Pressure cooker tea-braised chuck roast with ginger and orange

One 3-pound boneless beef chuck roast

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 medium yellow onions, halved and then thinly sliced into half-moons

2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

2 tablespoons finely diced orange zest*

2 tablespoons finely diced peeled fresh ginger root (from a 3-inch piece)

1 teaspoon ground allspice

1 1/2 cups or 1 3/4 cups strongly brewed lapsang souchong tea*

Season the meat on both sides with the salt and pepper.

Melt the butter in the electric pressure cooker turned to its sauteing function.

Add the onions and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, stirring often, until they begin to brown just a bit at the edges.

Push the onions to line the inside perimeter of the pot; set the meat in the cleared space. Brown well on both sides, turning once and stirring the onions a couple of times, 8 to 10 minutes. The onions will brown deeply and may even blacken in parts.

Sprinkle the vinegar over the onions; use a wooden spoon to dislodge any browned bits.

Sprinkle the orange zest, ginger and allspice over the meat and onions. Pour 1 1/2 cups of the tea over everything.

Lock the lid onto the pot and set it for high pressure (9 to 11 psi). Cook at high pressure for 75 minutes. Unplug the machine or turn it off to bring the pressure back to normal naturally, about 20 minutes. Unlock and remove the lid.

Transfer the chuck roast to a cutting board. Skim as much surface fat as you can from the sauce in the pot. Carve the meat into chunks, transfer to serving bowls, and pour the sauce on top.

*NOTE: Smoky lapsang souchong mellows gorgeously during a long braise; here, we balance its slightly sweet flavor with lots of ginger and orange zest. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the zest, then dice it (don't mince it), so it holds together during the long cooking. This recipe is suitable for a 6-quart electric pressure cooker, such as the Instant Pot; to use a stove-top pressure cooker, follow the directions for the electric pot (melt the butter in the pot on the stove top) but use 1 3/4 cups tea and cook at high pressure (15 psi) for 45 to 50 minutes, followed by a natural release, about 15 minutes; the range of tea takes into account the greater amount needed for the electric pressure cooker.

Lapsang souchong tea is available at tea purveyors. Serve with buttery mashed potatoes or white rice.

Serves 6

Nutrition information per serving: 420 calories, 49 g protein, 4 g carbohydrates, 23 g fat, 11 g saturated fat, 160 mg cholesterol, 550 mg sodium, 0 g dietary fiber, 2 g sugar

Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough