I had a craving for pot roast the other day, so I looked up a recipe online (allrecipes.com, which I almost never use) and bought the ingredients. The version I made has some changes from the original recipe, to better suit a wider range of palettes.
All in all, I was happy how it turned out: tender, flavorful and filling, as only cow-meat can be. This one even had vegetables in it, so it was rather a guilt-free pleasure.
What you’ll need:
- 1T vegetable oil
- 3.5-pound boneless beef chuck roast
- salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 1-2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 2.5 cups beef stock
- 1 (14oz) can diced tomatoes
- .25-cup red wine vinegar
- 1T brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- .75-pound carrots, cut into 1-inch-thick slices
- 1.5T cornstarch
- 1.5 tablespoons cold water
- Few sprigs of fresh thyme
- Few leaves of fresh basil, torn into small pieces
What to do:
- Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large, heavy pot or cast-iron Dutch oven over medium heat. Brown chuck roast in the hot oil completely, 5 to 8 minutes per side; season with salt and black pepper and transfer to a platter. Reserve oil in pot.
- Cook and stir onion in the oil until onions are golden, about 15 minutes.
- Add the garlic in 10 minutes and get that golden, too.
- Stir beef stock, tomatoes, red wine vinegar, brown sugar, and bay leaves into onions and garlic; bring to a boil and place chuck roast into the mixture. Cover pot.
- Cook in the preheated oven until meat is tender, 4-4.5 hours. Scatter carrot slices around the beef and bring to a boil over medium heat on your cooktop; return to oven for 30 more minutes.
- Transfer beef to a serving platter, cover loosely with a tent of aluminum foil, and let it rest for 10 minutes.
- Whisk cornstarch into cold water in a small bowl and stir into the pan drippings. Season with basil and thyme, if you like. Simmer until thickened, about 5 minutes. Remove and discard bay leaves.
- Serve
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