The title of this post refers to a recipe that appeared in the 1950s with the old Presto Pressure Cooker. This was before slow cookers and other kitchen innovations, and I suspect almost no one has one of these in their kitchen today. Cooking under pressure did more or less pulverize the meat and vegetables in fairly short order, but it’s really no substitute for slow roasting.
However, the flavor profile from that old recipe was interesting. As nearly as I can tell, it has at best a marginal relationship with actual Swedish cuisine, but it involved an interesting mix of seasonings that resulted in a unique taste. If you search online for “Swedish Pot Roast,” you’ll find lots of people wanting to find this recipe. You might even find a link to the actual recipe, but since it’s for a pressure cooker, the recipe isn’t too useful.
There are lots of basic recipes for “pot roast” or, more accurately, “beef stew.” The one I’m going to give below is based on the one here. Indeed, Sugar Spun Run is my first go-to place to find easy-to-follow and tasty recipes–highly recommended.
Before launching into the recipe, I should mention some of the useful tools I have in my kitchen. To start with, most stew recipes recommend a “Dutch oven,” but if you don’t have one of these, a conventional “stew pot” is fine, provided it’s oven-safe. I actually used a metal/teflon variation on a “Dutch oven” (which is generally ceramic): Circulon Cassrole. It’s perfectly sized and clean-up is a snap. You can put it directly on your cooktop for sauteing the meat and prepping the rest of the ingredients, and then pop it into the oven to finish the stew. Another useful tool is a garlic press. Finally, a mini-sifter is a handy tool for sifting flour into stews and sauces and avoiding hard-to-dissolve clumps.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Pre-heat your oven to 325 degrees. Be sure the racks are positioned so that there is room in your oven for your casserole dish and it's lid.
- Dice your roast into 1" chunks (avoid pre-cut roast meat). Trim gristle and fat if needed.
- Prep the mire poix, i.e., dice the onion, carrots, and celery.1 C Diced Onion (yellow, white, or red) (about one onion), 1/2 C Diced celery (about two stalks), 1/2 C Diced carrots (about 2 carrots)
- Put your casserole on your cooktop, add the olive oil, and apply medium high heat. it will take a bit for the oil to become glossy, so you can do this while prepping the meat and flour mixture.
- Place the flour, salt, pepper, cinnamon, garlic powder, ginger, pepper, and Montreal Steak seasoning if using in a one gallon plastic bag. Shake to mix the ingredients, then add the diced beef to the bag and shake again to coat the meat.1/2 Cup All-purpose flour, 2 TSP salt, 1 TSP ground black pepper, 1 TBSP Cinnamon, 1 TSP ground Cardamom, 1 TSP ground ginger, 1 TBSP Grillmaster Montreal Steak Seasoning (optional), 2 TBSP Garlic Powder
- IN BATCHES, add the coated meat to the pan and saute about 3 minutes per side. Leave room between each chunk of meat for proper browning to occur. Usually this will mean you'll need 3-4 batches to brown the meat. Add olive oil as needed between batches. Place the browned meat on a plate or bowl. You will probably have flour left over in the bag when you're done. If so, save it for later.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the pan. Once it's melted, add the diced carrots, onions, and celery to the pan and saute until soft–about three minutes.2 TBSP butter (salted or unsalted)
- Add the garlic and stir until fragrent, about 30 seconds.2 TBSP minced garlic (2-3 cloves, or more, to taste)
- Add the tomato paste, and stir for about another minue.2 TBSP Tomato paste
- Measure out about 1-2 TBSP of the flour mixture from your plastic bag and sprinkle into the mire poix mixture. (use 2 TBSP only if you want a thicker stew). If you don't have that much left over in the bag, just use flour without the other seasonings.
- Cook and stir until the flour is fully absorbed, about another minute.
- Next, drizzle the wine into the mixture, deglazing the pan and scraping the bottom of the pan to loosen any browned bits into the stew. Cook until the wine is slightly reduced and the mixture is thickend and glossy.1 C dry red wine (I used Barefoot Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, but any dry red will do)
- Add the Worcestire sauce and then drizzle in the Beef stock (or broth if using). Add the brown sugar while adding the beef stock.2 TBSP Worcestershire Sauce, 1/2 C Brown sugar
- Add the beef back to the pot, including any accumulated juices.
- Add the remaining vegetables and and spices to the pot.1.5 lbs gold potatoes, in 1" dice (about four potatoes), 1/2 lb carrots, in 1" pieces, 3 dried bay leaves, 1 TBSP dried thyme (more or less, to taste), 1 TSP dried rosemary, 1/2 lb Acorn squash, in 1" dice (about half a squash)
- Stir, making sure that the beef and vegetables are covered by the liquids and that the spices are submerged (so they don't burn)
- Cover, and place in your oven for at least two hours. Cook for as much as three hours to get the beef fork-tender.
- Discard the bay leaves and check the stew for consistency and flavor, adding salt to taste. If you want a thicker stew, simmer it on the cooktop to the desired thickness.
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