Tassel Ridge Pot Roast

Ingredients

  • 3½-4 lb boneless chuck roast
  • tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 medium onions cut in half and thinly sliced
  • 1 cup chopped carrot
  • ¾ cup chopped celery
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 cup plus 1–2 cups beef broth
  • ½ cup plus ¼ cup Tassel Ridge Iowa Nouveau
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 sprig plus ¼ tsp chopped fresh thyme
  • freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 6 pieces kitchen twine

Instructions

  1. Pull roast into two pieces. Trim off any large pieces of fat. Sprinkle meat with salt. Place on wire rack in rimmed baking sheet. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour. With rack lower-middle position, preheat oven to 300°F. Melt butter in heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium heat. When foaming slows, add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally, until soften and beginning to brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Add carrot and celery. Cook, continuing to stir occasionally, about 5 minutes. Add garlic. Cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 1 cup broth, ½ cup Tassel Ridge Iowa Nouveau, tomato paste, bay leaf, and sprig of thyme. Bring to simmer. Pat beef dry with paper towel. Season with pepper. Using 3 pieces of kitchen twine each, tie pieces of beef into loaf shapes. Place beef on top of vegetables in Dutch oven. Cover tightly with foil. Place Dutch oven lid on top of foil. Put into oven. Cook, turning half way through cooking, until tender, about 3½–4 hours (sharp knife should slip easily in and out of meat). Remove from oven and place beef pieces on cutting board. Tent loosely with foil. Strain cooking liquid into large measuring cup. Discard bay leaf and sprig of thyme. Put vegetables into blender jar. Let liquid settle 5 minutes. Skim fat off top. Add remaining beef broth to liquid to make 3 cups. Add to vegetables in blender. Blend until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium saucepan. Bring to simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, remove twine from meat. Slice, against grain, into ½-inch thick pieces. Transfer to serving platter. Stir chopped thyme, remaining ¼ cup Iowa Nouveau, and vinegar into sauce. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon half over meat. Pass remaining sauce separately. Serves 6–8.

Recipe Notes

Wine Recommendation: Tassel Ridge Iowa Marquette 

This Pot Roast recipe has lots of savory flavors from the herbs and spices as well as body and fat from the roast, and it would be best complemented by a big, dry red wine. Iowa Marquette is a dry red with complex aromas and flavors and spicy notes on the finish. Made entirely from Marquette grapes grown in our Mahaska County, Iowa, vineyards and fermented in stainless tanks and then aged in French oak for a year and neutral barrels for nine months, Iowa Marquette wine also pairs well with grilled meat. —Bob Wersen, Owner, Tassel Ridge Winery