Finally Friday: fantastic pot roast
May 18, 2018
My first successful pot roast! This was labor intensive but amazing. Don’t take my word for it, this was preschooler approved! JB has been more picky about food lately, more interested in playing than eating, but not for this dinner. Ze didn’t love the potatoes cooked with the pot roast but did scarf down the mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2.5 pound boneless chuck roast
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, sliced
1 carrot, peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces (we don’t love smushy carrots but like the flavor, this was my compromise)
2 large russet potatoes, cut into 2-3 inch chunks
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef broth
1/4 cup italian seasoning (we don’t keep fresh rosemary and thyme on hand, compromise!)
Directions
Take the roast out of the refrigerator 2 hours before cooking to let it come to room temperature. Generously salt and pepper both sides.
Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in your Dutch oven over high heat. Add the onions to the pot, browning them on both sides. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pot and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute. Reserve the carrots with the onions.
If needed, add olive oil to the very hot pot, then sear the meat in the pot for about 3 minutes on both sides. Remove the roast to a plate.
With the burner still on, use red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom with a whisk. Add the italian seasoning to the red wine. Place the onions, carrots, half the potatoes and roast back into the pot. Arrange most of the vegetables under and around the roast, then add beef stock to cover the meat halfway.
Put the lid back on forget it for a few hours. Roast for 3 hours for a 2-3-pound roast. Roast for 4 hours for a 4 to 5-pound roast. The roast is ready when it can be easily pulled apart.
The other half of the potatoes didn’t fit in the Dutch oven, so I made mashed potatoes with them on the side, using the rest of the beef broth.
That sounds good! I do my pot roast in the slow cooker.
Cut a couple onions into bite-sized chunks, usually eights. Likewise carrots, or use baby carrots or pre-cut carrot coins. Cut a potato or two into chunks if desired.
Spray cooker with nonstick cooking spray and arrange veggies on bottom. Rub boneless chuck roast all over with salt, freshly ground black pepper and garlic. Lay roast on top of veggies. Pour in 1/4 or 1/3 cup water.
Put lid on cooker and turn to high for one hour, then reduce heat to low for a couple more. I usually start around 3:00 to serve dinner around 6 or 7:00.
Meat will be falling-apart tender and veggies pretty soft. Serve with pot juices over rice or mashed potatoes. If you have leftovers, save the liquid for a beef soup/stew the next day.
Ooh thanks!