Back On The Rack

      Every time I use the roasting rack in my fancy cookpot, I become more fond of it.  Friday, I encountered a massive pot roast at the grocer's.  Once he was out of the way--

      No.  It was a real pot roast, not a figurative one, tipping the scales at 3.8 pounds and priced to move.  I picked up a turnip,* carrots, celery, fresh mushrooms, a good-sized potato and an onion to replenish the stock.

      Saturday afternoon along about two, I fried a couple of strips of applewood-smoked bacon in the bottom of the pot.  Once the bacon was underway, I sprinkled the pot roast with coarse kosher salt, pepper and some garlic powder.  Once the bacon was crisp and draining on paper towel, I browned the roast very thoroughly on all sides in the left-over bacon fat, adding to Italian mix seasoning.

      Once the roast was browned, I set it out and drained the excess fat, being careful to leave any solid bits.  I added a couple of cups of water, brought it to a boil, and poured in a sachet of dehydrated bone broth powder.  I stirred it thoroughly, set the rack into the pan (the top of it was well clear of the broth), put the roast on it, layered the bacon on top of the roast, put the lid on, set a timer for an hour and went to do other things. (I set another timer for three and a half hours; this is one of the handy things about having a sessile robot in the house: all you have to do is ask.)

      An hour later, I peeled the turnip, cut it into large chunks, sprinkled a little garam masala on it and dropped it in.  I added three bay leaves, one with the turnip chunks and the others on top of the bacon.  I set another hour timer.

      After that, I added the potato, also cut in large chunks, with a little pepper and smoked paprika, followed once the pot was steaming by the carrot, celery and onion.  I took my time preparing and adding each ingredient.  My "existing stock of onions" turned out to be one well-sprouted and one gone a bit moldy, so it was a good thing I'd bought another.

      At about the two and a half hour mark, I added the mushrooms.  They were pretty big, so I cut them into largeish sections.  A half-hour later, I had a look.  Everything looked done and a check with the meat thermometer showed the roast was cooked.  I set it on a big cutting board, drained the broth into a grease separator, and poured the separated broth back over the vegetables.  The meat was tender, with a well-done end for me and a rarer end for Tam; it sliced up with only a little falling apart.

      The end result was flavorful.  The slow-cooked potato had taken up the flavor of the broth and the other vegetables were singing harmony.

      There were leftovers enough for two gallon-size freezer bags, each holding dinner for two or perhaps three.
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* Some of you look askance at turnips.  You're missing out; they're spicy and complex.  I can see a certain skepticism of swedes (rutabagas), which are a lot milder and usually coarser, but turnips are darned good, especially in stews and soups.  Either one will do anything you can do with a potato, usually with a bit more verve.  Oh well, all the more for me!