For The Richest Pot Roast Of Your Life, Add This Beloved Soda

When it comes to dessert recipes featuring soda, you've likely come across the famous chocolate Coca-Cola sheet cake or a root beer float pie ... but have you ever considered that one beloved soda also makes for a noteworthy addition to a standard pot roast? Try adding Dr Pepper for a sweet and savory kick that will elevate the richness of your meal. All it takes is this one fizzy beverage to make the classic dinner option really stand out. 

Dr Pepper is well-known for its unique taste, which features an expansive 23 different flavors. Notes of cinnamon, caramel, cherry, and cola are among some of the beverage's most prominent. And it turns out these flavor notes nicely complement the deep savory taste of your pot roast. You can simply combine the other liquids in your recipe with Dr Pepper. This mixture will need to be flavored with other ingredients like garlic, Worcestershire sauce, herbs, and spices to pour over your meat in the slow cooker or Dutch oven. Once added, you'll want to ensure the contents are submerged throughout the cooking process. 

For those wanting to achieve a more nuanced, deep flavor profile, you'll want to brown your meat before covering it in the Dr Pepper mixture. In order to prevent your sauce from becoming overly sweet, you can incorporate savory ingredients like soy sauce too. The acidic bite of vinegar can also nicely balance the molasses-adjacent flavors inherent in Dr Pepper. The addition of soda even helps to break down the meat in your dish, giving it a melt-in-your-mouth quality. This is because the acidic nature of soda acts as a tenderizing component by breaking down tough meat fibers, much like the qualities of citrus. 

When incorporating Dr Pepper, there are many ways you can adjust the other ingredients that will cook with the meat and vegetables to create a more nuanced dish. For example, you can add components like dry mustard, ketchup, and onion soup mix, alongside an extra savory layer of beef broth. But for those wanting to find even more ways to customize the addition of Dr Pepper, you don't have to exclusively add this ingredient during the cooking process.

You can also use Dr Pepper in your pre-marinade before adding it to the slow cooker. The great thing about this added step is that you can then reincorporate the extra-meaty leftover juices into your sauce base for even more flavor. Just whisk all your marinade ingredients together with Dr Pepper, ensuring all components are properly incorporated, and then submerge your beef in it. Though it depends on how much time you have to spend on this step, it is recommended to let the meat marinate for up to 12 hours in the fridge, or at least four hours if you're on a crunch. 

You can upgrade your pot roast even further by incorporating spicy adobo flavors with your Dr Pepper sauce base. This will create a dish that gently nods to the Spanish cuisine. You could even shred your meat to use in other meals once cooked. Consider turning your Dr Pepper pot roast into pork or beef tacos, serving your slow-cooked vegetables on the side. If that doesn't suit your palate, transform it into a shredded beef sandwich, keeping the savory-sweet flavors intact, just in a new form.