When comfort foods become boring, give them new life by retiring some of the supporting ingredients in favor of spicier ones.

At the Spotlight Kitchen at the recent West Texas Fair & Rodeo, Chef Opal Darlene Walton − simply known as Chef Darlene − mentioned a recipe for elevating a chuck roast classic. For many years, she has held cooking demonstrations at the State Fair of Texas in Dallas.

Her trick for a pot roast makeover is to nix the usual potatoes and carrots for black beans, corn and a host of zesty ingredients. Chef Darlene developed Mexican-Style Pot Roast for the Texas Beef Council, which features it at its website beeflovingtexans.com and in brochures.

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The chuck roast is braised classically in a heavy, lidded pot in the oven for three or more hours. The result is beef so tender it can be shredded with two forks.

Pot roast in general is an appealing dish because an economical but tougher cut of meat is transformed into a dish that can feed a crowd or be stretched for several meals.

Meat this spicy, along with the beans and corn, goes best on a flour tortilla, topped with grated cheese. I also add crema - Mexican-style sour cream - to the tortilla to balance the heat.

I share Chef Darlene's recipe below, as well as my update of the dish using the Instant Pot. The time in the pressure cooker is reduced to 75 minutes (plus a few more minutes for natural venting).

And, changes I made to the recipe include using beef broth instead of beer, which she suggested during a show, and frozen corn instead of canned. Diced avocados or guacamole also would round out the flavors in the tortilla.

One of the advantages of sharing a test kitchen recipe is that it includes nutritional information for those interested. Remember, however, that my updates in the Instant Pot version will affect those values because of the substitutions.

Because meat can be browned and pressure cooked in the Instant Pot vessel, I gravitate to this newer kitchen gadget for a weeknight meal. Time is a premium.

But as much as I like to save time, I do not skip the browning part of the recipe. It's helpful in adding flavor and color to the meat, even if it's going to be shredded.

These recipes may be the update your chuck roast needs to help you fall in love again with pot roast.

Laura Gutschke is a general assignment reporter and food columnist and manages online content for the Reporter-News.  If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com. 

(Courtesy Texas Beef Council, BeefLovingTexans.com)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 ½-3 pounds beef chuck roast

1 cup Mexican beer (or beef broth)

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (such as the original Rotel brand)

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup prepared pico de gallo

1 cup prepared picante sauce (or any other chunky style salsa)

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat, until hot.

2. Combine flour, salt and pepper in resealable plastic bag. Add roast and turn to coat evenly. Place roast in hot pan. Brown on all sides.

3. Add beer, tomatoes, corn, black beans, pico de gallo and picante sauce. Cover tightly with lid and place in heated oven. Cook 3 to 3 ½ hours, or until fork tender.

4. Remove from oven, allow to cool 10-15 minutes. Shred beef with fork, removing any remaining fat. Stir to incorporate all ingredients in Dutch oven.

5. Serve on flour tortillas topped with grated cheese. Yields 8-10 servings.

Nutritional information per serving: 310 calories; 11 g fat (4 g saturated; 0 g trans fat); 85 mg cholesterol; 790 mg sodium; 23 g carbohydrate; 5 g fiber; 4 g sugar; 30 g protein.

(Adapted from recipe at Texas Beef Council, BeefLovingTexans.com)

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 ½-3 pounds beef chuck roast

1 (10-ounce) can diced tomatoes and green chilies (such as the original Rotel brand)

1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup prepared pico de gallo

1 cup prepared picante sauce (or any other chunky-style salsa)

1. Combine flour, salt and pepper in resealable plastic bag. Add roast and turn to coat evenly. Set aside.

2. Set Instant Pot to sauté. Add oil. When hot, add roast and sauté on all sides until browned.

3. Add broth, tomatoes, corn, black beans, pico de gallo and picante sauce. Set Instant Pot to pressure cook high and 75 minutes. Seal lid. When done, let steam vent naturally.

4. Remove meat mixture from Instant Pot to serving platter. Use fork to shred the meat. Serve with flour tortillas, cheese, crema and avocado or guacamole. Yields 8-10 servings.