I read the New York Times Cooking story last week about America’s love affair with ranch dressing and immediately started craving Mississippi Roast.
This Pinterest favorite dish is traditionally made in a slow cooker with chuck roast, pepperoncini peppers and a package of ranch dressing. The Times recipe by Sam Sifton calls for making your own ranch dressing, which isn’t hard at all.
The peppery roast is a great Sunday dinner option that might give you leftovers for a busy weeknight. Might. We served it on Sunday with egg noodles and a salad. I planned to have leftovers on Monday with roasted sweet potatoes and red onion wedges and buttermilk biscuits (because the dressing calls for a mere teaspoon of buttermilk, and it seemed such a waste to not use some of the rest of it). That turned out to be optimistic. My family ate it all the first night.
Mississippi Roast
INGREDIENTS
1 boneless chuck roast or top or bottom round roast, 3 to 4 pounds
2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
8 to 12 pepperoncini
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon dried dill
¼ teaspoon sweet paprika
1 teaspoon buttermilk, optional
Chopped parsley, for garnish
PREPARATION
Place roast on a cutting board and rub the salt and pepper all over it. Sprinkle the flour all over the seasoned meat and massage it into the flesh.
Heat the oil in a large sauté pan set over high heat until it is shimmering and about to smoke. Place the roast in the pan and brown on all sides, 4 to 5 minutes a side, to create a crust. Remove roast from pan and place it in the bowl of a slow cooker. Add the butter and the pepperoncini to the meat. Put the lid on the slow cooker, and set the machine to low.
As the roast heats, make a ranch dressing. Combine the mayonnaise, vinegar, dill and paprika in a small bowl and whisk to emulsify. Add the buttermilk if using, then whisk again. Remove the lid from the slow cooker and add the dressing.
Replace the top and allow to continue cooking, undisturbed, for 6 to 8 hours, or until you can shred the meat easily using 2 forks. Mix the meat with the gravy surrounding it.
Garnish with parsley, and serve with egg noodles or roast potatoes, or pile on sandwich rolls, however you like.
savor 