For those on the path to reducing their sodium intake to lower their blood pressure, it may seem as if all of the rich, delicious meals must be cut from their diets. Thick, flavorful gravy made from the slow cooking of tender pot roast may seem out of the question for the low-sodium crowd. However, salt-free gravy made from pot roast is not only possible, but delicious.
Trim away excess fat from 3 lbs. beef bottom round roast with a fillet knife.
Combine 1/4 cup unbleached white flour, 1 tbsp. salt-free steak seasoning, 1 tsp. fresh thyme and 1/2 tsp. ground pepper in a large resealable plastic bag. Close the bag and shake to mix the dry ingredients. Remove 3 tbsp. of the flour mixture from the bag and set aside for later.
Place the round roast in the plastic bag, seal it shut and shake the bag until the round roast is completely covered in the flour mixture.
Place the round roast in a large pot with 1/4 cup vegetable oil over medium heat. Cook each side of the roast for 3 minutes. Remove the roast from the pan and set aside for later. Do not remove the vegetable oil from the burner or turn down the heat.
Add the 3 tbsp. of flour mixture that you set aside earlier to the hot vegetable oil. Allow the flour and oil to cook for a few minutes, stirring the mixture and scraping the bottom of the pot with a metal spoon the entire time, until the flour is brown.
Add 1 large, peeled and quartered sweet onion, 1 qt. salt-free beef stock, 4 tbsp. salt-free Worcestershire sauce, 1 cup Shiraz wine, 29 oz. salt-free tomato sauce, 1 tbsp. onion powder, 1/2 cup chopped parsley and 1 minced garlic clove to the oil mixture. Allow the sauce to boil.
Set the browned roast in the pot and cover, allowing the meat and sauce to simmer for 2 hours.
Flip over the roast and add 4 peeled and quartered turnips, 1 1/2 lbs. skinned and quartered potatoes, 6 large peeled and sliced carrots and 2 peeled and quartered parsnips to the pot. Cover and simmer the contents of the pot for 2 more hours.
Remove the lid and skim any fat off the top of the newly formed gravy with a steel skimmer.
Remove the roast and vegetables from the pot and slice the meat into 1/2-inch pieces. Set the meat and vegetables in a serving dish.
Separate the fat from the gravy in the pot by straining the gravy through a fat-separation pitcher.
Pour the salt-free gravy over the roast and vegetables.
Tip
Replace vegetable oil with safflower oil if desired.
Replace Shiraz wine with Merlot or Cabernet Sauvignon wine if desired.
Thicken gravy by adding 4 tbsp. butter and 4 tbsp. flour to the gravy over a low heat.
Save salt-free gravy for later use by freezing it in freezer bags.