I really suck at cooking beef of any kind, in any way. But this is my easy, "go to" recipe whenever I get a huge hunk of beef. (Wow, that sounds a bit inappropriate.).
This recipe works great with brisket, but less expensive cuts of meat work good too. You can use tougher cuts because it simmers all day in juice, till it falls apart.
Today, I am trying top round, but chuck roast works good too. (I seriously don't know what the difference is between most cuts of meat, other than filet mignon, so I just pick one based on size, shape, and price. Use whatever cut you prefer. And I wish I had pictures to post, but our computer isn't working.)
Here's the recipe:
Place your 3-4 pound hunk of beef (still sounds bad!) in a large pot on the stove-top. Cut really large pieces in half to help it cook quicker and more evenly.
Then sprinkle on ...
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon seasoned salt
Black pepper (a bunch of turns on the pepper mill, about 1\2 teaspoon or so)
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1\2 Tablespoon garlic powder
1\2 Tablespoon onion powder
Then pour on 1 1\2 cups water. And simmer, covered, about 6-7 hours on low (just high enough to keep it lightly bubbling) till tender and falling apart. Add more water or spices if needed (but don't taste test until the meat is cooked enough to be safe to try).
If you want to make gravy with the juice, just remove the cooked meat, strain the broth (or not), then add some flour-water or cornstarch-water to the broth, stir and cook till thick, about a couple minutes. (You can add the extra spices now if you want, instead of earlier.). I just eyeball the flour-water mixture, so I don't have exact measurements. But I would guess about 1\4 cup of flour or about 2 tablespoons cornstarch per 1\2 cup of water. (You may need to add extra water and spices if it won't be enough gravy.)
I don't cook veggies with the meat, but I would assume you could add some cut carrots and potatoes, too. But you may need to adjust the water and cooking time.
I usually serve the meat and gravy with mashed potatoes, mixed veggies or corn, and occasionally honeyed carrots (just simmer baby carrots in a bit of water till fork-tender, drain the water, then add a bit of butter and a drizzle of honey, stir and simmer till glazed).
This can be done in a crock-pot, on high all day, but I have found that it doesn't cook the larger pieces of meat as fast that way. In fact, I have had to transfer it from the crock-pot to the stove-top when I realized it wasn't done all the way at dinnertime. So I always do the stove-top now. It's just a more sure way.
