Pot roast schnapps

[dragonfrog]

You know how when you make a stew or pot roast that simmers a long time, the steam makes your whole house smell delicious? Well, I figured, why not gather that delicious smelling steam and drink it instead? I'd been thinking for a while about making this, and now finally did it for my wife's birthday party.

I cooked a big pot roast - I figure it was about a 10 pound cut of beef - with potatoes, onions, celery, tomato paste, bay leaves, garlic, 1.5 liters of red wine, and .4 or so liters of 40% neutrals, in the boiler of my small still (a pressure-cooker + boka). I simmered the pot roast for about 6 hours, during which I gathered about a liter of output.

The aroma didn't really start developing until an hour into cooking, so I put the first hour's collected output, minus heads, back into the still (since it's a boka, the top is open for returning liquid to the boiler). I made no tails cut, and the output was down to 10 or 15% by the end of the cooking time. In the end, I got not quite .75 liters at 30 or 32%.

The flavour was exactly what I was hoping for - it tastes delicious, in exactly the way a simmering stew makes the house smell delicious. Everyone who tried it had a reaction of - pause - blink, blink - wow - pause - ooh the aftertaste - omigosh roast beef vodka!

If I do it over again, I might try distilling a liter or two of the same wine I'd be using for the cooking liquid, and using that instead of the neutrals I added, to get a bit more of the wine's character in the spirits...

[dragonfrog]

And now, I have one last dish to wash from the party - a 20 L still boiler with bits of beef and veggies stuck to it

[Fastill]

My hats off to you for your ambition trying something outside the box. Plus you get your meal cooked while doing a run
Now I am hungry for some potroast...

[Boda Getta]

I wonder what the results would be if you mixed the degreased and strained pot roast/stew dripping and liquid with some neutral low wine and run it. Don't know if the favor would as intense, but I suspect the boiler cleanup would be easier.

BG

[frozenthunderbolt]

MAd props for doing somthing that crazy!

[dragonfrog]

I wonder what the results would be if you mixed the degreased and strained pot roast/stew dripping and liquid with some neutral low wine and run it. Don't know if the favor would as intense, but I suspect the boiler cleanup would be easier.

In my case, probably not - the boiler is the only pot I have that will hold a roast that size, so the roast was going in there either way - it was just a question of where the steam went.

[Prairiepiss]

I don't know if your nuts or a genus? And now my mouth is watering. Very interesting in deed. I don't have a boiler I could do this with unfortunately. Because I would so try this.

[Rivver]

I gott ask,....was the roast any good?

[Richard7]

dragonfrog, I have to hand it to ya, that's brave. my wife would kick my butt if I distilled her roast! I cant stop laughing but I would love to try it! And like Rivver ask how was the roast?

[dragonfrog]

I guess I never mentioned that, did I? Yes, the roast was great. Other than adding the neutrals, I was just cooking the pot roast the same way I would have anyway.

[MandolinBS13]

Haha, I love it! I'm givin this idea a try with my next pot of squirrel stew!