I know a lot of people that think the only way to make a classic pot roast is in a crock pot with a packet of onion soup mix. There’s nothing wrong at all with that- I make it that way all the time, and we have a great recipe in one of our books for a roast like that. But if you want something simple, classic, with no instant soup mix, and way quicker than a slow cooker-look no further.
I only use boneless chuck roast when I make pot roast. I’m very picky about that. Other cuts of meats are always hit and miss for me and I just don’t think there’s any better cut if you want tender meat. It’s a flat cut of meat, with plenty of marbling, that looks like the photo above (that’s is a double pack, from Costco). There’s nothing unusual or surprising about this recipe; it’s about as basic as it gets when it comes to pot roast, but that’s what I love about it. It’s also very easy to customize. You can easily mix up the root vegetables, add in a variety of herbs, use red wine with/in place of the beef broth, etc. Play around with it and I guarantee you’ll find your perfect combo.
You’ll want a heavy dutch oven for this recipe. Le Creuset and Staub are fantastic high end options (my favorite for roasts is my 7qt matte black Staub), but there are also plenty of great options in a lower budget, like this Lodge Brand one . A good Dutch Oven like this will last a long time and be a workhorse in your kitchen!
2. Add another drizzle of oil to your empty pan and add onion and carrots to the pan. Saute for a few minutes in those browned bits from the meat and all the flavors accumulating on the pan are building the layers of flavor.
Place the roast back in the pan and nestle it down so it’s on the bottom of the pan and most of the veggies are on the top-ish. Add potatoes and some aromatics (ie: a couple sprigs of rosemary and/or thyme). I love rosemary in particular, and it adds a lot to the finished flavor of the roast, but if you don’t have any fresh herbs, don’t let that stop you from making this- it will still be great without them.
Add one can of beef broth. Cook it at 300 degrees and time it by 1 hour per pound. It’s okay if you cook it a little longer than that, but don’t go any shorter.
You can serve it straight from the pot like this, or you can jazz up the juices for a little gravy. If you’d like to go that route, after the roast is done, Spoon the vegetables onto a platter and cover to keep warm, and set the meat on a cutting board. Then I strain the fat off the juices in the pan using my favorite fat separator (seriously if you don’t have one of these yet– you need one!)
From there you can either just thicken the juices with a cornstarch slurry, or use the juices for a traditional gravy recipe you can find, here. I just thicken the juices because it’s quick and easy. Make sure to taste and adjust the seasonings though! The gravy turns out flavorful and silky and delicious.
I like to serve it like this, with everything in a baking dish, and gravy labeled over. We serve this with some kind of warm roll or bread and maybe a side salad if I’m feeling like something green out of parental responsibility.
But mostly, it’s all about a shallow bowl, with gravy pooled up on the bottom that you can slurp up with your roll for the best, most comforting one-dish-meal ever.
