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Kona Cold Brew Marinade for Pot Roast
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Kona Cold Brew Marinade for Pot Roast
From Lawrence Bullock
Here’s a cold brew marinade recipe for anytime when you have an extra bit of prep time. You will need a full two days for prep, and another ten hours for the slow cooker.
Cold Brew Recipe:
From a 12 oz package of Thanksgiving Coffee Kona Blend, use 1/4 cup of beans, ground coarse for French Press, in a 1 quart French Press in the refrigerator. Add the ground coffee, and a quart of filtered water, and replace the plunger and lid. Don't press the plunger down till the brew is done. Once the cold brewing was complete (12 hours) I press the plunger down, trapping the grounds. If you don’t have one of those, simply pour off the cold brew into a second container until you see the sludge. Set the strained cold brew aside. Discard any solids left at the bottom, and you’re left with a concentrate of cold brew coffee. Add water to get to the desired volume.
The Pot Roast recipe:
I bought two chuck roasts. Chuck roasts are an inexpensive cut, but flavorful. I put the cold brew into a container that I knew could contain the roasts and the cold brew. A lidded container is preferable, but if you don’t have one, use cling wrap to seal it off. Use enough cold brew to completely cover the meat.
I then placed the meat, covered in cold brew, in the refrigerator for 24 hours. Once the cold brew marinade process was over, I poured the leftover cold brew coffee into a container and set it aside.
As you can see, planning ahead is essential as two 24 periods are involved, and THEN a ten hour cook time... But it’s worth it.
I then used the directions on a product called Johnny’s French Dip Au Jus. This product can be found in most grocery stores, or online, these days. You only need one little bottle, but I usually buy two and keep one in the pantry. Johnny’s French Dip Au Jus contains: Water, Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (Corn, Soy, Wheat), Red Wine Vinegar, Tomato Paste, Worcestershire Sauce. The basic recipe for the au jus, according to the label on the little bottle is two parts water to one part au jus. Instead of the recommended water, I used the cold brew that I had marinated the roasts in. Using those directions, I ended up with 3 cups of au jus liquid. It pretty much covered the roasts. You can make more of the au jus if you wish. Make enough to cover the roast (or roasts) completely.
Discard any leftover marinade. Any product that has touched raw meat should be discarded if not used in a timely fashion.
Cooking the Pot Roast
I set the slow cooker to ten hours and let it cook. For ten hours.
A coffee-saturated roast beef was the result. The coffee flavor was evident but not overwhelming and taste tests went well. A wide rage of ages (15 to 67) tasted the roast at completion and enjoyed it.
You can add carrots, potatoes and any number of vegetables associated with standard pot roast recipes, but I chose to not include them in this recipe because I wanted to taste what a strict coffee au jus and meat only combination tasted like. I’m sure adding the vegetables would be just fine, and I’ll probably do that next time!