Another Nifty Guest Post: Not quite carnitas

It's been a while since I've had a guest post from Ny  and I've been meaning to post this one for a while.  I haven't tried this one yet, but chuck roast goes on sale every so often, and I'm considering doing this on a smaller scale and making some fat quesadillas with it. 

On with the guesting!

So I was thinking about how to make something as satisfying as carnitas but with beef. It seemed a direct swap was inadvisable -- cooking beef in beef fat for the entire cooking time would be just too fatty. We had a pile of beef fat left over from picanha (a delicious cut with a thick fat cap) so I BADGERED someone TERRIBLY into rendering the fat for me.

Meanwhile:

• 2 pounds boneless chuck roast
• 2 white or yellow onions
• 1 rounded tsp kosher salt
• 2 pinches kosher salt.
• 1-2 good pinches mexican oregano
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tbsp or so chopped parsley or cilantro, stems included
• 1 ripe red pepper of whatever kind you like, charred and scraped to remove the skin, seeded and sliced 1/4 inch thick (can be increased to taste)
• 6-12 whole peeled garlic cloves NOT crushed (optional) (note from Kate: What is this optional garlic of which you speak?)
• 1 tsp white wine, or apple cider vinegar

1. Cut up the roast into 2-inch chunks. do not make the pieces too small. Toss with the kosher salt and refrigerate a couple days to let salt absorb.
2. When ready to cook: set oven to 275. Select two pots, one with a screen, one with a tight fitting lid. Heat 2 inches of beef fat and/or frying oil in the larger pot to about 350. Brown the chunks well, 2-3 at a time, in the fat. They should only emerge when they feel dry on the surface and are deeply browned.
3. Meanwhile, peel and slice the onions. Place in the pot with the tight fitting lid. Add the pinches of salt, oregano, black pepper, parsley, red pepper, and whole garlic cloves, and toss. As the beef is browned, add to the pot. When all the beef is browned, stir to place some of the onions atop the beef, drizzle with the vinegar, lid up, and place in the oven for 4-6 hours.
4. Don't add more liquid. trust me. It will have sufficient liquid from inside the meat and in the onions, really
5. The beef is done when it completely collapses to a squeeze from tongs. .
6. Try not to eat it all at once.