Ree Drummond Wants You To Leave This Classic Add-In Out Of Pot Roast

A significant part of what we love about pot roast is its classic simplicity. A relatively inexpensive cut of beef tossed in a pot with a few choice items transforms over the course of a few hours into fall-apart-tender meat and vegetables in a rich, delicious gravy. But just because your go-to recipe arrived on a sepia-toned notecard written down by a family member many years back does not mean that it can't be improved. In fact, that might mean that it is time for a simple experiment of omission, and Ree Drummond has just the item to try: potatoes.

Potatoes are an ingredient that you can reasonably expect to find in just about every pot roast recipe out there, so it might seem odd to leave them out of the list of vegetables to add to a pot roast, but in her own recipe, Drummond makes it clear that, for her, tossing in those tubers is a no. While she does note that adding the potatoes to the mix is a convenient way to cook the carbs alongside the meat and veg, in her opinion this often leads to potatoes that she describes as "mealy."

If the idea of a pot roast without potatoes sounds like a bridge too far, you don't need to worry, Drummond isn't suggesting that. Instead, she simply suggests that you serve the potatoes on the side, preferably as a nice crock of mash — though she is also open to baked potatoes.

While this technique does mean a bit more time in the kitchen — you will have to prepare two dishes instead of just one — it also opens the door to a lot of interesting flavor combinations. If you are starting with a pretty traditional pot roast, like this rump roast crock pot recipe, serving it over a pretty standard mash, like these creamy garlic mashed red potatoes, is already going to give your meal a boost in both the flavor and texture departments. The silky mash makes a delicious bed below the pot roast, with the sour cream adding an interesting tangy counterpoint to the rich, savory meat and vegetables. But this is just the start.

If you are trying to skip the meat, or just add some additional vegetables to your diet, you could try pairing an almost meaty Portobello pot roast with a crock of mashed potatoes infused with roasted garlic and spinach. Or, if you want to take the flavors of your pot roast in an interesting new direction, consider this harissa beef pot roast recipe made with the North African chili paste as well as dried figs. This intriguing combination of sweet and savory flavors would make an excellent match with a warm dish of garlic mashed sweet potatoes.

No matter how treasured the pot roast recipe or how innovative and new, this suggestion is worth a try. Yes, it may be a slight deviation from your norm, perhaps even from the recipe itself, but once you try it, it may just become your new go-to family secret.