I have made pot roast before. Steph, for one, never liked it. And Dave told me it wasn’t his favorite dinner either, so I haven’t made it in a long time. But when I needed a fast and easy dinner that could be made the day ahead and just stuck in the oven so I wouldn’t be cooking on the Sabbath, I turned to the old pot roast stand by.
But I have since discovered the Pioneer Woman‘s wonderful cooking tutorials, and she happened to be on Good Morning America this past week, making – pot roast! So I watched, took notes, and followed her exact instructions for making the pot roast I made yesterday.
4 to 5 lbs whole chuck roast
Kosher salt and pepper, to taste
2 T olive oil, plus more as needed
2 whole onions
6 to 8 whole carrots
1 c red wine or beef stock
2 to 3 c beef stock
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
3 sprigs fresh thyme
2 T tomato paste
Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast. Preheat the oven to 275˚F. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then, add the olive oil. Cut the onions in half and cut the carrots into 2-inch slices. When the oil in the pot is very hot but not smoking, add in the onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
If needed, add more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides, until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate.
With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef stock to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough of the beef stock to cover the meat halfway. Add in the onion, carrots, rosemary sprigs, and thyme sprigs. Add tomato paste if using (it makes the liquid a little richer.)
Put the lid on, then roast in the oven for 3 hours, for a 3-pound roast. For a 4- to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours. To test for doneness at the end of cooking time: stick two forks in it, and pull. If the roast fights back, it’s not done. If it falls apart without effort, it’s done.
Let me just tell you, that woman knows what she is talking about. This was the first pot roast I have made in my life, which was absolutely falling apart tender and oh so flavorful. I did not use Lipton Onion Soup packets or cream of mushroom soup or anything else – just veggies, salt and pepper, and beef broth.
It was so good, Dad raved about it. And Dad is an extremely picky eater. Grandma and Grandpa Miller raved about it. Mark raved about it. I am now the star chef of the family, thanks to the Pioneer Woman!
So follow her instructions for preparing your roast for the oven. I used a chuck roast also. Then I allowed 1 hour of cooking time for each pound of meat. But in my oven, 275 was not enough – I bumped it up to 300 and it turned out just right, at one hour of cooking per pound of meat. (Your oven might be different. Mine is wonky.)
After 4 hours, Dad was wanting to take it out of the oven and dig in, but I did the stick two forks in test to see if they met resistance or if the meat fell apart, and they met resistance. So I put it back in for another hour, much to Dad’s chagrin, disbelief, and offense, LOL.
After another hour, the two forks did not meet resistance and the roast was tender and falling apart. And the flavor! And the raves that came my way! They will come your way too. 🙂
So Steffie, give the pot roast another try. You might just like one made properly. 🙂
