Pot Roast. For One.

Andy Bernard's New Years Resolution: Learn to cook for one.

"Yeah. I love cooking, but I always find myself throwing out half the food that I prepare, so... two years is time to just start preparing the right amount of food for the right number of people, which is one." -Andy


This blog is 6 months late Nard Dog, but I hope it helps.
...or anyone else cooking for one.


Usually prepared to feed a family or brought to a pot-luck at church, pot roast has a reputation for feeding large groups of people. Price per person (serving 10 persons) usually averages out to be around $3 per serving. Maybe even less. Cooking pot roast for 1 is no exception. It's still cost-conscious, still comforting, and is still a somewhat brainless meal to put together.


I will admit, there will be leftovers with this recipe. Unless you're Denny (my brother-in-law) that has a bottomless pit aka his stomach. Love you Den. Now your turn to admit it, leftovers are great. Especially when talking about pot roast. Fess up. You know it's true.


When cooking for one, it's always smart to buy from the butcher counter rather than the prepackaged meat section. Buying from the butcher ensures you get a personalized & cost controlled amount of meat. If you're somewhere (like Walmart) that doesn't offer this luxury, do the best you can & work with what's at hand. (I'm a poet and didn't know it.) Scenario: You're @ Walmart shopping for Chuck Roast. You're in the prepackaged meat section. The smallest cut of chuck roast available is 3lbs and costs $10. You look around and they have a 1/2lb Sirloin steak for $3. You peruse some more. There's a 1lb Bottom Round cut for $2.

Want a leaner pot roast with fewer leftovers? Get the sirloin. Want a little more bang for your buck? Get the Bottom Round.


When tackling the produce scene, don't buy in bulk. Don't buy the 5lb bag of onions. Instead, mosey your way over to the onion bin. Pick an onion that looks good to you, and be done with it. Carrot-bins haven't come to be yet in most grocers. So just go for it & buy the .88cent bag of carrots. I know it's a whole bag. I know (and you know) you'll end up throwing out half of them. But come on! If you can't spare a dollar on carrots for the sake of a tasty pot roast, what can you spare a dollar for?! Right? To quote the late and great Marvin Tikvah "COME ON!"


Assuming you already have salt, pepper, & vegetable oil...


Your Shopping List
3/4lb Chuck Roast
2 New Potatoes Mini-loaf of French Bread
1 Onion
1 Carrot (or 1 bag of carrots)
1 Head of Garlic
1 can Beef Consomme


These are all guess-timates, but a nice ballpark of what you'll expect to pay is:
3/4lb Chuck Roast - $1.30
2 New Potatoes - .15cents Mini French Bread roll - .50cents
1 Onion - .30cents
Bag of Carrots - .90cents
1 Head of Garlic - .40cents
1 can Beef Conomme - $1.10


Grand Total: $4.15 $4.50

With all ingredients paid & accounted for, it's time to cook Pot Roast.

Pretend like the new potatoes aren't picutred.
And in their place is some french bread

On a clean plate or cutting board, dry your beef with paper towels

Not a far cry from my gift wrapping skills



Wash your hands
Preheat a pot over medium high heat with 1TBL Veg/Peanut oil

Meanwhile
Chop an onion into quarters. Do away with its outer skin
Cut off its ends and dice an unpeeled carrot into chunks.
Slice a head of garlic in two, width wise





Brown the onion on all its sides. An even tan is always desirable.

Brown the carrots on their flat sides. Its round parts like to stay orange.

Brown the garlic on its exposed side only. Its skin is sensitive to heat.

Remove to a holding tank.

Little oil to aid in browning

Taking care to remove and dispose of the garlic's shedded skin.

Let me just say, if you don't have butter, don't bother buying it. A pound of butter costs around $3. Before you sear your meat, add in a wee-bit more oil (if butter for you is out of the question). I choose butter because it's a natural match with beef.

Hello? Where do you think butter comes from? Cream. Where do you think cream comes from? A cow.

Sear the beef on its 1st side for a good minute. Busy yourself with tidying up to make sure you don't poke & prod at it. Let it does its thaaang.
Turn over. Searing the 2nd side should take half as long.
Then if you want to, which I always do, sear on its outer edges.

Dab'll do ya

Catch ya on the flippity flip.

Press down on it. If not for the encouraged searing, do it for the sizzzzling noise that's music to the ears.

Once in the holding tank, heavily salt.

Heavily salt both sides.

See those dark bits? That's the good stuff.
"Gimme that sweet that nasty that gushy stuff."

Pour in your Beef Consumme.

Plus a Beef Consumme's can worth of water.

Stir and scrape all the bits off of the bottom of the pan.

Use a whisk if you've got one.

Tilt the pan to make sure no good'n is left unscraped

Put the onion, carrot, garlic, and beef back into the pot.

Add excessive amounts of pepper.

Bring to a boil.

Cover.

Turn heat to med-low

Cook for 2.5 hours

After 2 1/2 hours

Remove the roast, that was technically never roasted (but that's besides the point) and move to a cutting board.

Remove the two halves of garlic to the same cutting board (I only found one half of my garlic. The other half had dissolved.)


Squish the garlic into a bowl, and then add back into the pot (being careful not to include its skin)

Blend what's left in the pot, along with the added squished garlic
Remove the lid's insert & cover the opening with a hot pad (or leave the lid intact, blend, have the mixture explode, burn yourself, make a mess, & lose valuable makings of a gravy)
Taste. May or may not need a little sugar.




Pour the blended contents back into the pot over med-low heat

Smooth move

Add copius amounts of black pepper

I'm ready for my close up Mr. De Mille.

Shred your meat with 2 forks
Mix in with the gravy
Taste (will most likely need more black pepper)

Eat & enjoy your pot roast. Use your bread to sop, soak, and squeegee - which is equally as enjoyable. 

Notice the lack of potato & the presence of French Bread
Wonderbread, rolls, ciabatta, or another bread of your choosing is totally acceptable

Fork your food

Sopp'n Soak'n Squeeg'n
It's a way of life

Lick your bowl clean with your bread

Store your leftovers in the fridge. Of course not for long, since pot roast this irresistable usually never remains uneaten for more than a couple of days.