Perfect Pot Roast Beef (Printer-Friendly)
Tender beef chuck slow-braised with root vegetables and herbs in a savory wine-broth sauce until fork-tender.
# What You'll Need:
→ Meats
01 - 1 (3 to 4 lb) beef chuck roast
→ Vegetables
02 - 3 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
03 - 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes, quartered
04 - 2 celery stalks, cut into 2-inch pieces
05 - 1 large yellow onion, sliced
06 - 4 garlic cloves, smashed
→ Liquids
07 - 2 cups beef broth (gluten-free if needed)
08 - 1 cup dry red wine (optional, can substitute with more broth)
→ Spices & Herbs
09 - 2 tablespoons tomato paste
10 - 2 teaspoons kosher salt
11 - 1 teaspoon black pepper
12 - 1 teaspoon dried thyme
13 - 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
14 - 2 bay leaves
→ Oils
15 - 2 tablespoons olive oil
# How to Make It:
01 - Preheat oven to 325°F.
02 - Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels and season all sides generously with kosher salt and black pepper.
03 - In a large Dutch oven or heavy ovenproof pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Sear the roast on all sides until deeply browned, about 3 to 4 minutes per side. Remove the roast and set aside.
04 - In the same pot, add the sliced onions, carrot pieces, and celery. Sauté for 5 minutes until slightly softened. Add the smashed garlic and tomato paste, stirring and cooking for 1 minute until fragrant.
05 - Pour in the dry red wine to deglaze, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let the wine reduce by half, about 2 to 3 minutes.
06 - Return the seared roast to the pot. Arrange the quartered potatoes around the meat, then tuck in the dried thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Pour in the beef broth until it reaches halfway up the sides of the roast.
07 - Bring the liquid to a gentle simmer on the stovetop, then cover tightly with the lid and transfer the pot to the preheated oven.
08 - Bake for 2.5 to 3 hours, or until the roast is fork-tender and pulls apart easily.
09 - Remove the roast and vegetables from the pot. Discard the bay leaves. Skim excess fat from the pan juices if desired. Slice or shred the beef and serve alongside the vegetables, spooning pan juices generously over each portion.
# Expert Advice:
01 -
- The braising liquid turns into the richest, most savory pan gravy you will ever taste, no packets or shortcuts required.
- Root vegetables cook right alongside the beef, so everything lands on the table at once with almost no extra effort.
- Leftovers reheat beautifully and somehow taste even better the next day, which makes this the gift that keeps on giving.
02 -
- Skip the sear and you skip the entire foundation of flavor, because that browned crust is what makes the braising liquid taste like it took all day, which it did.
- Resist the urge to peek by lifting the lid during braising, because every time you do, heat escapes and you add roughly 15 minutes to your cooking time.
- If the sauce seems thin at the end, simmer it on the stove and whisk in a cornstarch slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water until it coats the back of a spoon.
03 -
- Take the roast out of the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking so it comes closer to room temperature, because cold meat straight from the fridge sears unevenly and takes longer to reach tenderness.
- The dish is genuinely better on day two, so if you have the willpower to make it a day ahead and reheat it gently, you will be rewarded with deeper, more cohesive flavors throughout.