One of my missions when I went to New Jersey for a visit was to be able to recreate the dishes my parents were famous in my family for. It may seem so simple, but really it’s not. Our NJ family has had this recipe for years! They were just too um, busy to execute them. So naturally, with my visit, they requested that I teach them how to make those dishes. One of those was “roast” beef.

This recipe was originally from Tita Pinky, whose love for cuisine only grows through the years.  With ovens that are stuffed with Tupperware and microwaveable containers and a deep-seated desire for boldly flavored meat, you can easily spot where the need for this recipe came about.

There are air quotes on “roast” because we don’t really roast it; it takes far longer to do that. It’s a stove-top dish that is sure to hit the right spot for all carnivores in the family. Oh and it comes with really good mushroom gravy too.

To be honest, I am quite hesitant to share this recipe.  A part of me remains selfish and would like to keep things that relate to my father.  But then, I don’t think he would have liked that.

I would like to apologize in advance the lack of while cooking and actual photos of ingredients for this recipe.  When I made this, everything was happening all at the same time — laundry, baby sitting, basement movie dates — that I didn’t have the time to take pictures in between.  No worries, I’ll do my best to describe each step as precisely as possible.

Here’s what you’ll need:

– Around 2lb. US Beef Chuck Roast.  We got ours at A&P for $5.99/lb.

– A whole onion and a whole head of garlic

– Worcestershire sauce.  I am very partial to the Lea & Perrins brand.

– Soy sauce.  I used Less Sodium Kikkoman Soy Sauce for this recipe.

– Half a stick of butter

– 1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup

– Mushrooms, sliced and washed

– About 3 tbsp of your choice of brandy (though this is always optional)

 

The first thing you need to do is prep the beef, the onion and the garlic.  Wash the beef and pat dry.  And grab a bowl to soak the beef in; you’ll have to marinate it for some time.  Half of the garlic, you pound and rub on the beef; throw it in the bowl.  The other half, you mince and set aside.  Then mince the onion too, rub it on the beef and throw it in the bowl as well.  Grab some sea salt and rub it on the beef.

Next, grab the two sauces.  Here’s the thing:  there is no exact measurement for the sauces.  It really does depend on your liking, or as long as the beef gets coated with the sauce.  What we usually do is to add equal parts of Worcestershire sauce and soy sauce.

Get dirty; you’ll have to mix all of the contents in the bowl with your hands to make sure the beef is well coated.  Cover with cling wrap and let it marinate for about 2 hours.  (If you’re adding brandy, mix it in as well.  The brandy adds to the boldness of the flavor.  For those concerned about serving the dish to kids, no worries because the brandy usually gets cooked off in the process, but you may also choose to not add this in as well.)

Next, grab a frying pan and heat it up, as in slightly smoking hot.  Take the beef out and sear all sides, as if sealing the marinate in the middle.  Be careful to not cook it too much though, but do not ever skip this step.  Searing the beef makes your dish cut-able for presentation purposes.

After searing, grab a pot big enough to fit your beef in.  Then, toss in the pot the mixture the beef marinated in.  If the remaining amount is too small, just add equal parts of Worcestershire and soy sauces.  In my experience, an additional 2 tbsps would do.  Then add water, just enough to cover 2/3 of the beef.  Bring up the heat to medium and boil for 45-60 minutes or until tender.

In the middle of boiling, flip the beef.  I did this at the 20 minute mark.  It would also give you a chance to pinch the meat and season some more, if you wish.  You will notice that the beef is close to being cooked when you can visibly see that fat separating from the marinate mixture.  When cooked to your desired doneness, turn off the heat and take the beef out.  DO NOT THROW AWAY THE MARINATE.

Now, let’s make the mushroom gravy.

In a saucepan, melt the butter and stir fry the garlic until slightly brown.  Mix in the mushrooms until brown.  Then, mix in about 3/4 cup of the marinate.  Stir slowly as it simmers.  When it does, mix in the cream of mushroom soup.  Stir until well blended.  Serve over the beef or on the side.  Or both.

The thing with the mushroom gravy though is, because of the cream of mushroom, it tends to expire easily.  Sometimes, we would skip the cream of mushroom and just add 1 tbsp of cornstarch mixed in water instead to get the same consistency.  Without the cream of mushroom, it would definitely last longer.

Don’t worry about making so much of the gravy.  I swear it’s really good.  My niece used it over her rice.  Hahaha.  It also goes well with meatballs and pork chop.

You can serve the “roast” beef with garlic potatoes or steamed rice.  Because we’re severely Filipino, we went with rice.

There you have it!  The recipe of ages, at least in my opinion.  Hopefully when we make it next time, I can post and show pictures.

Let me know how this goes for you.