Prime Time Pot Roast (50’s Prime Time Café)

Whenever we're looking for somewhere to eat at Hollywood Studios I always suggest the 50’s Prime Time Café.  I love the food and the atmosphere!  And whever I have to decide what to order, I always order the same thing: Prime Time Pot Roast.  So for our Disney Staycation, there's no guessing why I chose to re-create this fantastic Disney dish.

Rob with his Prime Time Pot Roast

The Ingredients

• 5 lbs Top or bottom round roast
• 1½ c Dry red wine
• 1 Onion, diced cut into thin strips
• 2 Carrots, peeled and diced cut into thin strips
• 1 stalk celery, diced cut into thin strips
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 6 c Beef Bouillon
• ¼ c Olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
  
  

The Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium-high heat.
3. Season the meat with salt and pepper, brown the meat on all sides.
4. Remove the meat to a roasting pan, and pour the wine around the meat.
5. Sauté the cut vegetables until golden brown and add to the roasting pan.
6. Pour the beef bouillon over the roast.
7. Add the garlic to the pan and cover.
8. Cook 30-45 minutes per pound. Remove from oven and let rest for 15 minutes. 

Serve alongside your favourite starch (or if you want it exactly like the 50's Prime Time Cafe, serve it over skins-on mashed potatoes). 

The Review

Amazing!  Just look at the two side by side!

  

There are a couple of small differences:

1. The carrots and celery from Disney are a little "fresher".  To remedy this consider waiting to add your veggies until the last 60-90 minutes.
2. The Disney gravy is a little thicker.  I made my gravy by dissolving a couple of tablespoons of cornstarch in water, adding it to the juices in a saucepot, and letting it all boil down to thicken up.  I was kind of hungry and wanted to eat quickly, so I guess I just didn't let it boil down enough.
3. The Disney pot roast is a little more tender.  I cooked mine for 30 minutes per pound and then stuck a meat thermometer in to see if it was "done".  I freaked a little inside when the temperature was way past well done.  Silly newbie mistake. If you have the right cut of meat, pot roasts get more tender as they cook.  Some recipes suggest leaving the pot roast to cook for an hour at a temperature of 180F.  So don't worry about the temperature, and go by fork-tenderness (or tummy rumblings).

Overall, this was a fantastic entree!  My Dad loved it so much he asked for the recipe!