Description
Making the perfect pot roast is easy. Once it’s in the oven it cooks itself. The meat is fall-apart tender, the carrots, mushrooms, potatoes, and onions are bursting with flavor. All of this is served with a delicious gravy made from the cooking liquid. See the notes for the slow cooker option.
Ingredients
Chuck Roast
- 2 to 2 1/2 pounds chuck roast (or other tough meats such as, brisket, or round roast)
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Morton)
- 2 teaspoons black pepper
- 1 tablespoons avocado oil, (or olive oil, or grapeseed oil)
Pot Roast
- 1 1/2 cups dry red wine, such as pinot noir, merlot, cabernet sauvignon (sub with beef broth, if you want to omit it)
- 4 to 5 cups low sodium beef broth
- 3 teaspoons kosher salt (I use Morton)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 pound small red potatoes, washed, unpeeled – if potatoes are large cut them into 2 inch chunks
- 5 garlic cloves, sliced (don’t mince, it will burn during the long cooking time)
- 3 large carrots, peeled, and sliced in large chunks (about 2 inches)
- 1 large white, or yellow onion, cut into large chunks
- 1/2 pound (8 ounces) cremini mushrooms, ends trimmed – left whole if small, cut in half if big (See notes)
- several sprigs of rosemary, and thyme (if only want to only use one herb, use rosemary)
- optional: several leaves of sage
Gravy
- 2 to 3 1/2 tablespoons corn starch (depends on how much liquid you are left with after the pot roast)
Optional garnishes
- parsley, chopped
- fresh thyme leaves
- fresh sprigs of rosemary
Instructions
- Preheat the oven – Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare the ingredients for the pot roast – Measure out the wine (if using) and beef broth, so they’re ready. Prepare the remaining pot roast ingredients – the garlic cloves, carrots, onion, potatoes, and cremini mushrooms as instructed above. Also create an herb bundle by tying all of the sprigs of herbs together using kitchen twine – this makes for easy removal after cooking. Set these ingredients aside.
- Prepare the meat – Use paper towels to pat the meat dry. Sprinkle each side generously with the 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper.
- Sear the meat – this step adds great flavor. Heat a large Dutch oven, with a tight fitting lid (or, a heavy-bottomed oven-safe stew pot) over medium high heat. Once the pot is heated, add the 1 tablespoon of oil. Sear on the first side for 5 minutes, or until the chuck roast is nicely browned, use tongs to flip the chuck roast over and sear on the other side for another 3 to 5 minutes, or until the meat looks nice and browned. Remove to a plate, or dish, and set aside.
- Deglaze the pan – Add the red wine to the Dutch oven, and use a wooden spoon to scrape up any stuck on bits from the pan. Allow the wine to come to a simmer, simmer for 1 to 3 minutes to cook off the alcohol. Note: if not using the wine, then do this step using the beef broth, but you can omit the simmering step – just deglaze the pan.
- Add in the remaining pot roast ingredients – Add in 4 cups of the beef broth, along with the 3 teaspoons of kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon black pepper – stir. Then add the chuck roast back into the pot, next add the potatoes – making sure they are submerged under the liquid so they cook. Add the garlic, carrots, onion, and mushrooms. If your cut of meat happens to be sticking up over the liquid, add another 1 cup of broth. Then, add the herb bundle.
- Cook – Place the lid on the dutch oven and transfer the dutch oven to the pre-heated oven. Allow the pot roast to cook for 4 to 5 hours – or until the meat is falling apart, and the potatoes, and carrots are fork tender. There is no need to stir, or check on the pot roast during the cooking process – just at the 4 hour mark. Once it’s done cooking, use tongs to remove the herb bundle.
- Prepare for the gravy – Use tongs to remove the meat, and set aside on a cutting board – tent with foil to keep warm. Remove the veggies using a slotted spoon, and set them aside in a dish, or bowl – cover with foil to keep warm. Place a fine mesh siv on top of a bowl. Carefully pour the broth liquid through the fine mesh siv, so you have smooth gravy. Use a fat separator to separate any grease from the broth liquid – discard of the grease, pour the un-greased gravy into the dutch oven.
- Make the gravy – Place the dutch oven onto a stove top burner. Turn the heat to high – bring the broth to a boil, reduce to a simmer – simmer for 3 to 5 minutes, until the liquid has reduced a little. Add the corn starch (starting with 2 tablespoons) to a small bowl, add 2 tablespoons water, use a fork to whisk the mixture so there are no lumps. Slowly stream in the corn starch slurry into the gravy, while whisking the gravy the entire time. Once the slurry is added allow the mixture to simmer for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. The gravy should have thickened. If you want the gravy to be thicker, then add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of corn starch and simmer another 2 minutes. Taste the gravy, and add salt to taste, if needed. (if you seasoned it enough at the beginning, you won’t need very much more salt).
- Cut up the chuck roast – use a knife, or two forks to pull the meat into 1 inch chunks. It will easily fall apart, so you don’t need to make much effort here.
- To serve – Place the meat, and veggies onto one platter (or individual serving plates), and garnish with a sprinkle of fresh parsley, thyme leaves, or rosemary sprigs placed around the platter – if desired. Transfer the gravy into a gravy boat, or other serving dish. Serve immediately. Allow individuals to pour, or drizzle the gravy over top of their pot roast, as desired. We like to lighten this meal by serving it with a simple, light side salad, when possible. So good! Enjoy!
- Leftovers – To store any leftovers, transfer the meat and veggies to an air tight container. Store the gravy separately. Re-heat the veggies and meat, and the gravy separately. The leftovers will keep up to 5 days.
Notes
Wine – The wine adds great flavor to the overall dish. However, if you don’t drink wine then you can easily sub it with more beef broth – either way, it will be delicious!
Mushrooms – Mushrooms aren’t traditionally in a pot roast recipe, but I love them so much, I couldn’t resist. Plus, they add so much great flavor to everything, especially the gravy. If you don’t want to include the mushrooms, you can easily swap them for extra potatoes, or carrots, or even onions.
Fresh herbs – The fresh herbs honestly make a huge difference in the flavor – don’t sub with dried herbs. If you only want to use one herb, then rosemary is the one that makes the most impact on flavor.
Salt – It may seem like a lot of salt in this recipe, but the salt really flavors the broth that everything is cooking in, which flavors the meat, all of the potatoes, and veggies etc. Trust me, it is bland without enough salt added into the broth at the beginning. Keep in mind, I use Morton kosher salt – the crystals are bigger than table salt. If using table salt, then you want to reduce the amount of salt to 1 1/2 teaspoons. If using Diamond kosher salt, increase the salt to 4 teaspoons (the crystals are larger than Morton salt).
Leftover gravy – you will have leftover gravy after all of the meat and potatoes are gone. It’s really good served over mashed potatoes. Check out my instant pot garlic mashed potatoes recipe!
Slow cooker option – I did test this in the slow cooker. While both were very delicious, I found the dutch oven method to yield a richer taste, and better texture than the slow cooker. However, the slow cooker is a great option if you want a meal to cook itself when you’re away from the house.
Slow cooker Directions – Heat a large cast Iron (or other heavy bottomed skillet) over medium high heat,. Prepare the chuck roast by patting it dry with paper towels, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons kosher salt, and 2 teaspoons black pepper. Add the 1 tablespoon of oil to the hot pan, Sear the chuck roast about 5 minutes per side, until browned on both sides. Transfer the chuck roast to the slow cooker. Add the red wine (or sub with beef broth) to the skillet and deglaze the pan by scraping off the stuck on bits with a wooden spoon. Allow the wine to simmer for 1 to 2 minutes to cook off the alcohol (skip the simmering step if using beef broth). Transfer the liquid to the slow cooker. Add the beef broth along with the 3 teaspoons kosher salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper, give everything a stir. Add the remaining pot roast ingredients, making sure the potatoes are submerged under the liquid. Don’t forget the herb bundle. Cover and cook 7 to 8 hours on low (recommended), or 3 to 4 hours on high – or, until the meat is fall-apart tender, and the potatoes, and carrots are fork tender. Follow the remaining instructions as above from “prepare for the gravy” to the end – using a large skillet to make the gravy in. Note: if in a pinch you can skip searing the meat in a skillet, and just add all the ingredients to the slow cooker, but I recommend it, it adds a ton of flavor.
Cook time – the cook time stated in the recipe is based off the Dutch oven method. It does take longer if using the slow cooker method (7 to 8 hours + prep time, and time to make the gravy).
