Mississippi Roast, allegedly the roast that broke the Internet, this is the roast that all the cool kids are cooking, this is the roast recipe and hype that made me buy ranch mix and (cough cough) brown gravy mix...I have to try this

I am the first to admit I am weak and I am easily swayed, culinarily speaking.  I try try try to look away from the fad foods, the chemical foods and anything that uses a packet.  I am certain that my home made version of any packet will be superior. 

THAT being said, I've been haunted by the 'roast that broke the internet', this Mississippi Roast.  There are various stories of the incarnation of the thing but the instructions and ingredients are pretty universal and because I am weak and easily swayed...  guess what we're having for dinner. 

I am completely and totally and will full abandon jumping on the "but all the cool kids are doing it" culinary bandwagon and am actually making Mississippi roast.  

I'm not swapping homemade for any of the chemical packets :)  I just, quite simply, have to know... 

MISSISSIPPI ROAST 

(in the crock pot OR pressure cooker)

For the three people, apparently, who haven't seen this recipe online

INGREDIENTS

2-4 (this is 3.1lb) chuck roast
one packet of dry ranch dressing mix
one packet of dry brown gravy mix
one stick of butter (my favorite part of the recipe)
however many pepperoncini peppers you want

The whole recipe is to drop the chuck roast in the crock pot.  Sprinkle with one ranch dry mix packet and one packet of brown gravy mix (omg I cannot believe I'm doing this) then add a few pepperoncini and a stick of butter.  

**electric pressure cooker:  BROWN the meat in the pressure cooker then pile the stuff on the same way but do add about 1/4 cup of water in and pressure cook for an hour on high, leave to come down naturally.    IF your pressure cooker has a 'slow cooker' button, use that for 8 hours if you have it.  I think the slow cooker is the best way to deal with this recipe.

IN the crock pot; Cook on LOW for 8 hours, shred or serve hunks (ahahaha) with mashed potatoes and some veg, that's what I'm doing today.  You can also serve it in a sandwich, on crusty rolls (my homemade ones baby!) as a sort of Italian beef sandwich, i'll heat up the shredded meat in some juices (I think there will be loads) and I may fry up some veggies or peppers to go along, oh and I'll slather the bread with homemade aioli, yeah, it's going to be good and tat is is how child and I are having it tomorrow mid day. 

Yep, that's it.  No liquid but that roast will oooooze.  

Allegedly, in 8 hours, I'll be in beefy nirvana, we'll see (said the skeptic) we'll see.  Here's the sad little prep pics :) 

The chuck roast, unadorned, dropped in the crock pot.  These are the packets, first sprinkle the ranch then the brown gravy mix over the roast.

   

Put a stick of butter, this is unsalted because I cannot even begin to imagine how salty these packets are.  These are the peppers I got, $1 for the jar so I don't mind experimenting.  The original recipe said 2-3 peppers, well the child and husband both like pickles so i think they'll like a slightly heavier brine presence.  I may drop more in later 

Throw the lid on the cooker, turn it on low and set a timer for 8 hours...  tick tick tick

    

This is the "this morning" shot and this is the "this afternoon" shot. I did not open the lid even once, no matter how hard I wanted to and trust me, I WANTED to.

The smell of this is INSANE!  it's so sweet and beefy and I did not open it until the 8 hour mark

  

OMG LOOK!!  It's mahogany, there are crispy bits and soft bits and the peppers are smooth and tender and tart and peppery.  The meat, wow.  The meat is fork tender, I reached into the middle, stuck my fork into minimal resistance and twisted, then sampled, then twisted and sampled some more to be sure I was tasting was as good as I thought.  It's rich and dark and buttery and NOT diet food but it's got great mouth feel and tenderness without the meat being dry.  Did I say, wow?

  

Then I went in for the corner, yeah I took it :)  I'm glad I did, it was thick and intense and sour and sweet and I have no idea how

 

I'll post the real dinner pictures after we eat.  I'm making mashed potatoes now and will serve it up with peas and some of the sauce which I may or may not defat, depending on my mood in a little while. 

I'm shocked and more than a little gobsmacked that this is as good as they say.  Am I going to make it regularly?  No, we'll have heart attacks BUT I am going to try it with pork carnitas because, hey why not.  I'll report back on that but in the meantime, if you find chuck roast on sale, grab a packet of ranch and some dry brown gravy mix and some pepperoncini and do it, you really have to give this a go.  DO not add water like some recipes suggest, stick with the classic and you'll end up with a richer product, not watered don and the meat with have more umami and be browner and, well, just go do it. 

OK, the dinner pics :) 

           

/enjoy

Tracy

DRIVE BY RECIPE: PAN ROAST CHICKEN BREAST - make it fast, eat it with everything... immediate dinner or the best leftover chicken ever!

Yeah, well, I'm usually too poor (or stingy) to buy boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  I also think it's the least tasty, least tender, least juicy bit of the bird.  HOWEVER, my local #HEB will sometimes put their chicken on at such a sale price I simply have to buy it.

Such was the case today.

Pay close attention, this goes fast... it's a

DRIVE BY RECIPE; Pan roasted Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

Chicken breasts, however many you want.
You MUST pound it, gently, to be the same thickness all the way across the piece.  Obviously, don't pound the thin end but just get it relatively balanced.  That's the secret to this whole process.
Salt
Pepper
Plain oil, grapeseed, corn, canola, something that can get HOT

One stainless frying pan, or cast iron.  It needs to go into the oven.

Here you go:

Heat pan to smoking, add a little oil to coat the bottom of the pan, put chicken in.
DO NOT TOUCH it, seriously.
When you see color on the sides, flip, shake to be sure it's not sticking (it's not, trust me, if your pan is hot enough, you're fine)
Put pan in PREHEATED 400 degree oven, hit timer 10 minutes.

Remove pan, remove chicken, cover and leave to rest 10 minutes. IF you're in the mood, make a quick pan sauce by adding a little flour to make a roux then add some stock or water to just shush around the pan to get the bits up.  OR you can simply pour in a little heavy cream and a splash of chicken stock into the pan and shush it around till it gets thick. Add chicken back into sauce for a few minutes so soak up some.

Add any juices around your chicken to the sauce, slice chicken, serve, eat, repeat :)

Here's the shots:

Pound chicken, into a screaming hot pan, flip and into a 400 degree oven for 10, then rest for 10 then eat :)

   

 

OR to do just one for sandwiches later :)

  

  

LOOK how juicy and tender that chicken is...  wow, sometimes I delight myself :D

I wanted a vinaigrette for this piece of chicken.  I'm going to slice it and use half in a sandwich and half with a salad.  Heat the pan and add a little olive oil, a little vinegar and shush it around to scrape up the dark bits, add a smidge of water and pour it into a little jar and use later... mmmmmm

   

/enjoy

LOBSTER ROLL (the roll not the lobster) also HOT DOG BUNS and just plain MILK BREAD as a loaf, so good, so easy

I make "milk bread" and have decided to use the recipe, with a small modification as the base recipe for my Lobster Rolls.  There's a long boring story about the rolls that involves a slightly famous cooker type but I was removed from their feed after my comments, not bitchy just observant, so I'm not playing there anymore.  I still, however, adore Lobster Rolls and even though I can't actually afford the lobster and caviar (!!!) to make the cookers version I'm still making them to hold my world famous, most delicious on earth egg salad.  I have chickens so I can egg salad my way from here to Christmas.  HAHA

Here is the low down and the zillion pics to help you make this dough.  It makes great bread, it makes great individual rolls and it make awesome lobster rolls.  I did, as you can see, invest in the specialty pan but you sure don't have to.  Just roll the dough into tubes and put them close in a pan that just fits them till they rise and you'll do just fine.

TRACY'S LOBSTER ROLL, HOT DOG,
JUST PLAIN DELICIOUS "MILK" BREAD RECIPE

The first thing you have to do, yes you do, is make the "yangzhong" or hot water roux for the dough.  Yes you have to, yes it works, yes it helps, just do it, it's easy :) It's an ancient Japanese technique or making bread, don't listen to the newbies tell you it's a new idea or recently discovered, geez people, it's been around for a hundred or more years and I, personally, have been using it for over 10.

HOT WATER ROUX or  "yangzhong"

In a 2 cup microwaveable measuring cup, put 1 cup of water and 1/3 cup flour, microwave for 1-2 minutes, just till it boils.  Whip with a fork, cover and leave on the counter till cooled then store in the fridge.  You can make 2 batches of this dough with it, no, you can't only make half :D

   


THE DOUGH

In the bowl of your kitchen aid (or by hand, don't get in a snit) combine the following:

3 cups a/p flour
2 1/4 tsp yeast (one packet)
1/4 cup sugar (scant)
1 tsp salt
1 large or xl egg
1/2 cup milk
3 Tbsp room temp butter
1/2 cup of the hot water roux, cooled

Add the dough hook and let it go until it's all combined.  It will look gnarly and not cohesive.

    

Then, slowly and just a little at a time, seriously, go slow here, add


1-5 Tbsp Warm tap water

to make a cohesive, slightly sticky dough.

Turn the mixer to 4-5 and let it knead for you about 5 minutes.  OR just get in there with your hands and start kneading...and kneading...and kneading.  By machine, it will clear the sides of the bowl and be slightly stuck at the base.  When it's done, the dough will be smooth and clear and no longer stuck to the bottom.

   
Give it a quick knead by hand, to feel involved in the process.  Pop the dough into a lightly sprayed tub, I use a grout mixer bowl from Home Depot with a lid, I'm so cheffy.  Anyway, pop the lid on and leave it on the counter until it at least doubles. Remember my house is full of yeast because of the volume of bread I cook so it will take longer at your house.

     

Put it in a lightly oiled bucket and leave it about an hour till it doubles.  Spray your lobster roll pan or whatever vessel you're going to bake them in.

   

This dough is happy and relaxed and easy to just press out to the size of the lobster roll pan.  IF you're doing a 9x13, divide the dough into 10/12 and roll to the width of your pan and lay them in.  For the lobster roll people, just gentle press the dough to approximately the size of the pan then lift it in and gentle ease it into the corners.  Cover, or in my case, put the pan in those oversized veggie bags you get at HEB, yes, I always use the extra large bags so I can use them for bread.  Leave till it rises to almost the top.

   

PREHEAT oven to 375 while it rises.  

This dough doesn't double this time, it just poooooofs to about 1/4 ? inch from the top of the pan

    

This is where it gets weird.  Grease the bottom of a sheetpan and put it on top of the rolls when it goes in the oven, it makes the rolls a bit denser and fills the pan, forcing the dough down and into the corners.  

Bake with a sheet pan on it about 15 minutes. I bake on the top third of the oven so the bottom/top doesn't get too brown.  Remove the top pan and cook another 15 or so till it's done. 

Remove to a rack, inverting immediately.  I brush with a little butter and there, leave it to cool a bit then we'll doctor it up and fill it and eat it!!  

   

Now, we wait (ooooh, it's been worth it) 

Slice at the grooves, cut down the middle most of the way but leave it attached at the bottom.  Butter on both sides, yes do it...toast in a dry pan till a little crispy.  

   

Then pull gently apart and FILL IT and EAT IT!

These are just gratuitous beauty shots

   

I hope you make these, I hope you enjoy them and make them often.  Fill them with anything, cold salad, hot dogs and if you happy to be famous or inherit some dollars or simply hit a windfall that supplies you with big bucks then by all means, fill 'em with lobster salad and caviar.

/enjoy