Apple Juice Roast

Ingredients

• Servings: 6
• 4 lbs boneless beef chuck roast
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 2 medium onions, sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 2 tablespoons butter or 2 tablespoons shortening
• 1/4 teaspoon prepared mustard
• 1 cup apple juice
• 1/8 teaspoon basil leaves
• 1 tablespoon catsup
• 3 large sweet potatoes, pared and cut into pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• lemon juice
• parsley, chopped
• apple, cut in rings

Recipe

• 1 cook onions in 1 tbsp butter or shortening in dutch oven until tender-crisp; set aside. brown roast in remaining butter or shortening in dutch oven over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes or until browned on both sides.
• 2 pierce entire surface of meat with fork.
• 3 combine apple juice, catsup, salt, pepper, thyme, mustard and basil; add to meat. top meat with reserved cooked onions; cover and cook slowly 2 1/2 hours or until almost tender.
• 4 brush sweet potatoes with lemon juice for bright color; add to meat. continue cooking, covere d, 30 to 40 minutes or until meat and potatoes are tender.
• 5 place meat and potatoes on warm platter.
• 6 sprinkle potatoes with chopped parsley or garnish with apple rings and parsley, if desired.
• 7 serve gravy over sliced meat. note: after apple juice mixture is added to browned meat, it may be marinated in the refrigerator until 3 to 4 hours before serving time; turn meat several times.
• 8 if dutch oven is cast iron, transfer to a glass dish.
• 9 gravy: skim excess fat from cooking liquid; add water if needed to make 1 1/2 cups.
• 10 mix 1/2 cup water and 2 tbsp unbleached flour; stir gradually into cooking liquid.
• 11 heat to boiling; cook, stirring 3 to 5 minutes.
• 12 season with salt and pepper, if desired.
• 13 gravy may be served in large apple that has been scooped out, if desired.