As the weather turns colder, hot things sound good to eat. What hot thing I might make for dinner, sometimes depends on what I feel like. Usually, I have a list things I plan to make throughout the week depending on what ingredients I have in the house. Other times when driving down the road, I look at the local market's marquee and see items for sale. That is what happened this week. Cross Rib Roast is on sale and I thought - French Dip Sandwiches.
The key to a good French Dip Sandwich is the roast. I found the following recipe in a church cookbook. The recipe is titled "No More Dry Roast". This sounded intriguing so I gave it a try. I have never used anything else. I like the taste and the recipe has lived up to it's name.
The great thing about this roast is that you put it in the oven in the morning and then you go to work or run your errands and when you come back home in the afternoon or evening, your house smells fantastic!
You will need the following ingredients for these luscious sandwiches.
1 3-5 pound roast
Hoagie buns
1- 2 pkg. Au Jus Mix (in the grocery store aisle where the taco and chili mixes are)
The spices below
No More Dry Roast5 tsp. Salt
5 tsp. Lawry's Seasoning Salt
1 tsp. Pepper
1/2 tsp. Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp. Accent
1/2 tsp. Bon Appetit
I like the taste of white pepper with this recipe. I have used black pepper for years in this recipe so if you do not have any white pepper on hand, black will work as well.
Mix all these ingredients together. If you feel you do not have enough, just double or half it according to your needs. I feel this amount works great for most any roast. If I have any left over, I just throw it away and start over next time.
It doesn't matter what kind of roast you pick. The pictures below are a rump roast. I usually pick this roast because it is cheap and cooks up well. Any roast will do.
You can see the difference of what the roasts look like. One without the seasoning and one with it. Put the seasoning all over the roast. Don't be afraid to put too much on. I took a closeup picture so you could see how much I put on my roast. Then put it in some kind of container that is air tight. If you do not have a big roast like the one I have pictured, no worries. Use foil wrap and wrap it all up with a double layer of foil.
I did not have a roasting pan for years and always used tin foil. The roasts turned out great, just make sure it is AIR TIGHT. I used to layer the foil strips on top of each other and roll the two edges together to make it air tight.
Put the roast in the oven in the morning around 7:00 a.m. and cook at 350 for one hour. Reduce the temperature to 200 and let it cook the rest of the day. Make sure no one takes the lid off or peeks. It should be ready around 5:00 p.m.
The original recipe tells you to put the roast in the night before at 250 for one hour and cook at 170 over night and the rest of the day. I found my family does not like to wake up to the smell of cooking meat. I have adjusted this recipe for an all day cooking adventure.
The meat slices up nicely if you want it that way or you can just shred it and pile high on the buttered and toasted hoagie buns you have purchased. Mix up the Au jus Mix and serve dinner.
