BRAISED BEEF

So I found a multi-step recipe involving braised beef, buttermilk mashed potatoes and a marsala mushroom sauce.  Sounded good and I gave it a shot, Marsala cream sauce-just so-so and really mashed potatoes are just mashed potatoes.  But the beef - Wow! Tender, yet firm, flavorful but not overpowered by any one flavor.  Since B generally only eats beef, I make a lot of pot roasts in a lot of different ways, but this is one I will make again and again. I took the photo before tasting the dish, or I would have just taken a shot of the meat.  You can see it peeking out in between the potatoes and the mushrooms.

Beer Braised Beef

Ingredients:

1 (2-1/2 pound) boneless beef chuck roast

Kosher salt and ground pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium yellow onions, halved and sliced thinly

2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 (12-ounces) bottles lager beer, like Budweiser

3 beef bouillon cubes

3 sprigs fresh thyme

1 6-inch sprig rosemary

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.  Cut the beef in large 2 or 3-inch chunks.  Season the beef generously with salt and pepper.  Place the beef in a ziplock bag and add the flour.  Seal the bag and shake the beef until each piece is dredged and coated in flour. Add three tablespoons vegetable oil to a large heavy duty pot and heat over medium-high heat.  Brown the beef on all sides, and then transfer to a plate.  Add the remaining tablespoon of vegetable oil to the pot and add the onions.  Cook the onions for 20 minutes until they are soft and slightly caramelized.  Stir in the balsamic vinegar, beer, and bouillon cubes.  Bring the mixture to boil, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom.  Add the beef and the juices from the plate back to the pot and give everything a good stir.  Cover the pot with a lid and place it in the oven for 2-1/2 hours.

*Note : The rosemary was just supposed to be used  as a garnish, but I put it in with the beef,