Oven Cooked Beef Pot Roast

He must have had some brownie points stashed away somewhere for me to have even entertained the idea of a succulent and mouthwatering beef pot roast that particular evening.   If you have been an ardent follower of Safari of the Mind, you will know that I’m talking about my husband, Bert.  It’s not very often that I cook a beef pot roast these days, but don’t get me wrong, we both love it, but for health reasons I try to limit our beef intake.  You should have seen his expression when I pulled this out of the oven!  I can’t tell you how moist and flavorful this one pot wonder was.  The prep work didn’t take too long either, and then, wham, boom, bang in the oven it went with all those flavors, perfuming the entire house.  I literally threw splashes of red wine in the pot without measuring, and wow, this was a winner!  Inexpensive cuts of beef are best for pot roasts.

Assembling the ingredients

Browning the beef

Sautéing the onions, celery and bacon

Adding the herbs

 

Splashing in the red wine without measuring 🙂

 

Adding the vegetables and the fresh herbs

 

• Servings: 6-8
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Ingredients 

• 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
• kosher salt according to taste
• 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 tablespoons all-purpose flour, divided
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
• 2 celery stalks cleaned and chopped
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups unsalted beef broth
• 3 large garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 whole fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 whole fresh rosemary sprig
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 4 teaspoons Worcestershire saue
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 4 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 teaspoon malt vinegar
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

Method

1. Heat the oven.  Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 325 deg.
2. Season the roast and coat in flour.  Season the meat with 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and pepper.  Sprikle 2 tablespoons of the flour over the entire roast until evenly coated.
3. Sear the roast.  Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat until shimmering.  Add the roast and brown on all sides, including the ends, until you have a deep golden sear, about 5 minutes per side.  I threw in a couple of bacon slices for extra flavor.  Transfer the roast to a large plate and set aside.
4. Sauté the onion with the celery, reduce the heat to medium and add 1/2 teaspoon salt.  Sauté until softened and beginning to brown around the edges, about 4 minutes.
5. Deglaze – add the red wine and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan.
6. Add flavorings and roast to the pot.  Stir in the beef broth, garlic, whole thyme sprigs, bay leaves, whole rosemary sprig, tomato paste, and Worcestershire sauce.  Return the meat and any juices to the pot.
7. Cover and braise.  Bring to a simmer, then cover and place in the oven.  Braise for 1 hour and 45 minutes.  The meat should appear tender, but will not be falling apart yet.
8. Add the vegetables, uncover and nestle the carrots and potatoes into the braising liquid around the roast.  Cover again, return to the oven and braise until the roast pulls apart easily and the vegetables are tender but not mushy for 1 1/2 to 2 hours more.
9. Shred the meat.  Remove the pot from the oven and set over low heat.  Trnasfer the roast to a large bowl and shred into large pieces with 2 forks; set aside.  Remove and discard the herb stems and bay leaves.
10. Thicken the gravy.  Stir the butter-flour paste into the pot and cook for 3 minutes to remove the raw flour taste and thicken the gravy making sure the liquid does not boil.  Stir in the vinegar.
11. Add meat back to the pot.  Return the shredded pieces of meat to the pot and gently stir to coat in the gravy.
12. Serve the pot roast with crusty bread.  Top with a few grinds of black pepper and chopped thyme and rosemary.

Just look at this beauty! Don’t be put off by the long list of ingredients. You are bound to have most of the ingredients in your pantry.

 

A weeknight dinner with a smile, somebody was happy 🙂