Perfectly seasoned and fall-apart fork-tender, this roast will be the hit of any dinner or gathering you fix it for.
A good pot roast, just glistening within its own juices and beef broth, complemented by tender potatoes and the welcoming, bright flavor of oven-tenderized carrots, is just about as much of a meal as anyone could hope for.
A good pot roast does not have to be a time-consuming affair at all. In fact, in just twenty minutes, you can be done with prep and sitting down, enjoying the aromas of this roast as it cooks. It’ll send that delicious smell all about your home, luring everyone within the dining room to flirt with Mom.
“Mom, you sure look beautiful today. By the way… what’s that DELICIOUS smell in here?” or “Mom, can I tidy up the house for you, since it’s obvious you’ve been working over a hot stove making us something fantastic? Did you cook all day, or does it just smell like it?”
A big wink between you and me, though, as we know you just had to season this and slice some carrots and potatoes before you were already sitting down for a marathon of Yellowstone.
Did You Season That Meat?
Look at that photo for Step 2. See that meat all salted and peppered like that? That’s because seasoning your meat before you cook it is such a crucial step. In cooking school I even thought there was this one word particular to chefs that was pronounced didyouseasonthatmeat?
Every day in cooking school, as we cadets made our way to the stoves to begin roasting, frying, sautéing, or braising our assigned protein for the day, the chefs would rake a bored eye over each of us and ask, “Did you season that meat?”
They’d even go so far as not to just take “Yes, chef!” for an answer. If they doubted the veracity and enthusiasm of our response to any degree, the portly chef would grumble over to our stove and look in each of our pots to ensure that, yes, we seasoned that meat. Because the chefs’ lunch, every day, was a big banquet of what all the cadets had cooked in their respective classes prior to 1 p.m. When cooking classes ended, the chefs got to eat our creations, and we trotted off to the cafeteria.
And those chefs wanted perfectly seasoned and fried pork fritters, deep-fried shrimp, and pot roasts for their lunch. So, seasoning that meat was the most important thing we could do.
See, salt is a tenderizer and a flavoring agent. That means you, too, are in for an amazing pot roast for dinner—or lunch—today!
How to Make Ahead and Store
Pot roasts are a very forgiving meat. You can wrap this dish tightly with plastic wrap, keep it in the fridge and continue to dine on it for another 4 days. Or shred your roast and use it in a variety of delicious recipes: tacos, enchiladas, and shepherd’s pie are just a few ideas. Can you freeze a cooked pot roast? Yes. Should you? Probably not, for texture and flavor reasons, except for use in dishes like tacos and enchiladas—things where you’re going to add so many other condiments and flavoring agents that no one will notice a bit if the texture is dry. And you can freeze this (carrots and all) safely for 90 days. Most chefs recommend vacuum bags and removing all moisture first.
Serving Suggestions
Pot roast is lovely when accompanied by something cold, something crunchy, something acidic, and something sweet. Why? Because it’s lacking in these other characteristics your taste buds crave. So, let’s add some side and dessert ideas that would fill in nicely.
How about a Waldorf Salad or an Italian Chopped Salad? Either one would pair nicely with this. Also, you need some kind of bread here to soak up all that luscious juice, so how about some Buttermilk Biscuits or this delicious Honey Bread? For dessert, how about this delicious No Bake Strawberry Pie or Oreo Pie?
Roast with Potatoes and Carrots
Ingredients
- 3-4 pounds chuck roast
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 pound carrots peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1.5 pounds potatoes peeled and quartered
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 275°F.
- Season the chuck roast generously with salt and black pepper.
- Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat. Add the roast and sear each side until browned, approximately 3-4 minutes per side.
- Remove the roast and set aside. In the same pot, add chopped onions and garlic, sautéing until onions are translucent.
- Return the roast to the pot. Add beef broth, ensuring it comes about halfway up the sides of the roast.
- Cover the pot with a lid and place it in the oven. Cook for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, add the quartered potatoes and chopped carrots around the roast. Cover and return to the oven for another hour, or until the vegetables and roast are tender.
- Remove from oven, let the roast rest for a few minutes before slicing. Serve hot with the vegetables.
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