This is one luscious, guest-worthy pot roast. Warm winter spices, red wine, pomegranate … and a sophisticated horseradish cream accompaniment. I know you’re thinking, “What do you mean, ‘winter’?” Well, we just had an 18-inch snowfall last week, so…

This is an upscale, restaurant-quality pot roast you could serve to guests on a special occasion. Classic at its core, but with a quiet, confident, spectacular twist … like a French pot roast that wandered through the Levant and came back wiser.

The horseradish cream provides a lovely counterpoint to the roast. It cuts through the richness, balances the sweetness; adds a sharp, cold contrast to the warm spices; and gives the dish a “Sunday best” feel without being fussy.

Social Learning

Cooking Notes:

Although tying a roast can have several benefits, the main reason to do it in this case is that it’ll keep the roast intact, which will make it easier to handle once it’s fork tender, so you can make nice, pretty slices.  

Louis Jadot Beaujolais is one of my favorite wines for braises like this. It’s inexpensive enough to cook with, but good enough to drink. Get two bottles, so that you can use one for the roast, and the other to drink with dinner. (No, they didn’t sponsor this post, but they should.)

Cutting with the grain goes counter to what you might assume, but when a pot roast is fork tender, if you try to cut it against the grain, it will disintegrate. As an alternative to slicing, you could simply pull it with a fork into very large chunks. 

Serving Notes:

You’re going to need sides. Mashed or roasted potatoes come immediately to mind, plus (maybe slightly fancy) carrots and (simple, steamed) green beans. You may want a first course and a rich, decadent dessert.

Clean-Up Notes:

This roast is going to make a mess of your casserole pot. Soak it right away in very hot soapy water – not for long – and then a Scrub Daddy will make quick work of it, maybe with a bit of Soft Scrub. (They didn’t sponsor this post either. I really need to start leaning on these people.)

The Vibe:

The aromatics and wine give you a glossy, deeply flavored sauce that’s ideal for spooning over both the meat and the potatoes.

There’s not enough cinnamon and star anise to make the dish taste “spiced.” There’s just enough to make you think, “Ooh, what is that?” They makes the dish taste rounder, warmer, and deeper. 

The addition of homemade grenadine is, if I may say so myself, brilliant. Real pomegranate syrup adds acidity, fruit, and color. Store‑bought grenadine would be too sweet and candy-like, and would be a huge, huge mistake. Homemade is a chef’s move. Don’t know how to make it? It’s easy; I’ll make a post about it.

“Does a full bottle of wine sound like too much?” said no one I know. This is what gives the braise its backbone. It’s got to be light‑bodied, though … otherwise, it’ll be too heavy to balance the other flavors.

Servings:

• Holiday portions: 2 people. Lavish, with leftovers galore.
• Hearty portions: 3 people
• Standard dinner portions: 4 people. These servings will be satisfying, but will not offer seconds or leftovers. If you want seconds of leftovers, you’ll need to increase everything by 50%, or double it. 
• With generous sides: 4–5 people. These would be admittedly small meat portions.

If you are doing this for a holiday and need to serve a crowd, you could do one or both of these things:

• Your “overnight” could easily be longer than a single night. You could make multiple batches over multiple days, and reheat the meat all at once in a roasting pan.
• You could make two batches at once if you had an enormous pot, or two standard-size casserole pots.

Aromatic Red Wine and Pomegranate Pot Roast with Horseradish Cream

Credit for images on this page: Make It Like a Man! This content was not solicited by anyone, nor was it written in exchange for anything. References: this recipe is a direct descendant of one I found by Rafi Fronzaglia on Instagram. He is an inspired chef, and his posts are worth seeking out. Thank you, Kesor. Thank you, ⌘+C. Make It Like a Man! is ranked by Feedspot as #5 in the Top 30 Men’s Cooking Blogs. 

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