$246 vs $29 Pot Roast: Pro Chef & Home Cook Swap Ingredients

I'm gonna prep some rum. [laughs]

For the pot roast, not for me.

[whimsical music]

Hi, I'm Jesse. I'm a professional chef.

And these are my $246 pot roast ingredients.

Hi, I'm Lorenzo.

I'm a home cook, and these are my $29 pot roast ingredients.

[sighs] Goodbye, nice ingredients.

[Lorenzo blows]

Okay. This isn't so bad.

We have acid, we have seasonings. I can make this work.

[laughs] Okay.

[monkeys chattering] Crikey.

What the? It's a jungle.

How many people are we feeding?

So, I was planning to make

[whimsical music] a dark and stormy pot roast

with a potato-celery root puree,

and a mint and cilantro gremolata.

I've never had a Dark 'n Stormy.

This dish is really bright and acidic,

kind of not what you're expecting out of a pot roast.

What are you?

[gasps] Those are talking things from Harry Potter.

[laughs]

I had a grass-fed and pasture-raised beef chuck roast,

which is perfect for slow cooking.

Is that steak, rolled up?

What are you?

Plus some dark rum.

Drunken pot roast?

[Jesse] And ginger beer. Ginger beer?

I was right. You are from Harry Potter. [laughs]

AKA, the Dark and stormy part.

We're making a smorgasbord.

Let me tell you about my pot roast.

It's called Put 'em all together in a pot and roast.

With Lorenzo's tray, we have a lot simpler ingredients.

These are things maybe you have in your pantry

or you can get at any grocery store,

but I think with some clever techniques,

we can make a really great pot roast dinner.

If I had to guess how much all of this costs,

I would say maybe $35.

[cash register dings] 29? Okay.

Not bad of a deal.

If I were to guess, this would cost 360 bucks.

[cash register dings] 246.

It was on sale.

So, this is Chef Jesse's recipe book.

[light music] And this is

what I'll be making.

Lorenzo, if I have one tip for you,

it's really just take your time with this.

You're gonna make your own stock,

you're gonna be searing the meat.

This is a project. Oh, Lord help us.

But all of these things add up

and give it so much more flavor,

the effort really pays off in the end.

I believe we are going to start with the stock.

Normally I would go to the grocery store

and buy a nice box of stock [laughs]

but Jesse has given me this lovely bowl of beef bones.

These are just bones that I asked my butcher to give me.

You just want a beef bone

that has a bit of fat on it, a bit of meat on it.

You're gonna roast them in the oven

until they're nice and browned.

I'm Filipino so I would be gnawing on these

without you here. [laughs]

They look good-enough to eat, as in.

I'm gonna throw all of these into this pot.

Ooh, look at all that. The juices there.

Even the dried bits of juices.

And then you're actually gonna take that sheet tray

after your bones are out and add water to it

and scrape up all those brown bits too,

because those are very valuable.

[Lorenzo] I'm gonna get that off this pan.

You're gonna add that water,

with all the scraped-up bits in it,

and the browned bones, to a pot with a bunch of water.

That little bit? That's broth.

So, Lorenzo's planning to make a pot roast

where you throw everything into a slow cooker,

turn it on and just let it cook for hours.

A one-pot wonder.

I'm going to be doing something a little different.

I'm gonna be making a charred onion pot roast,

with pickled vegetables and a potato-olive oil puree.

So, the first thing I'm gonna focus on

is making a charred onion peel stock.

So, first I'm going to peel the onions and take those skins

and we're actually gonna roast those skins

until they start to burn and char and turn brown,

and that's gonna create the base of this stock.

Now I'm gonna make it better with vegetables.

I've got my onion, my celery,

a carrot, I'm got my garlic, bay leaves,

peppercorns, and some thyme.

While my onion skins are in the oven,

I can further trim these.

I'm gonna take these little roots and put them in there,

and for the carrots, it's kind of the same idea,

in that I want to use everything.

These skins go straight into the stock too.

We are gonna cut the carrots into just rounds,

and for the onions, we're just gonna dice those.

Cool.

So, all my veggies for my pot roast are prepped.

I'm gonna combine this with about eight cups of water.

[Jesse] You're gonna bring that up to a boil.

Okey-dokey, finokey jokey. [laughs]

We're up to a boil.

And then take it down.

And really what you're looking for

is what I'd say is a like a lazy boil,

a lazy bubble, at this point.

You don't wanna blast it.

It smells so good in here.

That's gonna make a really, really flavorful,

concentrated beef stock,

which is gonna be a foundation for the pot roast.

After two-and-a-half hours, you can taste the stock,

and see if it has flavor.

That's a great indicator it's done.

[Lorenzo smacks tongue]

Delicious.

These onion peels look great.

There are some really burnt ones

interspersed with lightly-toasted ones,

so this is exactly what I'm looking for.

I'm gonna go ahead and add these peels to the pot,

cover this with water,

and you just want enough water

so that they're pretty-much submerged.

I'm just gonna let this simmer away for about an hour.

So, it's been about an hour. I'm curious to give it a taste.

It has kind of this toasted, smokey flavor,

so this is gonna be great.

I am gonna pour this whole pot into my double-strainer.

[Jesse] So, once it's ready, you are going to put that

through a fine-mesh strainer.

Look at all this beautiful stock in there.

Can you see that? There it is.

The stock is ready to go.

This looks great, so I'm really excited to use this

as kind of the foundation for the pot roast.

All right, I have got to sear

this wonderful, wonderful piece of meat here.

Lorenzo is gonna be using a boneless chuck roast,

so this one is pasture-raised,

it is grass-fed.

It is so marbleized.

So, it's gonna break down

really beautifully in the pot roast.

So, this, again, is a chuck roast.

This is the same cut of meat that I gave Lorenzo.

This is maybe a slightly more affordable one.

This isn't grass-fed or pasture-raised.

So, I have to season first, with lots of salt.

I would say about two tablespoons of salt almost,

which sounds insane, but with meat,

you really have to add a lot of salt

to cut through the savoriness, the fattiness.

And same idea with the pepper.

You really have to be heavy-handed at this point.

So, Lorenzo sent me this French onion soup mix.

I think he was using this as just a flavoring

for the water he was gonna use,

but this basically has onions, sugar,

soy sauce, onion powder, so these are all things

that I would season a pot roast with,

so here I'm just using them as seasoning for the meat.

This is just gonna add a nice crust

to the outside of the meat,

and then we're going to sear it.

Really, really hot pot,

before you put the oil.

That way it doesn't stick.

[Jesse] So, I can tell the oil is shimmering,

so I'm ready to go in with my meat.

Season this side.

We're gonna let that go.

So, this is exactly what you want.

You want that deep browning.

We're looking for a sear.

You kind of want to see lots of smoke actually happening.

So, like, if your smoke detector goes off,

that's totally fine.

Your clothes will smell like pot roasts.

Your dogs, your cats, your fish.

Make sure you really like pot roast.

So, carefully I'm just gonna transfer that back over here.

Hi-yah.

The beef is nice and seared on both sides.

Pot is ready for my vegetables.

Celery.

[bright music] And the celery's

actually gonna give off some moisture,

so you can start scraping the bottom

if there's any burnt bits or brown bits,

because that's where all the flavor is.

Here we go with the garlic.

Some ginger. Delicious.

Let me mix this up.

Cook that just until it's fragrant,

and then you're gonna sprinkle some flower on top,

and mix that in, and this is making a quick roux.

A roux is fat and flour,

and this is something that thickens a liquid.

Typically it's butter, but here we're using

the rendered fat from the beef in place of that.

I'm gonna immediately go in with the vegetables,

and it's kinda sweat all their moisture out,

and kind of help deglaze this.

The brown stuff on the bottom is called fond,

and it's actually gonna be

one of the main flavoring components of this.

One of the flaws of using a slow cooker,

as easy as it is,

is you don't get this high heat,

this build-up of fond on the bottom,

so you don't get that extra flavor.

When you just add everything at once,

you're really missing out on that.

So, next you're gonna go on with your liquids.

The dark rum.

[Jesse] Light rum or a white rum

wouldn't quite give you that same caramel profile.

It's getting dark and stormy in here, folks.

First of all, the bits are coming up, which is nice.

Deglazing the pot, for sure.

And after that, we're gonna go in

with the beef stock that we made.

So, we've got the dark part, yes?

Now it's time to be stormy. [laughs]

Forgive me.

This is non-alcoholic. Here we go.

But it's quite sharp,

balancing to all the savory brown notes going on.

Look at all the bubbles.

Oh, I love that. Dark and stormy.

Totally.

I am going in with some lime juice.

Another nod to the dark and stormy.

[Lorenzo] Light-brown sugar.

And lastly, a hint of Worcestershire sauce.

Worcestershire sauce.

And this is kind of a cheat code.

You won't taste it, but it's gonna give you

a whole 'nother layer of savoriness.

Mix and I'm gonna bring it up to a boil,

and then I'm gonna reduce it for a bit.

So, by reducing it,

we're ensuring it has this nice, light gravy texture,

that will coat the back of a spoon.

Yes.

Oh my goodness.

I think it's ready.

Now the onions have softened a bit,

I'm gonna go in with the stock that we made earlier.

So, I'll start with a little bit.

And then we'll use that

and start scraping up the bottom.

But you can tell how rich and deep

this gravy's already getting here.

So, Lorenzo gave me bay leaves,

and he gave me thyme.

I also have one more packet of the soup mix,

and I'm gonna use this to bolster the stock even more.

You're gonna add the meat right back into the center.

Low and slow is the name of the game with a braise.

And now I get to put in my vegetables.

You're gonna add carrots,

you're gonna add parsnips,

and you're gonna add pearl onions.

Oh, nice.

Chef Jesse, a little fancy on the pearl onions.

I like using pearl onions

because it feels more substantial

instead of getting little bits and pieces

of onion particulate.

You're really getting to experience onion as you eat it.

Fancy-schmancy.

Put a lid on it,

and then cook it for three-to-three-and-a-half hours,

until it's tender,

and halfway through that process,

I'm gonna take the lid off,

just so the sauce can reduce down,

and also so the meat can brown a little bit more,

which is a good thing.

[Lorenzo strains]

Lorenzo, it has been three-and-a-half hours,

so you can take the lid off,

but we're not quite done yet.

You're actually gonna flip the piece of meat.

This helps ensure that both the top and the bottom

are cooking evenly.

[Lorenzo] I'm gonna put you back in the oven.

Yep, here we go. Good night.

So, this looks great.

The browning on top of the meat's really, really nice.

You can tell there's kind of a sheen,

slick of oil on top.

Tip it to one side.

Try to get as much fat as possible off the top.

My pot roast is still in the oven, doing its thang.

I am gonna make Chef Jesse's gremolata.

What is a gremolata?

Traditional gremolata is a condiment

that's usually chopped parsley, lemon zest, salt.

Sometimes it has olive oil.

My version is kind of drawing inspiration,

again, from the cocktail, Dark 'n Stormy,

and it is cilantro-mint.

So, I'm just gonna chop it up as fine as possible.

I have my citrus, lime juice.

A pinch of salt.

And a little bit of olive oil.

That's yummy.

This is gonna add a lot of freshness

and be served on the side.

Lorenzo had white vinegar in his recipe.

I assume he added a splash just for acidity,

which makes sense.

I'm gonna use the carrots and onion that I have

and I'm gonna make a quick pickle.

I'm just gonna cut my onion, I'm gonna cut my carrot,

into similar size, like matchsticks,

put them in a bowl,

and we're gonna just add our pickling solution.

I eyeball it, but it's just equal parts water, vinegar.

And just a hefty pinch of salt.

Make sure that they're all submerged.

So, these will sit for about an hour,

and they'll turn into quick pickles.

These will go right on top.

They'll be crunchy, acidic, and really nice.

Okay. I am about to embark [laughs]

in my potato and celery root puree.

Pot roast is really the greatest and most delicious

when there's something starchy underneath it,

whether that's egg noodles or mashed potatoes,

or in this instance, a puree.

And I really love celery roots.

That is really frightening.

I'm gonna tackle you first,

because I don't like looking at you.

This is the root of celery,

and it has the same texture, kind of,

as a potato or, think, almost jicama.

It is a root vegetable that tastes very strongly of celery.

No, don't. [laughs]

Don't. Yes.

No. Sorry, pal.

This is my way of taking something classic

like mashed potatoes with pot roast,

and adding a bit more nuance.

It smells sweet for some reason.

It's really bright, and it kind of lightens up

a typical mashed potato.

And move onto Yukon Golds.

Cut them into one-inch chunks.

Add that to a large pot,

and fill it with cold water,

so it covers them by about an inch.

And this next part is really important.

Add, quite literally,

almost a small fistful of salt.

Let's add some salt.

The water should taste like the sea.

And start it from cold, and bring it up to a boil.

This helps promote even cooking,

so everything's not cooking from the outside in,

but kind of all at the same time.

And you wanna cook them until they're fork-tender,

you can pierce them without any resistance.

At that point, you are gonna strain them

and push them through a ricer.

Hi-yah.

This is to make sure there is no clumps, no chunks.

This is a puree, so you want it very, very smooth.

And then you're just gonna go in with heavy cream,

butter and salt, and mix that all together

until it's smooth, almost like a mashed potato,

really velvety texture.

Taste it again. Take your time.

Wow. That is lovely.

Okay, Chef. It is super-creamy.

You win.

It is definitely lovely.

Potato and celery root puree.

So, normally for mashed potatoes,

there is some dairy component involved,

to give it that creamy texture.

I don't have that today,

but I can still make it work.

I'm gonna use olive oil,

and reserve some of the cooking water

that the potatoes are cooked in

to add to the mashed potatoes

to give that kind of creamy texture.

So, I'm gonna go ahead and peel these.

These are just russet potatoes.

Cover these by about an inch or two of cold water.

And don't forget, of course,

to go in with your salt.

Potatoes love salt.

Don't be skimpy here.

And we're just gonna check on this in about 15 minutes.

So, these potatoes are nice and tender.

When you poke them, there is not much resistance,

but they're not falling apart too much either.

So, I'm gonna cut it here,

and I'm gonna drain this, but have a measuring glass,

and capture some of this water.

So, my potatoes are boiled.

I like my purees, my mashes, really silky smooth,

and for people who don't have a ricer at home,

this is a great alternative,

and restaurants will use a tamis,

which is basically this,

which you can press things into.

So, I'm gonna go in with this cooking liquid.

Go very slow.

So, you don't need a lot.

You're just adding enough of everything

to kind of get it along.

And some olive oil for effect.

And again, we wanna hit this with salt.

This tastes good to me.

You can tell it's swooshy,

and holds its shape,

and it's maybe a little looser than you're used to,

but as this sits, in like ten minutes,

it'll completely stiffen up even more,

but for now this looks perfect to me.

[drum roll]

Wow, wow, wow, wow.

[light music] That is beautiful.

It smells absolutely divine.

[Jesse] The star of the show, the pot roast.

These are like candied vegetables.

You definitely wanna serve this gravy on the side.

It's one of the best parts of the pot roasts.

I keep all the vegetables in. I think they're really nice.

I'm gonna go down, first with the mashed potatoes.

I kind of just rotate the bowl,

and make this organic landing place.

[Lorenzo] So, I'm piping my beautiful

potato and celery-root puree.

With the piping, this is just a pretty straightforward,

easy way to elevate the presentation.

Lovely jubbly already.

[Jesse] Then I'm gonna put a big chunk of the meat on top.

Look at that. Parsnips and carrots.

They look glazed.

I can't forget my lovely pearl onions as well.

[Jesse] And I like to add all the vegetables too.

And then I'll spoon some of the sauce right on top.

My delicious-looking mint and cilantro gremolata.

[whimsical music] And there you have it.

Dark and stormy pot roast,

with potato and celery root puree,

with mint and cilantro gremolata.

And last, I just take a fistful

of these pickled vegetables and place them right on top.

And here is my charred onion pot roast

with pickled vegetables

in a potato olive oil puree.

[camera shutter clicks]

[whimsical music]

Chef Jesse, how are you? Well, hello.

Pleasure to meet you. It's a pleasure to meet you.

I'm nervous.

No, don't be nervous. Okay. [laughs]

If something went wrong, it's my recipe,

so it's my fault.

Okay. But I cooked it.

[Lorenzo laughs] Okay, fair. But, no.

[Jesse] All right. I'm excited.

I am excited.

Okay. Look at that piping.

That looks good.

Yeah, it looks pretty good [laughs] but-

I think that looks really nice.

Shall we, uh, try one of them?

Yeah, I think we need to try what you have done.

It looks great.

It just shreds, so- Oh, yeah. It's very good.

You cooked it perfectly. Thank you.

It's browned on top,

but it's still really tender and smooth.

I'm going for the meat first.

Yeah, I'm doing the combo.

Mm, it's good. Okay.

It's really good. [Lorenzo laughs]

It's so tender. It's the exact texture it should be.

It's very dark and stormy,

if you know what I'm saying. It is.

I love parsnips, but the way it's almost candied-

Yeah. It's lovely.

It has a really great texture, too.

They're not mushy or anything.

I think the gremolata's really nice too.

Is it right?

Yeah, it looks right to me. [Lorenzo laughs]

Definitely different from mine, for sure.

I'm getting different textures, different flavors.

I love it. You did great.

Yes. Thank you, Chef.

But I think you need to try what I did.

I cannot wait.

This looks something I'd buy at a restaurant for sure.

Yeah, I borrowed some of the onion and carrot

that was in the mix

and just quick-pickled them for a little garnish.

And then, look how...

Oh my creamy. Are you kidding?

Okay, here we go. Drum roll.

Mm.

This is very special,

without, I mean, really doing too much of a change, right?

Yeah, same ingredients.

I didn't give you anything to make mashed potatoes with,

except the potato.

I'm curious what you did.

I used the cooking water for the potato.

Okay, that makes sense.

And then I also used just olive oil and salt,

and that's it. No cream, no butter.

No. No dairy at all. No butter?

No butter.

I love pickled vegetables,

but I never thought of eating it with a pot roast.

It's pretty easy too.

You can just do it at room temp for, like, an hour.

It's enough to make them somewhat pickley.

Winner, winner, chicken dinner.

All around. [laughs]

[Jesse] Thank you. Thank you.

No. Thank you.

I appreciate it. It was a pleasure, Chef.

No, this was great. You did great.

Thank you very much. Yeah.

Okay, go away. We're gonna keep eating. [laughs]

Literally. Yeah, right?