Q: My husband and I love, love, love the Sunday suppers at JCT Kitchen & Bar in Atlanta. Chef Ford Fry’s meat-and-three prix fixe menu is brilliant. ... Would you please, please, please request the recipe for apple cider pot roast? We don’t cook much, but I would venture to try his recipe for this melt-in-the-mouth entree. — Ingrid Dow, Smyrna
A: A pot roast is most typically prepared with chuck, brisket or top or bottom round. JCT Kitchen makes its “pot roast” with short ribs, which guarantee a succulent result, and serves the pot roast with boiled potatoes, garnished with chopped chives. The first step for the beef is wood grilling and then a light smoking. Our home version suggests charcoal or gas grilling. Add some soaked wood chips to provide a little smoky flavor, or use a smoker.
JCT Kitchen’s Cider-braised Pot Roast
Hands on: 45 minutes Total time: 6 hours, plus resting time Serves: 8
- 8 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
- Salt and pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola oil, plus extra for grill
- 2 apples, halved
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 1 large carrot, diced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 2 cups apple cider
- 1 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cup red wine
- 8 cups low-sodium chicken stock
- 8 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1 bay leaf
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 15 peppercorns
Preheat gas or charcoal grill. If using soaked wood chips, add them to the grill. Heavily season both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill grates. Cook ribs over high heat, about 5 minutes per side, until browned on both sides. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 250 degrees. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons oil until very hot. Add apples, onion, carrot and celery and cook until well browned, about 10 minutes. Pour in cider, cider vinegar and red wine and scrape bottom of pot to loosen browned bits. Add chicken stock, beef stock, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and peppercorns. Bring to a simmer. Add ribs, cover and put into oven. Bake 4 to 6 hours or until bones are loose and meat is very tender. Remove from oven, allow to cool, keeping ribs submerged in the liquid. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
When ready to serve, remove the ribs from the braising liquid. Discard the solids. Scrape off the congealed fat from the braising liquid and strain the remainder into a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Continue to cook until liquid reduces by half, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to a simmer, return ribs to sauce and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Top each portion of short ribs with a ladle full of sauce.
Per serving: 634 calories (percent of calories from fat, 64), 41 grams protein, 17 grams carbohydrates, 1 gram fiber, 46 grams fat (17 grams saturated), 112 milligrams cholesterol, 2,301 milligrams sodium.
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