Make Cheap Roasts Moist & Tender Every Time

One of the worst things is to cook a roast for hours and then, once it is ready, you discover the meat is tough and dry.

It smelled great the whole day, you’re hungry, and was already imagining how great eating it would be.

Instead the reality is that dinner is ruined.

But there is an easy way to avoid this fate consistently and all you need is a simple $2 item.

Just add a can of coconut milk to your roast.

This only works if you are braising in something like a dutch oven or crockpot.

There’s various science reasons why this works but the most important thing is that it does.

I discovered this accidentally when I noticed that including a fatty cut of meat like ox tail with a chuck roast would always result in the roast being more tender and moist than just cooking the chuck roast alone.

Even when the cooking methods, seasonings, and ingredients were exactly the same.

But always having to have some extra fatty cuts of meat around was inconvenient and unreliable. It is easy to forget to defrost or buy both things. Cuts like ox tail are also somewhat expensive.

That’s where coconut milk comes in.

It comes in a can that sits in your pantry. There’s nothing to remember ahead of time other than remembering to have it on hand. You can even buy it in bulk.

And it even works better since it is not just the extra fat that makes the roast moist and tender.

Coconut milk is slightly acidic and has other proteins and enzymes that help break down the meat.

Coconut fat is also a stable, healthy fat unlike vegetable oils or other franken fats.

It also makee the resulting broth extra rich and delicious.

Personally, I don’t find that it leaves a coconut taste at all but that might be different for you.

Here’s what my go to roast recipe looks like:

Ingredients

• 3 to 4 pound beef roast (chuck, shoulder, rump, etc)
• 1 can coconut milk
• 1 cup chicken broth (any broth or water can work)
• 2 tbsp Rodelle Prime Rib seasoning
• carrots/tomatoes as desired
• 1 to 2 tbsp of coconut oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 275F.

Heat coconut oil in a dutch oven. I like to overdo the coconut oil so I think I may use more than 1 - 2 tablespoons but you just want some fat to brown the meat.

Season the roast with Rodelle Prime Rib seasoning and then once the dutch oven is hot enough, brown the roast on both sides. I also tend to brown any other areas that were missed if the roast is particularly thick.

Cooking for a couple minutes on each side usually works.

Remove the roast from the dutch oven and rest it on a cutting board. I just use the inside of my dutch oven lid since it lays flat. The handle on mine is big and flat enough to act as a base but this may not be the case for you.

Pour in the broth and scrape any burned bits at the bottom of the dutch oven.

Then pour in the can of coconut milk.

Add any extras like the carrots or tomatoes.

Wait for the mixture to warm up and then place the roast back in the dutch oven.

I’m looking to braise it so the liquid should come to just past half way.

Sometimes, I over shoot it and the roast is 90% covered. You don’t generally want the roast to be submerged so adjust the amount of liquid depending on the size of your dutch oven.

Place the dutch oven into the real oven and cook for at least 3 hours.

These directions do not need to be taken verbatim but the key here is using coconut milk in a braise-like cooking method.

Once you get the exact quantities of broth, water, and coconut milk for the size or your cooking container you’ll be able to make a perfect roast every. single. time.

Then you can experiment with different vegetables and seasonings.