Italian Beef

Contributed By: Adventures in Freeze Drying

One 3 lb roast make about 6 cups of roast

Directions:

1. Prepare roast by trimming fat, gristle and membranes. Cut the roast into 2” large chunks.
2. In a mixing bowl, toss the roast chunks with the dressing mix and au jus mix. 
3. Let it sit for 1 hour minimum, up to 24 hours to allow the flavors to incorporate.
4. If going into a crock pot, add meat, pour on 1 cup of beef broth, let cook on low for 6-8 hours. 
5. If using an Instant Pot, start by adding a splash of olive oil or extra broth and set it to Sauté mode. Sear each meat chunk on all sides to lock in flavor. 
6. Once browned, deglaze the bottom of the pot with a small amount of broth, scraping up any flavorful bits. Return all the meat to the Instant Pot and add 1 cup of beef broth before proceeding with pressure cooking. (even if doing more than 1 roast, be careful of how much broth you add so you don’t have too much moisture). 
7. Set to High Pressure and 30 minutes per roast (2 roasts 1 hour etc.) When it finishes, let the Instant Pot natural release.
8. Remove meat from crock pot or Instant Pot and shred with a fork
9. Spread 1 roast per medium tray
10. Freeze dry.  You can pre freeze but meat is a fast run regardless (my cycle time was 16 hours)
11. Store in jars for short-term use or in mylar bags for long-term storage

Rehydration:

Add hot water or hot beef broth at a 1:1 ratio and cover for 5-10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pour off excess water.

Notes:

The better you can trim the fat from the meat, the better your storage will be.

Nutritional Value Per ¼ lb 

Calories: 165   Protein: 30 g   Fat: 4 g   Carbohydrates: 0 g   Sugar: 0 g   Fiber: 0 g

Cycle times & rehydration for reference only. Your results may vary.