Back in 2016, I read an article in the NYT by Sam Sifton about Mississippi Pot Roast. What attracted me the most: the addition of the pepperoncini peppers and liquid. I vowed to make it to find out how something as ridiculous as packet Ranch dressing (of which I have never put even a drop in my mouth, surprise surprise) and pepperoncini peppers could turnout so well. Wasn't intuitive to me at all. But alas, I never got around to it.
Then today, from Serious Eats, comes this:
One of the easiest meals to [braise] is Mississippi pot roast: a tangy, savory chuck roast typically made by slow cooking the meat with a packet of ranch seasoning, au jus gravy mix, a stick of butter, and a handful of jarred pepperoncini.
The dish reportedly has its roots in Ripley, Mississippi; according to Sam Sifton, the former deputy dining editor of the New York Times, Mississippi roast rose to fame after a woman named Robin Chapman shared her recipe with a friend, Karen Farese, who then contributed it to her church’s community cookbook. “By fits and starts at first, and more recently in droves, people began sharing the image and the recipe...." said the NYT Sam Sifton, in 2016. According to Google data, searches of the term “Mississippi roast” have steadily risen over the past 14 years....
It’s no surprise that home cooks have taken to the roast: It’s exceedingly simple, and most iterations of the dish call for nothing more than chuck roast, a few shelf-stable packaged ingredients, and a slow cooker. Though store-bought products are handy in a pinch, we were curious to see how much more delicious a from-scratch version could be. With that in mind, our Birmingham, Alabama-based test kitchen colleague Elizabeth Mervosh set out to develop the very best Mississippi pot roast recipe—one that doesn’t require much more effort than the original slow-cooker version, but is just as (if not even more!) flavorful. Here’s how she did it.
Sear Your Beef—but Halve It First
Searing is one of the easiest ways to give meat flavor; the high heat initiates the Maillard reaction—a series of chemical reactions that occurs when heat transforms proteins and sugars in food, resulting in more complex flavors and aromas. One of the best reasons to skip the slow cooker is that you can sear it (while some slow cookers have a sear function, not all do—and the sear function doesn't always work great on the ones that have it.) Because browning a three-pound piece of beef can be an unwieldy task, our recipe calls for cutting the roast into two steaks before searing it. Not only does this make the beef easier to work with, but it also speeds up the cooking time and, more importantly, maximizes the surface area for browning—and therefore flavor development.
Add gelatin
For a sauce with more body, Mervosh fortifies the broth with gelatin. It’s a trick that former Serious Eats editor Kenji and our current editorial director Daniel use in some recipes, including all-American beef stew and shepherd’s pie, to thicken sauces without drastically changing their flavor. “That’s always been my one hang-up with this dish: The beef is so rich, but the sauce usually has a watery texture,” Mervosh wrote in her testing notes for this recipe. A few teaspoons of powdered gelatin is all it takes to transform a soupy sauce into a velvety one that’s just thick enough to coat a spoon.
Don't Overcook It
Another good reason we choose the stovetop over the slow cooker for this recipe is to mitigate the risk of overcooking the meat and making it tough and dry. A long, slow braise can yield tender meat, but it is possible to overcook your beef. “When stewing meat, you’re playing a racing game between two simultaneous processes," Kenji wrote in his beef stew recipe. "First is the conversion of connective tissues to gelatin. This softens the meat and makes it moister. On the other hand, muscle proteins are constantly contracting and squeezing out internal moisture. This hardens the meat and makes it tougher.” His solution, and Mervosh’s, is to crack the lid during cooking, which keeps the temperature consistent and prevents the stew from getting too hot.
Recreate the Flavors of Ranch With Buttermilk and Fresh Dill
Instead of ready-made ranch seasoning, we incorporate fresh dill and whole buttermilk (essential ingredients in classic ranch dressing) into the pot roast, which gives the dish a herbaceous, tangy flavor. We incorporate the buttermilk at the very end and, to prevent the dairy from curdling, we temper the dairy with some of the hot braising liquid. Curdling can happen when there’s a rapid temperature change, and tempering is a technique that helps minimize that: To temper, you whisk a small amount of hot liquid into cold dairy or eggs, warming them up, before stirring that tempered mixture back into a larger pot of hot liquid.
Prep Time:
30 mins
Cook Time:
3 hrs 25 mins
Ingredients
One 3-pound (1360g) boneless chuck roast, excess fat trimmed
1 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons (30ml) canola oil
4 cups (946ml) unsalted chicken stock
Two 1/4-ounce packets unflavored gelatin (16g; about 5 1/2 teaspoons)
5 medium cloves garlic (25g), smashed and peeled
1 small bunch fresh dill (14g), with 1 tablespoon (2g) chopped dill reserved for garnish
6 medium jarred pepperoncini salad peppers (3 1/2 ounces; 100g), rinsed, plus 1 tablespoon (15ml) liquid from jar, divided
1/2 cup (120ml) whole buttermilk
Directions
Adjust oven rack to lowest position, and preheat oven to 300°F (150°C). Place chuck roast, flat side down, on a cutting board; cut in half horizontally to create 2 steaks. Season all over with salt and black pepper. In a large Dutch oven, heat oil over medium-high heat until shimmering. Working with one piece at a time, sear chuck roast steaks until deeply browned on both sides, 5 to 8 minutes per side, reducing heat as needed to prevent overbrowning. Transfer chuck roast to a 9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet. Remove Dutch oven from heat, and carefully pour drippings into a small heatproof bowl to cool; discard.
While chuck roast browns, pour stock into a large bowl, and sprinkle with gelatin. Let stand until fully hydrated, about 10 minutes.
Add gelatin mixture, garlic, and dill to Dutch oven. Return chuck roast steaks and any accumulated juices to Dutch oven. Top roast with pepperoncini peppers. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Cover, leaving the lid slightly cracked open (about 1/2-inch), and braise in oven until roast is fork-tender, 2 hours 45 minutes to 3 hours. Carefully transfer roast to a work surface; using 2 forks, shred into large pieces, discarding any big pieces of fat.
Remove from heat, and stir in pepperoncini liquid.
In a small bowl, whisk buttermilk and 1/2 cup hot braising liquid from Dutch oven until well combined. Whisk buttermilk mixture into remaining braising liquid in Dutch oven. Return shredded roast to Dutch oven, and stir to combine. Garnish with chopped dill.
Gelatin? Great idea. Buttermilk and fresh dill? Yes! Okay, now I've GOT to do this.