An Australian attempts “the roast” (with writeup in comments)
An Australian attempts “the roast” (with writeup in comments)
by HomerJunior
3 Comments
HomerJunior
So obviously for years “the roast” has just been endlessly, mercilessly reposted, and I’ve always wanted to give it a go but there’s some specifically American ingredients that just don’t exist in Australia – I finally sat down, figured out some substitutions, gave it a go and thought I’d do a bit of a writeup for anyone else outside the US that can’t find ingredients but wants to try it out.
**1 (3 pound) chuck roast** 1.5kg bolar blade roast
**½ (12 ounce) jar pepperoncin** **i½ (12 ounce) jar pepperoncini juice** Had to order these off Amazon as it’s just not something that’s stocked in Australian supermarkets – however after getting the real deal I reckon good crunchy pickled jalapenos (Fehlbergs would be my pick) would work with a similar flavor profile/texture.
**½ cup unsalted butter** I used unsalted as suggested but in future I would actually use salted butter, had to salt the finished product quite a bit
**1 (1 ounce) packet au jus gravy mix** Went with Gravox traditional gravy powder in a satchet
**1 (0.4 oz) package buttermilk ranch dressing mix** This was the tricky one – ranch exists over here but solely as a finished ready-to-use dressing, so I had to dig a bit deeper for a substitution and ended up using [a DIY powder mix recipe here](https://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix/) – had to order the buttermilk on Amazon too, but the rest was on hand. Used a couple of tablespoons of the finished product as per their “one pack” recommendation in the recipe.
So after all that, how was the finished product? “Good”, not “great”. At the end the meat was perfectly falling apart and the pepperoncinis were amazing but on the whole the finished product was… lacking something? The flavor just wasn’t there, and even after adding a couple of tablespoons of salt to the pot, everyone agreed it was “just fine” but noone went back for seconds.
Given the rave reviews online it makes me wonder if my substititions were lacking? Happy to take any suggestions or criticisms, but based on tonight’s effort I probably won’t revisit it.
TzarGinger
I don’t buy it, all your pictures are right-side-up
LoubyAnnoyed
I use Vegemite in my slow cooker all the time. Works great to punch up the umami.
3 Comments
So obviously for years “the roast” has just been endlessly, mercilessly reposted, and I’ve always wanted to give it a go but there’s some specifically American ingredients that just don’t exist in Australia – I finally sat down, figured out some substitutions, gave it a go and thought I’d do a bit of a writeup for anyone else outside the US that can’t find ingredients but wants to try it out.
Firstly, I wanted to find a recipe with specific amounts rather than than just a general “beef, butter, pepperoncinis” listing and [ended up on this one](https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/260697/mississippi-pot-roast/). So, the ingredients:
**1 (3 pound) chuck roast**
1.5kg bolar blade roast
**½ (12 ounce) jar pepperoncin**
**i½ (12 ounce) jar pepperoncini juice**
Had to order these off Amazon as it’s just not something that’s stocked in Australian supermarkets – however after getting the real deal I reckon good crunchy pickled jalapenos (Fehlbergs would be my pick) would work with a similar flavor profile/texture.
**½ cup unsalted butter**
I used unsalted as suggested but in future I would actually use salted butter, had to salt the finished product quite a bit
**1 (1 ounce) packet au jus gravy mix**
Went with Gravox traditional gravy powder in a satchet
**1 (0.4 oz) package buttermilk ranch dressing mix**
This was the tricky one – ranch exists over here but solely as a finished ready-to-use dressing, so I had to dig a bit deeper for a substitution and ended up using [a DIY powder mix recipe here](https://www.spendwithpennies.com/homemade-ranch-dressing-mix/) – had to order the buttermilk on Amazon too, but the rest was on hand. Used a couple of tablespoons of the finished product as per their “one pack” recommendation in the recipe.
So after all that, how was the finished product? “Good”, not “great”. At the end the meat was perfectly falling apart and the pepperoncinis were amazing but on the whole the finished product was… lacking something? The flavor just wasn’t there, and even after adding a couple of tablespoons of salt to the pot, everyone agreed it was “just fine” but noone went back for seconds.
Given the rave reviews online it makes me wonder if my substititions were lacking? Happy to take any suggestions or criticisms, but based on tonight’s effort I probably won’t revisit it.
I don’t buy it, all your pictures are right-side-up
I use Vegemite in my slow cooker all the time. Works great to punch up the umami.