Southwest Pot Roast
slightly adapted from Kalyn’s Kitchen
Makes 6 servings
Per serving
1 Lean protein
3 condiments
3 lb. boneless chuck roast, trimmed of visible fat
1 can reduced sodium beef broth
½ cup plus three tablespoons of your favorite salsa (I used Pace Picante Sauce – mild – you can choose salsa with less than 2 grams sugar per serving)
2 teaspoons steak rub (I like Pride of Szeged Steak Rub)
10 sprays non-stick pan spray
Put beef broth in a small saucepan, removing any fat that has collected on top in the can. Boil until the broth is reduced to 1/2 cup.
While beef broth is reducing, trim all visible fat from chuck roast. You may need to cut the roast into several pieces to remove big pockets of fat. Rub pot roast on all side with steak rub (or your favorite seasonings for steak.) Heat pan spray in heavy frying pan (pans that aren’t nonstick will give the best browning.) Brown roast well on all sides. Don’t rush this step because browning provides flavor, and I think it’s especially important in crockpot cooking.
When roast is browned on all sides, put pieces of meat in crockpot, arranging them in a single layer. Pour reduced beef broth into frying pan and use a metal turner to scrape off any carmelized bits from the browned meat. Add ½ of the salsa and stir into broth, then pour salsa/beef broth mixture over pot roast.
Cook on high for one hour, then turn to low and cook 3-4 more hours, or until meat is very tender when pierced with a fork. (You could also cook for a longer time on low setting. If you don’t have a slow cooker, cook in a heavy dutch oven on stovetop at lowest setting for 2-3 hours.) Remove meat from crockpot and pour sauce into small saucepan. (If there is a lot of fat on top of the sauce, spoon it off or use a fat separator to remove the fat. You may not need to do this if you did a good job trimming.) Put meat back into crockpot to keep warm, then add remaining ½ of the salsa to the sauce and simmer.
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