I'm making Slow-cooked Scandinavian Pot Roast for tonight's dinner. (Easy)

[Wordie]

In the next couple of hours, the aroma will start wafting through the kitchen...mmmm. And it's very easy. Here's the recipe:

1 (2 to 3 1/2 pound) boneless beef chuck roast (remove any extra fat)
1 yellow onion, sliced thin
12 oz can of beer
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoon (packed) dark brown sugar
2 tablespoon fresh dill (snipped), OR 1 teaspoon dried dill
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 small bay leaves

Put the chuck roast in the slow-cooker, then add all the rest of the dry ingredients, and pour the beer and cider vinegar over. Set the cooker on LOW, and 8 hours later, it's done! (It can probably be left in as much as 10 hours, if you want to make it before you head off to work, and have dinner almost ready when you arrive home.)

It's possible to make a sauce, using the liquid (after pouring off the fat) that's left in the pot once it's done, but I have to confess that after being tormented by the wonderful aroma of this pot roast all day long, I'm usually too impatient. So I dispense with that step and just serve it with some of the onions strewn across and a spoonful or two of the juices. I usually serve it with mashed potatoes and a steamed vegetable.

Note: leave the lid on! It's tempting to peek to get even a little more of the aroma, but doing so will release the steam that's built up, and may throw off the cooking time, so don't do it.

[babylonsister]

1. That sounds reminiscent of Mom's sauerbraten, which I haven't

had in many years and have never made. I think she added ginger snaps, IIRC. But yours sounds delicious!:9

[Wordie]

2. I didn't realize there was a similarity...but you're right!

I looked up a recipe for traditional German sauerbraten, which I've never made, and I was amazed. I guess the traditional German sauerbraten uses cloves as a seasoning and also the gingersnaps, but everything else is pretty much the same. This is MUCH easier and faster than the traditional dish though.

I have German ancestry on my maternal grandmother's side, so I wonder if this dish stirs some sort of long-forgotten memory of my grandmother's cooking. But there are also Danish ancestors on my dad's side of the family...so I guess one way or the other, this dish must be part of my heritage. Is it only a German dish - was your mother of German heritage - or is sauerbraten the kind of dish that many nationalities claim? Do you know?

[babylonsister]

3. Was mom of German heritage?

Her maiden name was Kuhnapfel! Yes, very German though she was an orphan in her teens and was born in the US, so don't know much about her parents. She was a great cook and loved making this. Goes well with red sauerkraut if I remember correctly.
I don't know that sauerbraten is as popular elsewhere, but could be wrong.

[DawgHouse]

4. That sounds delicious!

I am definitely going to try this one. I'm always looking for crock pot recipes. Thanks!

[Wordie]

5. There's another way you can do it...

Which is to use broth instead of beer. (If you try this, you should omit the salt, unless you use sodium-free broth.) I typically use chicken broth, even though this is a beef dish, and it still turns out great. I also sometimes use a little more brown sugar. And the taste is really much better if you use fresh dill. Oh, and if you have extra time, you could brown the roast first. It adds extra flavor, but really isn't absolutely necessary; it will still be tasty if you skip it (less clean up, time, and fuss that way).

Hope it turns out good for you!

The only thing I've never been quite satisfied with is the amount of liquid. It always seems to me that at the end there is more liquid than there should be. I'm not certain if there are any crock-pot experts here who might advise whether it could be reduced a bit, or if that's normal for this sort of recipe. Maybe there's some sort of general formula for the amount of liquid to use for crockpot recipes.

I never have tried reducing the amount of liquid myself; perhaps I will next time. I don't know how much you like to experiment with recipes, but you might consider it. It's good as it is. It's just that if you want to try to make a sauce, you probably should only use a portion of the liquid that's left. Otherwise it would take too long to reduce.

[DawgHouse]

6. I'm not sure how to adjust it either

but most pot roast recipes that I've seen (for the crock pot) only have about a cup of water or so. I don't see why you couldn't just reduce the liquid after cooking or maybe thicken it a little with some flour or cornstarch.

[Wordie]

7. That would work...I'll have to try that.

This recipe actually started out as a stove top/oven recipe. It's basically much the same. You just brown the onions and meat first in a dutch oven, then add everything else and stick it in the oven for several hours. So I may just not be knowledgeable enough with crockpot recipes to know exactly how much to reduce the liquid. The stove top/oven way is even a little bit better tasting, but the crockpot is so easy, that I often do it that way instead.