TDF Crockpot Roast reinvents a popular internet recipe using a homemade seasoning mix to bring the sodium levels back down to earth.
TDF Crockpot Roast (Minus all that Salt!)
by Sue Lau | Palatable Pastime
9.4.14
There has been a recipe for crockpot roast beef floating around the internet for as long as I can remember. I’d say whose recipe was the original but I don’t really know, as various incarnations of it exist out in the ether. It is called “TDF” among other things, and uses a steady supply of packaged seasoning mixes, such as Ranch, beef gravy and Italian dressing. It’s really not that great a recipe (if you go by the reviews) and it could be literally to die for with all the salt in it. But I digress.
I don’t really care to dis anyone’s recipe, but the combined sodium content in those little envelopes is enough to possibly preserve the raw meat in its natural state for at least one hundred years (or so I might presume.) It is definitely not for me.
And why must we use those prepackaged mixes at all? I mean, I have heard people that have tried that recipe cut the seasonings back seriously, to cut back on the salt. But that also cuts back on the seasonings and flavor.
So just how are we to dodge the salt bullet there without sacrificing the whole thing?
Make our own seasoning mixes would be the logical course.
And so this is how this recipe is put together- everything you might get in those little seasoning packets, or an approximation thereof, minus the tons of salt.
The result may seem like a laundry list of seasonings, but it really is easy enough to put together, and the results, flavor-wise, are spectacular.
I really do think this is the best crockpot roast beef I ever made. And it might just make me actually enjoy using my crockpot again, instead of hiding it in a closet waiting for the odd chili, soup recipe, or pot of beans. This is crockpot magic, and it can be your magic too. Just give it a try.
~Sue
TDF Crockpot Roast (Minus all that Salt!)
Ingredients:
- 3 pounds boneless beef chuck blade roast
- 4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 2-3 carrots, chopped
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon dried chives
- 1 tablespoon powdered dry milk
- 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1-1/2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 teaspoon celery seed
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
- 1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
- 3 teaspoons beef base
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
- 1/2 cup water
Slurry:
- 1/2 cup water
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
- 1 teaspoon kitchen bouquet
Method:
- Sear roast on both sides in a nonstick skillet until browned.
- Place onion slices in the bottom of the lined crockpot and cover with the other chopped vegetables. Top with the browned roast.
- Stir together seasonings and sprinkle over the top of the roast.
- Mix the water with the beef base and vinegar and pour over all.
- Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until tender.
- Lift out roast and vegetables to a platter, skim off any excess fat from the pan juices, then mix slurry (water, cornstarch, kitchen bouquet) and stir into the remaining juices, cooking on high until thickened or heating in a small saucepan until thick, stirring frequently. Serve gravy over meat.
Recipe from the kitchen of: palatablepastime.com
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Wow, this roast looks wonderful Sue!
And yeeeeeesh- all those seasoning packets would throw me off from even wanting to try that other recipe…
Nice! We do not do sodium in our house either. Those packets are outrageous! Very nicely done 🙂
This is really a great tasting pot roast recipe. I did make a slight change using turnip instead of potatoes and only because I like to serve my pot roast with mashed potatoes so I can drizzle those lovely juices over them. Both DH and I enjoyed this which means a lot because we both have totally different palates.