Classic Pot Roast

Pot roast is a pretty standard American meal.  Many folks have their own recipes that they love.  But just in case you don’t, here’s mine!  An herb crusted beef roast goes into a pot with potatoes, veggies, red wine, and beef stock until it is super tender – yum.

First step – rub that beef.  Combine kosher salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Italian seasoning to make a rub.  Sprinkle over and press into the meat.

The you are going to brown those veggies and sear that beef.  Heat olive oil in a heavy dutch oven until very hot.  Then add an onion and carrots and cook until really browned.  Remove the veggies temporarily, add more oil, and sear the beef on all sides.  Then take that out, too, because you need to deglaze.

Add a cup of red wine to the pan and scrape, scrape, scrape to get up all those yummy browned bits.  Then add a few cups of beef stock, some small potatoes, and some fresh herbs.  If I don’t have beef stock, I will use a whole bottle of wine and a couple beef bouillon cubes.

Then you gotta load that baby up.  Set the roast on top of the potatoes, then put the onion and carrots around the sides along with some celery.  The lid goes on and you cook that thing in the oven on low heat for a few hours.

Hello, beautiful.  Remove the beef to a carving board, tent loosely with foil, and let it rest.  Scoop the potatoes into one bowl, the carrots and onions into another, and toss the celery and herbs.  Skim the fat off the top of the liquid, strain it, and hold on to it.

You could just eat the potatoes as is, but mashed is so much better.  Mash ’em up and stir in butter and cream.

Slice the roast and serve it with the mashed potatoes, carrots, and onions.

If you want to be extra special awesome, whip up a quick gravy with a ratio of 1 tbsp butter to 1 tbsp flour to 1 cup cooking liquid.

Classic Pot Roast
serves 4-6

1 3 lb chuck roast
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp olive oil, plus more as needed
1 onion, quartered
3-4 carrots, cut into 2 inch sections
3-4 stalks of celery, halved
1 cup red wine
3 cups beef stock
2 lbs baby potatoes
fresh herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, oregano)
6 tbsp butter, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp flour

Set the roast on the counter an hour before you want to start cooking to bring it up to room temperature.

Preheat the oven to 275 deg F.  Combine the kosher salt, pepper, Italian herbs, and garlic powder.  Rub and press herb mixture into all sides of the roast.

Heat oil in a heavy bottomed dutch oven over medium high.  Add the onion, flat sides down, and the carrots.  Cook until browned, turning the onions onto the other flat side and stirring the carrots a couple times, 2-3 minutes total.  Remove to a plate.  Add more oil if necessary, and place the roast in the pot, searing on all sides, about 2 minutes per side.  Remove to the plate with the veggies.

Add a cup of red wine and scrape the bottom of the pot to deglaze.  Add the beef stock, potatoes, and a few sprigs of fresh herbs.  Place the roast on top of the potatoes, and the carrots, onion, and celery around the sides.  Cover the pot with a lid and place in the oven to cook for 3 hours (or 1 hour per lb of meat).

Remove from the oven and transfer the roast to a carving board, tented with foil.  Strain the solids from the pot, reserving the liquid.  Separate the onions and carrots to one bowl and the potatoes to another, discard the celery and herbs.  Mash the potatoes with 4 tbsp of the butter and all of the cream.

Skim the fat off of the cooking liquid.  Melt the remaining 2 tbsp butter in a small saucepan.  Add the flour and cook for a minute or so until the floury smell is gone.  Add 2 cups of the cooking liquid, slowly, and whisk constantly to form a gravy.  Make it a little thinner than you like, because it will thicken as it cools.

Slice the roast and serve it with the carrots, onions, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

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