Italian Pot Roast Ragu

This recipe’s a hybrid of sorts. Stew + Ragu = voila!
You’ll want to deeply brown the pieces of beef chuck. Seriously. Don’t gray them. They should have dark spots across the surface, not just golden patches. Be patient and let all those natural sugars become more intensely flavored.
To balance all that browned goodness, we call for dried spices, rather than fresh, because the dried ones have a slightly earthier flavor, less bright and so more balanced in the ragu.

Cuisine

Modern

Course

Main Course

Difficulty

Medium

Duration

1-2 hours

Cooking Technique

Max Pressure Cook, Pressure Cook, Slow Cook

Keywords

1-2 hours, 2 pounds, bay leaf, boneless beef chuck, contributed, cook 85 min, drained and rinsed capers, dried oregano, dried rosemary, frozen pearl onions, garlic clove, ground black pepper, light dry red wine, main course, max pressure cook, medium, modern, olive oil, prep 10 min, pressure cook, slow cook, table salt, whole tomatoes

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

85 min

Servings

2 pounds

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
2 lbs boneless beef chuck
28 ounces whole tomatoes
1/2 cup frozen pearl onions
3/4 cup light dry red wine
1 tbsp drained and rinsed capers
1 medium garlic clove
1 tbsp dried rosemary
2 tsp dried oregano
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Instructions

Press Saute, set time for 20 minutes.
Warm the oil in the cooker for a minute or two. Add the beef in two batches and brown, turning a couple of times. Make sure the first piece is well browned before transferring it to a bowl and adding the second one. At the end, both pieces of beef should be in the bowl.
Wash and dry your hands. One by one, squeeze the whole tomatoes over the pot, then add any remaining juice from the can. Add the pearl onions and stir well to scrape up all the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring often, just until the onions begin to brown lightly. Turn off the SAUTE function.
Stir in the wine, capers, garlic, rosemary, oregano, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Return the beef pieces and any juice in the bowl to the cooker. Lock the lid onto the pot.
Optional 1 Max Pressure Cooker
Press Pressure cook on Max pressure for 44 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
Optional 2 All Pressure Cookers
Press Pressure cook (Manual) on High pressure for 55 minutes with the Keep Warm setting off.
Option 3 Slow Cook
Press Slow Cook option on High for 5 hours with Keep Warm setting off (or on for no more than 2 hours)
If you’ve used a pressure setting, when the machine has finished cooking, turn it off and let its pressure return to normal naturally, about 30 minutes.
Unlatch the lid and open the cooker. Use a flatware tablespoon to skim off any excess surface fat. Find and discard the bay leaf, then use two forks to shred the meat.
Press Saute, set time for 10 minutes.
Bring the sauce to a full simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until reduced to a fairly wet ragu, about 5 minutes. Turn off the SAUTE function and set the lid askew over the pot for 5 minutes to blend the flavors.

Notes

Beyond
• You must halve the recipe for a 3-quart cooker.
• Stir up to 2 tablespoons butter into the ragu before serving.
• This ragu takes well to pasta shapes like rigatoni or fusilli. Or serve it as a stew over large spoonfuls of ricotta.
• Garnish with minced fresh parsley leaves.

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