Karl’s Coca-Cola glazed Roasted Carrots

I was making a very meat heavy meal with Coca-cola pork and I wanted to work in more vegetables. I added shredded cabbage to my potato salad, but I wanted one more dish. While I am not fond of cooked carrots, my family loves them. Glazing the carrots with the pork’s cola sauce seemed a reasonable next step.

Note: I used the same sauce that I had made for the pork, but here I provide the recipe for making the sauce just for this dish.

Karl’s Coca-Cola glazed Roasted Carrots

Ingredients

Coca-Cola glaze

½ cup Coca-Cola
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. white vinegar
1 tsp. ketchup
¼ tsp. dry mustard
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, cracked to taste

1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbs. cold water

¾-1 lb. baby cut carrots
2 Tbs. olive oil ( I used the grease from the Coca-cola pork)
Pinch Kosher salt

2 Tbs. cilantro, coarsely chopped

Directions

1. Put all of the glaze ingredients—except the corn starch—into a small pot and bring it to a boil.

2. Decrease the heat to a high simmer and reduce the sauce by about two thirds.

Tip: You may continue simmering as the carrots roast.

3. Toss the carrots with the oil and spread them on a small lipped baking sheet in a single layer.

Tip: Covering the tray with foil eases cleaning.

Note: Baby cut carrots come all about the same size and peeled. You may cut your own large carrots, but these make an easy short cut.

4. Sprinkle salt lightly over the carrots and roast the carrots in a 400º F oven for 20 minutes.

Note: This is cooks the carrots to about ¾ done. When you inserting a knife into one of the carrots you should still hit a solid center.

5. Thicken the sauce with the cornstarch slurry.

Tip: Use only enough to thicken the sauce. You want it to stick to the carrots in an even coat, not cling to them in sticky globs.

6. Transfer the carrots to a bowl and pour the sauce over the vegetables.

7. Toss the carrots to coat them with the sauce and spread them out on the baking tray again.

Tip: You may brush any sauce remaining in the bowl over the carrots.

8. Switch the oven to “broil” and set the tray of carrots 4 inches from the heating element.

9. After five minutes toss the carrots to turn the over.

Tip: The tops of the carrots should be browned and spotty.

10. Continue broiling for another 3-5 minutes.

Tip: Watch the carrots carefully towards the end of cooking, you want them cooked through—an inserted knife meats not resistance—but you do not want the glaze to burn.

11. Toss the carrots with the cilantro and transfer them to a serving dish.