The secret to a juicy roast

I have tried to make a juicy, oven baked, beef roast for years. Every time I try and make it, a delicious smell fills the house. I open the oven door and BAM! The roast is so dry it looks (and typically tastes) like beef jerky. Last week, though, I stumbled upon the perfect roast, completely by accident.

I was planning on making pork pulled barbeque. I made my rub, got out the tin foil, and discovered my pork had...changed colors, to put it nicely. I load up my son, head to the store, and discover that they must now be feeding pigs pure gold, because the price is ridiculous. Well, I didn't come down here for no reason. I grab a beef roast, and head to the checkout, convinced I can make something. It worked! I now present my unconventional roast recipe.

Ingredients:
1 average size beef roast
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 tbsp salt
2 tsp pepper
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, cut in half and lightly squished
1  1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees. Place your roast on a large enough sheet of tin foil to completely wrap it. Mix the sugar, salt, pepper, chili powder, and basil leaves in a small bowl. Using your hands, rub this mixture all over the roast, flipping over to be sure to get the bottom. Wrap the roast in a burrito style, pulling up the sides so the liquid can't drain out. Let cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. When it is close to being done, heat the vinegar to a boil in a saucepan. Add the garlic and reduce heat to medium. Continue to cook for 1 minute. Carefully remove the roast from the oven and open one end of the foil. Pour the vinegar mix in, lifting the roast slightly to allow for the vinegar to move all over. Place back in the oven and cook for an additional 2 hours. About 10 minutes before it is done, open the foil and put the oven on 300 degrees to brown the top nicely. Once finished, pour all the juice into a saucepan and reduce to make a homemade barbeque sauce.

Tips:
*I like using a boneless chuck roast for this recipe. Whatever you do, don't use London Broil. It's as tough as shoe leather, and I have never figured out how to make it tender.
*Please wash your hands after putting on the rub. I want you to enjoy the roast, not be throwing up everything you ate due to cross contamination.
*This recipe takes a long time because it's essentially barbeque. As my culinary icon, Alton Brown, would say, "Low and slow!" Low heat cooks slower, but makes the meat oh-so-tender and juicy.
*Yes, you do have to cook the vinegar on the stove first. Yes, your house will smell absolutely horrible. I don't suggest this meal when your husband's boss is coming over, but it's perfectly suitable for your mother-in-law, who never thinks your house is clean enough in the first place. Just kidding, Melissa.
*If you like your food salty, keep some extra salt on the table. This dish is not very salty, and on purpose. Salt draws the moisture OUT of meat, which would lead us right back to the whole tastes like jerky issue.
*As a side note (Ha! A pun!) sweet potatoes are excellent with this dish. Maybe someday I'll even give you my ridiculously easy recipe.

Good luck and good cooking!

Easy Bake Onions

I love the taste of an onion. Short of eating it like an apple, I pretty much add it to everything I cook. Onions fall into the "aromatic" category, and they make every savory dish better. Imagine my excitement when the Neely's on Food Network made these delicious baked onions! Of course, they used a grill, but I'm not much of an outdoorsy cook. They're just as good cooked in an oven.

Ingredients
4 large vidalia (or sweet) onions
4 tbsp butter or margarine
garlic
salt
olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and core the onions. Place each onion on a large enough piece of tinfoil to completely wrap it. Place one tablespoon of the butter in each core, pushing it down into the hole. Drizzle olive oil over each onion, and sprinkle with garlic and salt to taste. Wrap the onions in the tinfoil and put on the middle rack of the oven. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until translucent.

Tips
*A melon baller is an excellent tool to core the onions. It's a lot easier than digging around with a spoon, and less likely to send balls of onion flying across your kitchen.
*Don't throw away the onion balls you remove. Put them in a ziploc bag and store in your refrigerator for use in soups and stews, or to just fry up for a quick onion sandwich.
*If you want to grill them, it is possible. Follow the same recipe, except put them on the grill for around 25 minutes.
*A little garlic goes a LONG way. And since this is onion and garlic together, I don't recommend this for first date food.