Basic Pot Roast

Here’s a basic pot roast recipe. This is the third pot roast post on this blog. That’s gotta tell you something: pot roast is really good, and there are a lot of different ways to make it. This recipe is based on one from Serious Eats.

Not a lot to say about it, other than it tastes fantastic, and it makes for a great meal. Great leftovers, too!

Embrace your inner carnivore and make this! It’s perfect comfort food for a cold day.

What you’ll need:

• 2 or 3T olive oil
• Salt or kosher salt
• A 3- to 5-pound chuck roast—try to find one with good marbling 
• 2 onions
• 6 – 8 carrots
• Pepper
• About 2 cups beef stock (vegetable stock works, too, in a pinch)
• 3 – 4 fresh rosemary sprigs (I didn’t have on hand)
• 2 – 3 fresh thyme springs (didn’t have these on hand, either)

What to do:

Heat your oven to 275 F.

Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and let it get really hot. Yes, it may begin to smoke. Make sure your kitchen exhaust fan is on!

Generously salt the chuck roast on both sides.

Cut the onions in half (from root to tip) and remove the outer skin.

When the pot is very hot, place the onions in the oil and brown on both sides, about a minute per side. Remove the onions to a plate.

Next, thoroughly wash, but don’t peel, the carrots. Cut them roughly into 2-inch slices.

Add the carrots to the same (very hot) pot, and toss them until slightly browned (about a minute). At this point, the carrots and onions are just getting browned, not cooked.

Remove the carrots to the onion plate and allow the pot to get really hot again. Add another tablespoon of oil to the pan.

Now thing’s are really going to smoke and splatter: place the meat in the pot and *sear it, about a minute per side. Remove to a plate.

With the heat remaining on high, deglaze the pot by adding 1 cup of the stock, whisking it constantly.

When most of the bits are loosened from the bottom of the pot, place the meat back into it, along with the carrots and onions. Pour enough stock into the pot to cover the meat halfway.

Add the fresh rosemary and thyme sprigs to the pot (if using, which his highly recommended if you planned ahead and have them).

Cover the pot and roast it for 3 to 5 hours, depending on the size of your roast. Cook a 3-pounder for about 3 to 3.5 hours. Cook a 5-pounder for about 4- to 5 hours. Don’t mess with the roast during the cooking process!

At the end of the cooking time, confirm the roast’s doneness. The meat should be very tender at this point. Remove from the pot and slice against the grain for serving.

*Please note that this does not “seal in” the juices, which is a common misconception. It just doesn’t work that way. What it does do, however, is brown the meat and produce that distinctive and delicious browned-meat flavor through the Maillard reaction. Look it up! It’s cool how it works.