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Post by Granny Smith on Jul 6, 2010 19:35:13 GMT -5
I had a 3 lb roast to cook today and decided to experiment with it. I sprinkled on the following - instant coffee, coarse salt, black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, then rubbed it all into the meat. Then I heated about a tablespoon of shortening (you could also use lard) in the pressure cooker and thoroughly browned the roast on all sides.
After it was nicely browned, I poured in 2 cups of water, put the lid on it, and heated it till the weight began to rattle. Then I set a timer for 1 hour and let it cook. When the hour was up, I took it off the heat and let it cool in the pan, with the lid still in place, for half an hour.
I've cooked a lot of roasts over the years, but that one was the best! The drippings were even rich and amazing! (no, they didn't taste like coffee) This is my new favorite method for making roasts. Next time, I want to try it with a pork roast.
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Post by Cyngbaeld on Jul 6, 2010 22:05:09 GMT -5
Sounds good! Coffee and onion powder both add a lot of flavor. Try some sesame oil too.
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Post by meemo on Jul 7, 2010 6:27:18 GMT -5
I'm goin to try this on some stew meat I need to cook this morning. Sounds reallygood
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Post by Granny Smith on Jul 7, 2010 10:36:48 GMT -5
Let me know what you think of it, Peggy.
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Post by meemo on Jul 7, 2010 13:13:04 GMT -5
Oh my, oh my. First of all I've decided to serve the gravy in wine glasses. Second my family may never get to vote because it made a small pot and I'm seriously thinking of hiding it in the fridge and eating it all my self. Gayle you are a genius. I didnt have a roast so I mixed up the spices and coffee and added a tsp of McCormicks Montreal Steak seasoning. It has lots of coarse black pepper. I put the stew meat in a bowl and dumped in the spices and took my hands and made sure there was no spice left behind. Browned it with some chopped onions until it was very brown, poured some water in the pot and we have stew beef in the most exquisite broth I'm made. It kinda reminds me of a very expensive dish I made once with red wine andbeef tips. We will definitely be doin this again. Whats funny is that we use instant coffee but its freeze dried and not very finely ground. But a while back I thought we'd try the generic to see if it was good. We didnt like it to drink and I just shoved it in the back of the cabinet thinking if we got desparate enough we'd drink it. But I've been using it in choc. frosting, pudding and pie filling. Drat, I'm goin to have to share. Michael ask what smelled so good.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jul 7, 2010 14:33:04 GMT -5
The coffee I used was the freeze-dried granules. I got it on sale, so stocked up on it. I usually get the powdered kind because it mixes into recipes easier. I kind of mashed the granules into the meat.
I had about a quart of the drippings leftover, so I browned hamburger and onions, browned some flour in it, then added the drippings to make gravy. I put it on noodles and that will be supper. Belinda tried a bite, then pretended like she was going to eat the whole pan (2 pounds of noodles with half a gallon of meat and gravy) LOL She's so silly!
I'm glad you liked it, Peggy. I always worry if the things I like will appeal to anyone else or if it's just my taste. I'm glad you tried it with stew meat, too. I think this is the answer to my wimpy beef stew gravy.
I hope they have beef roasts on sale this week. I really want to make this again.
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Post by meemo on Jul 7, 2010 14:41:02 GMT -5
Its really hard to describe what the coffee does to the flavor of the meat. Doesnt taste like coffee at all. Just really rich. I'm with Belinda. I could eat the whole thing.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jul 7, 2010 14:45:18 GMT -5
No, it doesn't taste like coffee. Dan doesn't like coffee, but he didn't even suspect it was in there.
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Post by carla on Jul 7, 2010 17:21:19 GMT -5
This sounds terrific. I really wish I had a pressure cooker.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jul 7, 2010 17:25:45 GMT -5
I think you could do it in the oven, on the stovetop, or in the crockpot, too. I just used the pressure cooker because it's fast and doesn't heat up the kitchen much - not even as much as a crockpot. Just make sure you brown it first, then deglaze the pan (if you're changing pans) and put the drippings in with the roast.
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Post by jessielee on Jul 7, 2010 17:43:24 GMT -5
Coffee makes beef tips taste good as well. I as a rule put coffee in all of my dark gravies, and roasts beef or deer. I did today for meatballs and gravy that simmered in the crockpot all day.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jul 7, 2010 17:53:13 GMT -5
I have always put coffee in beef or tomato dishes, but this was the first time I ever browned it. It made a big difference.
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Post by meemo on Jul 7, 2010 22:27:07 GMT -5
Carla, I didnt use a pressure cooker or a roast. I had a pkg of cut up stew meat I got on sale. I cooked it in a cast iron pan on top of the stove. It sure was good.
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Post by carla on Jul 7, 2010 23:49:46 GMT -5
I cook roasts in my crock pot.
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Post by Granny Smith on Jul 8, 2010 11:58:17 GMT -5
Carla, rub the roast with the coffee and spices, brown it in a skillet, and put it in the crockpot. Then add some water to the skillet and cook it, while scraping the browned bits off the bottom, till the bottom is clean, then pour the water and brown bits over the roast and cook as usual. I know that makes another pan to wash, but you'd get that wonderful flavor.
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