Pot Roast in a Bag

SERVES Serves 6

TIME 5 hours

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Since the early 1900s, Americans have been cooking food in bags to ease the pain of cleaning up. Cooking in plastic bags fell out of favor due to health concerns, but these days nylon bags approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration promise tender, juicy meat without the risks. The bag creates a tighter seal than a Dutch oven does, yielding discernibly better results. Throwing the meat, potatoes, and carrots into the bag and later emptying the beautifully tender contents into a baking dish couldn’t have been simpler. We boosted flavor by coating a chuck-eye roast in a mixture of onion power, garlic powder, brown sugar, dried thyme, and celery seeds, plus a bit of flour to thicken the braising liquid. To defat the braising liquid, we simply tilted the baking dish and skimmed off 1/4 cup of fat with a wide-bellied spoon. Since the early 1900s, Americans have been cooking food in bags to ease the pain of cleaning up. Cooking in plastic bags fell out of favor due to health concerns, but these days nylon bags approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration promise tender, juicy meat without the risks. The bag creates a tighter seal than a Dutch oven does, yielding discernibly better results. Throwing the meat, potatoes, and carrots into the bag and later emptying the beautifully tender contents into a baking dish couldn’t have been simpler. We boosted flavor by coating a chuck-eye roast in a mixture of onion power, garlic powder, brown sugar, dried thyme, and celery seeds, plus a bit of flour to thicken the braising liquid. To defat the braising liquid, we simply tilted the baking dish and skimmed off ¼ cup of fat with a wide-bellied spoon.

INGREDIENTS

4 teaspoons onion powder

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons packed light brown sugar

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon dried thyme

½ teaspoon celery seeds

1 (3 ½- to 4-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, trimmed

1 (8-pound-capacity) oven bag

1 ½ pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1 ½-inch pieces

5 carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch lengths, thick ends halved lengthwise

¾ cup water

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley

note: BEFORE YOU BEGIN

You will need a nylon oven bag that can hold up to 8 pounds. Make sure the bag does not touch the top or sides of the oven, or it will melt. We prefer to use a ceramic, not Pyrex, baking dish, because adding liquid to a hot Pyrex dish can sometimes shock it and cause cracking.

INSTRUCTIONS

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine onion powder, flour, sugar, salt, pepper, garlic powder, thyme, and celery seeds in bowl.

Directions at cookscountry.com

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