it out.
Back then, backyard portable grills were new, and grilling out became a summer Sunday ritual for my parents and Mom’s sister’s family. There were often barbecue-glazed canned hams, burgers, and hot dogs on the grill, but the pot roast was a favorite.
As I grew up, the canned hams on the grill fell out of favor, but the pot roast remained. It was what I asked Mom to make for my birthday dinner.
These days, I have my own grill and have updated the soy-sauced base marinade a bit, with fresh herbs. I also use a boneless chuck roast since I can no longer find my Mom’s favorite “7 bone” roast, so named because the center bone is shaped like the number 7. To make the meal more manageable for two, I now use an arm roast. It’s a smaller, more tender cut of the chuck but still has that good beefy flavor. It’s also leaner and has a neat blocky shape that’s easy to slice. I like to make it year-round.
To avoid time on the cold and often snowy deck, I’ve adapted it to indoor life using a cast-iron skillet on the stove and a quick finish in the oven. One side benefit of this shift indoors: The mustard seeds in the marinade pop in the hot skillet, making a savory crunchy crust on the beef.
In a square glass pan, stir together ½ cup of soy sauce, ¼ cup of water, the juice of one lemon, 2 cloves of finely minced or pressed garlic, 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped rosemary, 1 tablespoon of fresh chopped thyme, 1 tablespoon of mustard seeds, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Slice up the rind from the juiced lemon and toss it in. Add a 2-pound beef arm roast and turn it to coat. Let it marinate at room temperature, turning occasionally, for 2 hours or cover and chill for up to 8 hours.
Heat your oven to 425 degrees. Then heat a large cast-iron skillet over high heat until it’s smoking hot. Drizzle in a tablespoon of olive oil. Lift the beef out of the marinade and place it in the skillet. Cook it until it’s well seared on one side, about 5 minutes. Turn and immediately put in the oven. Roast until its internal temperature reaches 125 degrees, about 10 minutes. Remove it and set it on a cutting board to rest 10 minutes before slicing it thinly across the grain.
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