Braised Beef-Italian Style

Here's another "Two from One" meal. This was accidental, and I haven't made part two yet, so I'm hoping it will be delicious.

Monday night's dinner was a braised beef roast. I was looking for a brisket, but the store did not have it. So I went with a London Broil. I don't know the cuts of beef...that's one of those areas of cooking I'm just not that knowledgeable about. I braised the beef with "Italian" flavors. It was tasty. The second part of the meal will be tonight, so stay tuned.


I will admit, the beef was quite dry. I'm sure it was the temperature I cooked it at. As I was making this on a school night, I didn't want to eat dinner at 10 pm, so I cooked the roast at 350 degrees for just two hours. The meat was tender and had a nice flavor, but it was dry. If I had more time, say a Sunday afternoon, I would braise it at 300 for three hours or so. The heat causes the meat to tighten up and release it's moisture. With the lower heat, the meat won't tighten up as much and won't force out as much moisture.

Braised Beef-Italian Style
Beef Roast-Brisket or London Broil about 3lbs
1 TB olive oil
1 can diced tomatoes
1 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions
4 carrots, cut to 1/4-1/2 inch pieces
1 cup broth (beef or chicken or combo of both)
1 tsp, dried oregano, basil, parsley
1/2 tsp, thyme, rosemary
1 TB butter (optional)

Liberally season the beef with salt & pepper.

Add olive oil to a large oven proof pan over high heat. Sear the beef on both sides. About 5 minutes per side.

Add the broth and spices. Bring the liquid to a simmer. Add the onions and carrots. Cover and place in a 350 degree oven for two hours (or 300 for three hours). Half way through the cooking, check the veggies--if they are tender, spoon them out to a bowl and cover with foil. You don't want mushy carrots and onions. For the last 30 minutes of cooking, remove the cover to allow the sauce to start to reduce.

When cooking is complete, remove the roast to a cutting board and allow to rest for 5-10 minutes. Add the veggies back to the sauce, bring sauce to a very low simmer, to warm the veggies and continue the reduction of the sauce. Add the butter to enrich the sauce.

Slice the beef for serving. Drizzle sauce over the beef and serve the veg on the side. Enjoy.

Save 1/2 the roast for part two of our "Two from One" meal plan. Coming tonight!