Beef Pot Roast with Horseradish

The Poles don't generally use horseradish in their stuffing and are more likely to make crosswise cuts for stuffing. I use fresh grated horseradish which is extremely pungent, but once cooked it's quite mild. You will need a heavy Dutch Oven with a tight fitting lid.

1. Preheat oven to 350°F/175°C.
2. Cut BACON into short strips. In an iron skillet or the heavy roasting pan you will use for the beef, fry it over gentle heat until the fat is pretty much all rendered. Eat the bacon bits and keep the fat.
3. Chop ONIONS coarse. Grate CARROTS and PARSNIPS coarse. Dice CELERY. Mix all.
4. Trim the ROAST of any excess fat. Bind it with kitchen twine if needed to hold it together. Fry in Bacon Fat until nicely browned on all sides. See Browning for details. Remove the beef and set aside.
5. Stir Vegetable mix into the bacon fat and fry stirring until very lightly browned.
6. Arrange in your heavy Dutch Oven: Vegetables, Beef and all Bouquet Garni items.
7. Mix Vodka with Vinegar and pour over the Beef. Let stand for a few minutes.
8. Pour Wine and Beef Stock around the Beef.
9. Bring to a boil on the stove top, then cover the pot tightly and slip it into the preheated oven. Leave it there until the beef is mostly but not entirely cooked. For chuck this will be about 1-1/2 hours, for round almost 2 hours.
10. Meanwhile: Make the Stuffing. Melt Butter in a small saucepan and stir in Horseradish Sauce, stirring for a couple of minutes, then stir in Bread crumbs and Sugar. Adjust to a medium stuffing consistency with water and simmer for a couple of minutes.
11. Slide the pot out of the oven, leaving the oven still heating.
12. Lift the Beef from the pot to your cutting board. With a razor sharp slicing knife, make two deep slits lengthwise from end to end but not quite through. Stuff these slits with the Stuffing.
13. Return the Beef to the pot, add Horseradish to the pot (if you have left-over stuffing use that plus enough more to make up the amount). Bring the pot back to a boil on the stove top and slip back into the oven for another 45 minutes.
14. When Beef is done, remove it from the pot and clean off pieces of vegetable. At this point the meat can be covered with foil if it will be served immediately or it can be let cool for reheating later.
15. Strain the liquid, pressing the vegetables to squeeze it all out. Discard all solids. If you have a lot of fat, de-fat the liquid using your gravy separator. If you trimmed the roast well there should be little fat.
16. If you desire, thicken the sauce (See Serving). In a small pan sufficient to hold the sauce, heat the Butter and stir in the Flour. Fry stirring over moderate heat until the flour is well incorporated and threatens to color. Stir in, little by little some cold water until you have a smooth paste. Then stir in, starting with small amounts, the sauce, adding more when what you have is smooth. Finally bring to a simmer and simmer stirring a few minutes until sauce is thickened. It should not be too thick, it should pour smoothly - adjust liquid if needed.
17. Slice Beef crosswise into moderately thick slices and arrange on your platter for serving. If you have let the meat cool, it can now be reheated in the oven.
18. Pour hot sauce over and serve - see Serving for serving alternatives.