# Can you help me with dinner tonight?!



## SassyNewHomemaker (Jan 12, 2008)

So i am kinda new to cooking per say and i dont know what to do with this meat other than putting it in the crock and doing like a roast or beef stew.  I have what i believe is called a chuck roast? (a big hunk of tough meat)  i do plan on cutting it into smaller peices and slow cooking it for like 6/7 hrs.  what im wondering is after i take the meat out of the crock(or could i do it in it) can i make like a goulash?  add my sauce and noodles?  and when?  i need specifics, i know its kinda silly but i really am unsure of what to do.


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## Katie H (Jan 12, 2008)

Hi, Sassy.  Welcome to DC.

One of the things my family likes me to do with a piece of chuck is to roast it in foil.

Leave the roast whole and place it on two large pieces of heavy-duty foil.  Make sure the foil is big enough to fold up and cover the roast like a packet.  Spread a can of cream of mushroom soup on top and sprinkle about 1/2 a package of dry onion soup mix over.  If you want, you can add a 4-ounce can of mushroom stems and pieces, drained, to the top.  We love mushrooms in our house so I usually add them.

Seal up the foil nice and tight and place the packet into a shallow baking dish.  Pour about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of water in the dish and bake the roast for at least 1 1/2 hours in a preheated 350F oven.

You will end up with a tender roast and tons of yummy gravy.  Serve with mashed potatoes, green beans and dessert of your choice.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 12, 2008)

Cuck roast is a great roast for slow-cooking, be it in the crock, or in a slow oven (300' F.).  The roast is great if you take it, put it in your cooking vessel along with potatoes, some chunks of cabbage, carrots, and an onion or two that have been chopped into chunks.  Add salt, pepper, garlic, and mabe just a bit of dried basil (about 1/2 tsp.).  If you have a rack to put the meat on, use it.  If not, some balled up pieces of aluminum foil will riase your meat above the grease.  Add about a cup of water to the vessel, cover, and place in the oven, or if using the slow cooker, turn to lowest cookng setting.

I sometimes will take a chuck roast and slice it into steaks, tenderize it, and throw it on the grill, over a divided bed of coals, with apple-wood on the coals.  Close all vents half way and cook for an hour or so, depending on the size of the roast.

A real time-saver is to take that same roast, put all of the ingredients for a pot roast into a pressure cooker, and cook at 15 lbs pressure for an hour.  Make sure to add a cup of water to the pressure cooker to avoid burning the veggies and roast to the pan bottom.  It will taste the same and be suprememly tender just as if you had braised your roast all day.

Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## SassyNewHomemaker (Jan 12, 2008)

those are both great but what about my idea?!


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## buckytom (Jan 12, 2008)

sassy, how about a version of beef stew/bourguignon over noodles?

after cutting the meat into cubes, removing the fat and gristle, toss the cubes with flour (mixed with a little salt and pepper) so they get lightly coated.

then in a hot pan, add enough oil to coat the pan and sear the cubes quickly on all sides, so there's some good brown color.

remove the meat to a plate to drain a bit, then into the same frying pan, add a chopped onion (and maybe a little extra oil). stir around until it starts to get soft and translucent. add diced veggies such as carrots, green peppers, celery, and garlic. cook for a minute or two more, stirring a few times.

add 2 bay leaves, and a pinch each of rosemary, thyme, sage, and parsley.

add a cup of red wine and some beef stock(depending on how much is in the pan. it shhould be just less than half of the ingredients), then reduce heat to medium.

let simmer a few minutes, then using a spatula, scrape the bottom of the pan so most of the little bits of stuff stuck to the bottom come loose.

add some halved mushrooms, cover, and reduce heat to low. simmer until the meat and veggies are soft.

add some butter and finish with a good handful of chopped parsely.


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## GotGarlic (Jan 12, 2008)

SassyNewHomemaker said:


> those are both great but what about my idea?!



Hi, Sassy. The goulash would be a lot more flavorful if you cooked the meat with the seasonings, rather than adding them at the end. Here's a crock-pot goulash recipe that sounds pretty good: Real Hungarian Goulash Crock Pot Recipe | Goulash Recipes @ CDKitchen.com :: it's what's cooking online! 

I like to make New England pot roast with a chuck roast, using Betty Crocker's recipe: New England Pot Roast from Betty Crocker I've found I like it better to make mashed potatoes separately rather than cook potatoes with the roast. HTH.


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## auntdot (Jan 12, 2008)

If you want beef goulash Google crockpot beef goulash and you will find many recipes.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Jan 12, 2008)

SassyNewHomemaker said:


> So i am kinda new to cooking per say and i dont know what to do with this meat other than putting it in the crock and doing like a roast or beef stew. I have what i believe is called a chuck roast? (a big hunk of tough meat) i do plan on cutting it into smaller peices and slow cooking it for like 6/7 hrs. what im wondering is after i take the meat out of the crock(or could i do it in it) can i make like a goulash? add my sauce and noodles? and when? i need specifics, i know its kinda silly but i really am unsure of what to do.



SassyNewHomemaker;  The reason I posted what I did was to give you a couple of techniques to get you through the cooking stage.  Your post said you want to make goulash.  Goulash can mean many diffferent things.  In my part of the country, everyone thinks of goulash as elbow macaroni with tomato sauce flavored with garlic and basil, salt and pepper, and with ground beef.  Usually ther is a can of chopped tomatoes thrown in with liced onion and green bell-peppers too.

This in no way resembles true goulash, which depending on the place in Europe that you're looking at, can be pronounced as goulash, goulyas.  It is a paprika based soup that is made with either mutton or beef.  Preferably, tough beef muscle is preffered, such as shank or shin meat, rich with blood, connecting tissue, and marrow from the bones.  The meat is simmered for a long period of time in stock or water to dissolve the collagen into a gel.  This gives the dish a rich viscosity similar to what is obtained with pulled pork.  Onions, peppers, and sometimes, potatoes are added to the dish.

So, by asking how to cook goulash, we really don't know what you are asking for.  You need to be more specific about what goulash is to you.  And yes, your chuck roast should work in goulash.  But you will need to cook the veggies in with the meat.

Seeeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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## pacanis (Jan 12, 2008)

That's pretty much how I do it, Goodweed.
I season the roast and sear it, then it goes in the crockpot. I put carrots in first to keep it off the bottom. Instead of water I use beef broth (1/2-3/4c) and sprinkle some granulated beef bouillon on top of the onions, potatoes, garlic and a couple bay leaves so it seeps through everything. A couple dashes of worcestershire..... mmmmm 
It freezes well, too. That's what I had for dinner last night 

Oh, and goulash to me is everything you mentioned except you use sea shell macaroni, not elbow. I thought everybody knew that  



Goodweed of the North said:


> Cuck roast is a great roast for slow-cooking, be it in the crock, or in a slow oven (300' F.). The roast is great if you take it, put it in your cooking vessel along with potatoes, some chunks of cabbage, carrots, and an onion or two that have been chopped into chunks. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and mabe just a bit of dried basil (about 1/2 tsp.). If you have a rack to put the meat on, use it. If not, some balled up pieces of aluminum foil will riase your meat above the grease. Add about a cup of water to the vessel, cover, and place in the oven, or if using the slow cooker, turn to lowest cookng setting.
> 
> 
> 
> Seeeeeya; Goodweed of the North


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