Mississippi Pot Roast with Gravy
Mississippi Pot Roast with Gravy is delicious and easy to make in a slow cooker! Tender shredded beef seasoned with homemade brown gravy and tangy pepperoncini peppers! The combination sounds odd, but the result is wonderful!
The original Mississippi Pot Roast recipe consists of 5 ingredients: beef, butter, dry ranch dressing mix, dry au jus mix, and pepperocini. The slow cooker recipe is easy and requires about 8 hours to cook.
I’m not a fan of packaged seasonings, simply because they often contain too much salt, additives, preservatives or MSG, so I adapted the original Mississippi pot roast recipe to one with only one packaged dry mix (ranch dressing) and a homemade brown gravy that really moistens the roast. The result is a less salty pot roast.
How to Make Mississippi Pot Roast in a Slow Cooker
- Make brown gravy; set aside
- Place beef in slow cooker; pour gravy over beef
- Sprinkle one package of dry ranch dressing mix over beef
- Add jarred Pepperoncini peppers and their juice
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours
What Cut of Meat Do I Use for a Mississippi Pot Roast?
Use 3-4 pounds of boneless chuck, rump or sirloin for best results. You can use a 7 bone chuck roast if boneless is not available.
Do I Salt and Pepper the Roast First?
It is not necessary to season the roast with salt and pepper prior to putting it in the slow cooker. The most common complaint about a Mississippi Pot Roast is that it is too salty.
The packaged au jus sauce and ranch dressing mixes have more than enough sodium in them to season the roast, so it’s not necessary to add more salt. In fact, salt is not an ingredient in this recipe or the original.
Do I Use Salted or Unsalted Butter?
You’ll definitely want to use unsalted butter for reasons noted above. The homemade brown gravy recipe calls for Better Than Bouillon concentrated beef base which does contain quite a bit of sodium, but has 1/3 less sodium than the bouillon cubes. Better Than Bouillon brand of concentrated beef base is available in reduced sodium as well.
Are Pepperoncini Peppers Hot?
Pepperoncini peppers, also known as “Banana Peppers,” are mild Italian peppers, usually marinated in vinegar. Even though they’re considered Italian, you’ll often find them on Greek or Mediterranean menus.
What is a Scoville Heat Unit?
A Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) is a unit of measurement on the Scoville Heat Index, developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. This index measures the degree of heat in a pepper relative to its degree of capsaicin. Capsaicin is the element in a pepper that gives it it’s heat.
On the Scoville Heat Index, which measures the heat of a pepper, Pepperoncini’s rank 100-150 SHU (Scoville Heat Units), which is relatively mild. For comparison, the Scoville Heat Units range from 0 – 16,000,000; a green bell pepper has an SHU of 0; a Habanero has an SHU of 100,000 – 350,000.
Are Pepperoncini and Banana Peppers the Same?
While Banana and Pepperoncini peppers are both within the Nightshade family, they technically are not the same; however, you’ll find their flavor and texture very similar, so use either one in this recipe.
Preservative-free, homemade beef gravy complements any beef dish and is easy to make!
- 3 tablespoons beef bouillon Better Than Bouillon Paste
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1½ sticks butter unsalted
- 1¾ cups water
- 1½ sticks butter (12 tablespoons)
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
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In a medium saucepan, melt butter and bouillon paste
-
Sprinkle flour in ¼ cup increments; whisk; until there are no lumps
-
Add water and pepper; heat until mixture is smooth
How to Make Mississippi Pot Roast in a Slow Cooker
- Make brown gravy; set aside
- Place beef in slow cooker; pour gravy over beef
- Sprinkle one package of dry ranch dressing mix over beef
- Add jarred Pepperoncini peppers and their juice
- Cook on low for 6-8 hours
What Cut of Meat Do I Use for a Mississippi Pot Roast?
Use 3-4 pounds of boneless chuck, rump or sirloin for best results. You can use a 7 bone chuck roast if boneless is not available.
Do I Salt and Pepper the Roast First?
It is not necessary to season the roast with salt and pepper prior to putting it in the slow cooker. The most common complaint about a Mississippi Pot Roast is that it is too salty.
The packaged au jus sauce and ranch dressing mixes have more than enough sodium in them to season the roast, so it's not necessary to add more salt. In fact, salt is not an ingredient in this recipe or the original.
Do I Use Salted or Unsalted Butter?
You'll definitely want to use unsalted butter for reasons noted above. The homemade brown gravy recipe calls for Better Than Bouillon concentrated beef base which does contain quite a bit of sodium, but has 1/3 less sodium than the bouillon cubes. Better Than Bouillon brand of concentrated beef base is available in reduced sodium as well.
Are Pepperoncini Peppers Hot?
Pepperoncini peppers, also known as "Banana Peppers," are mild Italian peppers, usually marinated in vinegar. Even though they're considered Italian, you'll often find them on Greek or Mediterranean menus.
What is a Scoville Heat Unit?
A Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) is a unit of measurement on the Scoville Heat Index, developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912. This index measures the degree of heat in a pepper relative to its degree of capsaicin. Capsaicin is the element in a pepper that gives it it's heat.
On the Scoville Heat Index, which measures the heat of a pepper, Pepperoncini's rank 100-150 SHU (Scoville Heat Units), which is relatively mild. For comparison, the Scoville Heat Units range from 0 - 16,000,000; a green bell pepper has an SHU of 0; a Habanero has an SHU of 100,000 - 350,000.
Are Pepperoncini and Banana Peppers the Same?
While Banana and Pepperoncini peppers are both within the Nightshade family, they technically are not the same; however, you'll find their flavor and texture very similar, so use either one in this recipe.
Serve Mississippi Pot Roast with Copper Penny Carrot Slaw
Got Questions or Comments? I’d love to hear from you!
Happily Shared at Meal Plan Monday!
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