I grew up eating roasts that had been over cooked and had absolutely no flavour. I remember covering it with HP Sauce and trying to choke it down since I was “forced” to eat it. Two things came from this; A) I am not a huge Roast Beef fan, and B) I will never force my children to eat something they do not like.
I am however someone who loves to cook and is married to a Carnivore of English decent (think beef & potatoes). Plus I want my kids to grow up enjoying a wide range of foods. And so we/I cook Roasts several different ways (indirect grilling, rotisserie, slow cooker, dutch oven) and it always has to have a ton of flavour for me to eat it.
I came across this recipe awhile ago and have adapted it for our family making with vodka, red wine and more recently Cointreau. If you can not find shiitake mushrooms use white or cremini mushrooms, they work just as well and may be preferable for those not used to the texture of a shiitake mushroom.
Tip: You can make this recipe and/or any crockpot recipe the night before. Assemble all your ingredients in the stoneware the evening before and place covered stoneware in fridge. The next morning pull it out, plop it into it’s home, plug it in and get on with your day knowing supper will be ready when you get home. I did this a lot when I worked outside of the house and my first born was in a dayhome.

Ingredients
- 10 dried shiitake mushrooms
- 1 cup boiling water
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 beef pot roast blade, approx 3-4lbs
- 3-4 large french shallots diced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- salt & pepper
- 1 cup fresh shiitake mushrooms stems removed & sliced
- 1/3 cup vodka
- 1.5 cup beef broth
- 2 tbsp soya sauce
- 2 tbsp oyster sauce
- 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 tbsp water
Instructions
- Soak shiitake mushrooms in boiling water for 30 minutes to plump. Strain through a sieve or colander reserving liquid. Pat mushrooms lightly to dry and slice. Set aside.
- Add oil and preheat frying pan. Brown your roast over med-high heat until all sides on roast are brown. Place into your crockpot.
- In same pan with oil and roast drippings saute your shallots and cook until soft. Add garlic, ginger, a pinch of salt and pepper and reserved plump mushrooms. Stir and cook 1 minute, then add fresh mushrooms and cook one more minute. Add your vodka and cook another minute. Finally add reserved mushroom soaking liquid and beef broth, bringing to a boil.
- Pour broth over roast in crockpot and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 4-5 hours. Once roast is tender transfer to a plate and using a slotted spoon, remove solids from cooking liquid and arrange around roast. Cover with foil to keep warm.
- Almost done....in a pan over medium heat, bring cooking liquid (you get this from the crockpot) to a boil. Add soy sauce (careful here, soy sauce can be salty), oyster sauce and hoisin sauce. Bring to a boil and cook approx. 5 minutes to reduce and concentrate flavours. Stir in cornstarch mixture and cook a minute or two until it thickens. Serve gravy along side roast.
Notes
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