Pepsi Braised Roast with Perfect Horseradish Sauce

Sometimes the best recipes come out of lack of proper ingredients.  I really wanted to make a nice roast beef drizzled with horseradish sauce, and I wasn't willing to wait until Christmas day when this sort of finery is commonly available.  So I went to the grocery store and picked up a nice 5lb prime rib roast.  Unfortunately, in my hurry (how many time I have mentioned my dislike for grocery shopping?!), I actually picked up a round eye roast.  Round eye is a really flavorful roast, but can be a little too tough for regular roasting.  So, I turned to braising.  I went into my pantry and pulled out the beef stock only to realize that in fact, I only had chicken stock.  Something about braising beef in chicken stock kind of grossed me out, so I had to think of something else.  Can't you see how prepared I am for cooking dinner?  I remembered something about cooking beef with cola and decided to replace the beef stock with some Pepsi I had on hand.  What resulted was a crazy tender roast that sliced nicely, but still melted in my mouth.  Leftovers went on toasted bread with provolone and horseradish sauce.  Let me tell you, that this in my new go-to roasting method.  You can always toss some veggies in the pot, but I like my vegetables a little crunchy, so I just serve them on the side.

Pepsi Braised Roast
Boneless Round Eye Beef Roast (or boneless roast of your choice)
1/2 Cup Pepsi (or Cola of your choice) per pound of beef
1/2 Cup Water per pound of beef
Salt and Pepper
1 Tbl. butter
1 Tbl. olive oil

Preheat oven to 325°.  In a large dutch oven or oven safe stock pot heat your butter and oil over medium high until sizzling.  Salt and Pepper your meat generously.  Brown all sides of the roast in the pan (don't forget the ends).  While the pan is still over the heat, pour in the cola.  Once the bubbling has subsided, pour in your water.  Cover and move to the oven.  Cook for ~30 minutes per pound.  You can use this awesome table to find cooking times for a variety of different meats:  The Healthy Butchers-Ultimate Roasting Chart.

Perfect Horseradish Sauce
1 part horseradish (fresh or jarred is fine)
2 parts sour cream

Stir and enjoy.

I'm linked up the A Little Nosh's Tastetastic Thursday and Miz Helen's Full Plate Thursday, check out all the great recipes there!