Mississippi Roast
Years back when the Instapot was a new thing and everyone was running out to purchase one I broke down and bought the basic model on sale, on Black Friday because I had watched a cooking video of someone making a Mississippi Roast. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. I never ended up making that roast or actually using the Instapot much (that in itself is another story). However, after years of reading different recipes and contemplating making a Mississippi Roast, I finally made one in my crockpot not the Instapot. OMG! I am beyond sold. This was the moistest, most succulent roast I have ever cooked in a crockpot. Yes, in the crockpot on low for . . . wait for it . . . 20 hours. Most crockpot recipes are meant to cook for 8 or so hours and the longer they cook the less appetizing the contents. Usually on Shabbat I will prepare chili or a gumbo of sorts or a parve crockpot entrée if I use the slow cooker at all because I don’t relish the flavor of overcooked “cholenty” tasting meat.
The biggest drawback and challenge in making this roast was taking a seriously treif (not kosher) recipe and finding a way to make it kosher. The two main ingredients in the original recipe are butter and a packet of ranch dressing mix. To the best of my knowledge there are no parve ranch dressing mixes out there. Over the years I have experimented with many recipes to create a delicious parve ranch style dressing. Some come close but none really taste like the dairy version. I also took into consideration the length of time this roast would cook. Most of the ingredients I would use to make a parve dressing would not hold up to a long slow cook. Having read as many kosher variants of this recipe that I could find none seemed to really sound like they would work for me. The one that I based my recipe on was originally published on koshereye.com. After assembling the roast and ingredients in the slow cooker my concern was about the lack of liquid. I was worried that the roast would dry out. This proved to be a baseless fear.
The final verdict of course was how my family reacted to the roast. My daughter and her family joined us for Shabbat lunch, I waited on the edge of my seat for their reactions. Especially hers as she really doesn’t like foods prepared with mayonnaise. She along with everyone else had seconds. Usually there are leftovers of whatever was made in the crockpot. This week there was so little left I had to ask my DH if he thought I should bother saving the tablespoon or so of pulled meat that remained; he almost bit my head off “Yes Save that! It’s gold!” by the end of the night on Sunday he had eaten what remained.
Kosher Mississippi Roast
based on a recipe by Koshereye.com
Ingredients:
1 Boneless Chuck Roast, approximately 3 lbs.
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground Black Pepper
¼ cup All Purpose Flour
1 stick Earth Balance Vegan Butter
1 16 oz. Jar Whole Pepperoncini, drained
¼ cup Mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Dried Dill or 1 Tablespoon Fresh Dill, chopped
½ teaspoon Smoked Paprika (Sweet Paprika can be substituted)
Directions:
Combine the mayonnaise, cider vinegar, dill and paprika making sure to mix well. Set aside. On a cutting board or flat surface rub the whole outside of the roast with the salt and pepper. Then rub the flour onto the meat. Place the rubbed roast into the bowl of a well-oiled crockpot. Add the pepperoncini around the meat. Pour the ranch dressing over the meat. Place the stick of Earth Balance on top of and centered on the roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 or more hours. The fat from the vegan butter and the mayonnaise will ensure a moist roast. Before serving shred the meat with two forks and mix into the surrounding gravy. Serve with a grain, hearty bread or over pasta.