For The Best Pot Roast Of Your Life, Add In This Sweet Ingredient

Is there a dish more hearty and savory than pot roast? The braised beef dish is served with a rich sauce made from the braising liquid, as well as a variety of root vegetables and potatoes. It brings warmth during long, dreary winters, and makes for a truly delicious leftover sandwich to boot. This is to say, you probably wouldn't expect a touch of sweetness to be added to the dish. But just like cocoa is a secret ingredient you need to be using in spicy chili, there is a sweet ingredient that belongs in your next pot roast as well: smooth, sweet, and spiced apple butter. 

For those unfamiliar, apple butter is made by slow cooking the titular fruit until it's thick and perfectly caramelized. Spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg are often added, giving this preserve a lovely, warm flavor that is perfect for spreading on toast and, yes, mixing into your pot roast. The sweet, spicy, caramelized taste of apple butter will give both brightness and depth to your roast. To add, simply spread a spoon or two of apple butter on top of your beef before adding the cooking liquids and popping it in the oven to braise. Simple as that! The resulting roast will be warm and rich with a sweet-savory complexity.

While adding apple butter to your pot roast is an easy way to upgrade the dish, there are a few tips you'll want to keep in mind. For starters, avoid adding apple butter to your beef before searing. Sweeteners like apple butter and brown sugar can give your beef a good crust upon searing, thanks to caramelization and the golden Maillard reaction that packs a wallop of flavor. However, sugar is also susceptible to burning quickly, so coating your roast with apple butter before will increase the risk of it getting scorched when you sear the meat's surface. Rather than having a golden brown crust, you may be left with a black, bitter mess. Instead, rub the apple butter on top of your beef as the last step before braising — it is less likely to burn when cooked at a low heat and will still give you a tasty crust. 

Don't have apple butter on hand? Not to fret. You can make some from scratch using only apples, sugar, vinegar, salt, and spices. While it is time intensive, it's an easy process that yields tasty results. Or, you can swap your apple butter for applesauce. While the two aren't precisely interchangeable, applesauce will make for a tasty, albeit more mild, substitute. Simply add one third of a cup of sauce to your braising liquid and cook as usual.

When using this sweet addition, consider incorporating other ingredients that will help emphasize the impact of your apple butter as well. For example, add plenty of strong aromatics like shallots, garlic, and onions to get a good balance of sweet-savory flavors, and mix in spices like paprika to add a touch of heat. You might also consider adding some unconventional ingredients to your roast. Taking a leaf from Alton Brown's "Good Eats" pot roast, you can add raisins along with your apple butter. The raisins will add another touch of sweet complexity that might just elevate your roast to a whole new level.

Another easy way to amp up the pomme factor is by adding a bit of apple cider in addition to the butter. The tangy cider will add an acidic element to cut the roast's richness while also infusing a lovely fruity flavor into your dish that will give some seriously autumnal vibes. You can also use hard cider or beer (the latter will truly give you the best pot roast of your life), or highlight the apple with a bit of whiskey (a secret ingredient Ree Drummond swears by). This will give your dish an applejack-like kick, and will add a fair amount of warmth and depth that will further round out your pot roast.