DiDi’s Mississippi Roast
DiDi, short for Dianne, is my mother-in-law and this one of her go-to recipes whenever we are in town to visit. I always found her pot roast unique because it featured bell peppers and peperoncini rather than the expected potatoes and carrots. DiDi’s recipe is simple: a beef chuck roast, an onion, a green and red bell pepper, small bag of baby carrots, a little bit of peperoncini’s, a little bit of juice from the peperoncini jar, one packet of ranch seasoning, one packet of au jus gravy, and a stick of butter. Put everything in the crockpot and cook all day on low.
After my last visit to her home and eating this meal, I was determined to try to make it myself, except, being the DIY’er that I am, I wanted to try and recreate it with my own spices instead of the pre-made seasoning packets from the store.
The day I was attempting this recipe for the first time, I was telling my friend about this amazing and unique pot roast of my Mother-in-law’s, and she said ”sounds like a Mississippi roast.” I googled Mississippi roast and sure enough…it’s a thing! The internet describes a Mississippi roast as a slow cooked chuck roast with peperoncini, ranch seasoning, au jus gravy and butter. Growing up in Florida, I had never been exposed to this Southern dish that originated in Mississippi. All these years, I thought it was my mother-in-law’s unique family recipe (which she never claimed it was!)
So, In an effort to capture this family recipe, and in case any of you have never tried a Mississippi roast, I present my DIY version of DiDi’s Mississippi roast. What I like about the way she make it verse all the other internet recipes you’ll find is that she adds a lot of veggies, making this more of a complete and nutritious meal. After my first attempt, my husband and I agreed It tasted just like hers.
I like to make this crock pot dinner on a busier night of the week when there are lots of after school sport practices and we don’t get home until it’s time to eat. I think this pot roast is best served over steamed white rice, which is how we eat it when at DiDi’s house. Make sure you dig up the onions on the bottom when serving. The onions hold so much flavor!
Even if most people call this a Mississippi roast, to me this recipe will always be DiDi’s Mississippi roast. Enjoy!
Ingredients:
3.5-4 lb Beef Chuck Roast
Himalayan pink salt
1 onion, sliced
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 red bell pepper, sliced
3 large carrots, largely chopped
6 peperoncinis, quartered
2 - 3 Tbsp liquid from the peperoncini jar
1 stick (113 g) of butter
Seasoning mix:1.5 Tbsp powdered beef bone broth (I use this brand)
1 Tbsp corn starch or arrowroot powder
1 Tbsp parsley
2 tsp chives
2 tsp onion powder
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dill
1 tsp pink salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
Instructions:
The day before cooking, season the chuck roast on both sides with salt. Cover with cling wrap and place in refrigerator.
In the morning, slice the onion, peppers and peperoncini. In a small bowl, make your seasoning mix by measuring out the various spices and mixing them together.
Place onions on the bottom of the crock pot and the chuck roast on top. Sprinkle about half of the seasoning mix on top of the chuck roast. Add the sliced carrots, bell peppers and peperoncini on top of the chuck roast and sprinkle the remaining of the seasoning mix on top of the veggies. Cut the stick of butter into several pieces and place the pats of butter on top.
Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
Serve over steamed white rice (I prefer Jasmine).
