Ree Drummond's Boozy Secret For A Better Pot Roast

Lots of pot roast recipes call for nothing more than the basics: aromatics, stock, hearty vegetables, herbs, and one of the best cuts of meat for pot roast. Perhaps a packet of soup mix, some smoky bacon, or red wine would also be among the ingredients. But Ree Drummond likes to add a unique boozy touch: whiskey.

Drummond is a fan of the spirit, having used it in recipes for glazed carrots, the brine and gravy for a whole roasted turkey, barbecue sliders, and even a maple cream sauce which she loves to drizzle over pecan pie. Why not add whiskey to a good old pot roast as well? It adds depth and smokiness while also bringing a fiery zip that lifts all of the warm, savory flavors in the dish.

Drummond's recipe is fairly straightforward. For a 3- to 5-pound chuck roast, she adds 1 cup of whiskey to the pot after searing the beef, browning some aromatics, and sizzling the tomato paste. She advises switching off the stove burner for this step to avoid accidentally lighting the contents of the pot on fire. Beef stock and sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary complete the base, and she cooks everything together in a covered pot in the oven for several hours.

According to Ree Drummond, "You basically want the pot roast to fall apart if you even so much as look at it" (via YouTube). She's able to easily shred the meat with nothing more than some slight pressure from a pair of kitchen tongs, while the whiskey, stock, and natural juices from the beef and veggies reduce into a ready-to-go sauce.

Her ideal accompaniment for whiskey pot roast is mashed potatoes. "A lot of people put potatoes in their pot roast, but that's against my religion because I feel like they often get overcooked and kind of mealy," she said in the same video. The Pioneer Woman's creamiest Thanksgiving mashed potatoes would be a perfect pair, as would those whiskey-glazed carrots, Drummond's flavorful mac and cheese, or some simple sauteed spinach.

As for the next day, transform leftover pot roast into a sandwich and use the whiskey sauce as an au jus. The shredded beef is also delicious when paired with smoked gouda in a decadent grilled cheese, sauteed in a hearty breakfast hash, or repurposed into any number of soups, stews, and casseroles.