Beef, ranch dressing and gravy powders, pepperoncini and brine, stick of butter = magic
Having friends over for the Big Game can turn your house into an emotional minefield. You can’t buy bubble wrap thick enough to stop hearts from breaking, but you can provide what Buffalonians need: a menu made with love, worthy of a celebration. Or a funeral.
That’s when it’s time for my trick plays, dishes that only turn up once a season, or they’ll kill you. The sort of food that starts its own conversations.
Before your next gameday, if you eat meat, consider Mississippi pot roast. Invented by Robin Chapman of Ripley, Mississippi, it’s a shot at Italian spicy beef from ingredients available in a Mississippi grocery store in the 1990s. This Internet-famous recipe also earns a spot in the time-stressed cook’s toolkit, the go-to moves delivering the biggest impact for the least work.
Over mashed potatoes or pasta, soaked into rolls, silky-tender meat in a jus of pepperoncini pepper brine, powdered ranch dressing mix, gravy mix, and a stick of butter will pitch a tent in your sense memory.
Ambitious cooks could certainly amp up the beef notes by hard-searing the beef to a mahogany crust before braising. This time, I didn’t bother, and I did not regret the shortcut.
Does it really need a whole stick of butter? Probably not. What are the chances I make Mississippi pot roast again soon? Super likely.
Mississippi pot roast
Time: 3-8 hours
Serves: 20
Ingredients
3-4 pounds beef (chuck, rump, sirloin tip all work well)
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet au jus gravy mix
1 jar pepperoncini
1 stick butter
Instructions
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Put everything except peppers in a slow cooker or baking dish.
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Put as many pepperoncini in as you like. (12 is average; I used 20.)
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Pour in as much pepperoncini brine as you like. (½ cup is average; I used 1 cup)
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Turn on slow cooker, and cover. Or cover and place in 300 degree oven.
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Cook until tender, turning meat once an hour, for three to eight hours, depending on your gear and temperature levels. Meat should easily pop open when you insert a fork and twist. In my case, 3 ½ hours at 300 was enough. A slow cooker might take up to eight hours, Internet cooks report.
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Shred meat and pepperoncini, removing fat blobs and pepper stems. Shredding should be nearly effortless. Chunks should be squishable. If not, keep cooking until it reaches the right point.
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Serve.
#30#
