Pot Roast in a Scotch Bath

This is another recipe from my green metal recipe box of yesteryear.  It is one I had forgotten about, but at least I did remember it was good.  I had just forgotten how blooming good it is.

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 pound(ish) chuck roast (I used sirloin tip which was in the freezer-no shopping!)
1 1/2 cup beef stock (I use bullion to make mine 'cause I never have any beef stock on hand)
1 1/2 cup  Scotch (Save the really good stuff for sipping.  Use the lesser scotch here)
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 pound baby carrots, roughly chopped if desired
6 celery stalks, roughly chopped, leaves on or off doesn't matter
1 bag frozen pearl onion
2 potatoes cut in a large dice
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (Check before adding if you used bullion. It has a good deal of salt)
1/8 teaspoon liquid smoke 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I skipped this)
2 tablespoons arrowroot (or cornstarch)  combined with about 1/4 cup water
salt & pepper to taste

Put the oil in a large Dutch oven and heat to a fairly hot temp then slap the roast into it. (This will splatter and smoke a little.  If your smoke alarm is near, make sure you leave an outside door  open, or don't sear the meat in extremely hot oil)  Brown well on all sides then add the garlic and give it a couple of quick stirs right before adding the beef broth. Stir well to get those tasty beef bits incorporated into the broth then add the scotch.  Bring the pot to a boil then immediately turn the heat to a lower temp.  You want this to simmer for about 2 hours or until it is very tender.  Add the carrots, celery and pearl onions and cook until half done.  Add the potato pieces and cook for about 15 more minutes, adding the seasoned salt and liquid smoke at the same time.   Right before serving add the butter, if using and the arrowroot/water slurry.  Stir until it is incorporated, turn up the heat and stir until the broth thickens.  Serve in a bowl and enjoy.

What can I say?  This is nothing but a slightly gussied up pot roast, but the flavor of the sauce is oh so delicious.  Amazingly delicious in fact.  The alcohol cooks from the scotch leaving behind its very sweet almost caramel flavor which marries the beef broth into this rich goodness. Then the hint of smokiness takes it to a different level.  The only way I can describe  it would be to call it gravy barbecue sauce.  When first taste it you get a strong beefy flavor with a hint of scotch sweetness followed by the smoke.  Yum!

This is not Paleo because I forgot about the scotch being a grain product and all that, so I only had one spoonful of the gravy so I could describe the taste accurately.  It was so good I would really love more. Lots more! But I am not eating it.  Instead I blotted off my veggies and the roast and am eating it dreaming of the sauce I am not having.  This is gong to happen again soon! After Lent type soon, but soon.

And since we are having drunken roast how about drunken sailors