Yield: 8 Servings
| Measure | Ingredient |
|---|---|
| 1 | 3-to 3 1/2 lb thick-sliced beef chuck arm roast (with bone, if possible) |
| ¼ cup | All-purpose flour |
| 2 tablespoons | Cooking oil |
| 1 large | Spanish onion, cut into 1- inch pieces |
| 4 larges | Cloves garlic, sliced |
| ½ bunch | Celery, thick sliced |
| 1½ teaspoon | Dried thyme, crushed or 3 or 4 fresh thyme sprigs |
| 4 | Bay leaves |
| 3 tablespoons | Tomato paste |
| ¾ cup | Burgundy or other dry red wine |
| 2 cups | Au jus prepared from envelopes of au jus sauce mix or gravy mix |
| ½ teaspoon | Salt (optional) |
| ½ teaspoon | Pepper |
| ½ teaspoon | Crushed red pepper |
| ¼ cup | All-purpose flour |
| 1½ cup | Water |
Trim excess fat from the meat. Season the meat with some salt and pepper. Coat with the ¼ cup flour. In a 4-5 quart Dutch oven or kettle, brown meat on both sides in hot oil. Remove meat, leaving drippings in the Dutch oven. Add onion, garlic, celery, thyme and bay leaves. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or till vegetables are just tender. Stir in the tomato paste and burgundy. Let simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes to reduce sauce, stirring to scrape up browned bits in pan. Add the au jus sauce, salt (if you like), pepper and crushed red pepper. Bring to boiling. Add meat to sauce in the Dutch oven.
Cover and bake in a 325 degree oven for 3½ to 4 hours or till meat is very tender and falls off the bone. (For just-tender meat, bake for only 2 hours.)
Remove meat from pan. Remove and discard thyme sprigs and bay leaves.
Combine the remaining ¼ cup flour with water. Stir into sauce in pan. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 1 minute more. Serve with meat. Makes 6 to 8 servings.
From Ed Debevic's Short Orders/Deluxe in Chicago Recipe printed in Midwest Living, April 1993