I usually cook my pot roast for 3 1/2 half to four hours in a Dutch oven on the stove. I use whatever cut is cheapest a the store and it always comes out tender. You probably just need to simmer it longer.

I do mine in the dutch oven too, but I cook it all day.
Sear the roast on both sides. Add onions and garlic. Add other goodies and seasonings, cover with liquid and slow simmer all day while I'm working. I use beef stock with about 1/2 a package of brown gravy mix and 1/2 a package of beef stew mix.

I use chuck roast all the time to make mine and cook for 3 1/2 or 4 hours depending upon the size of roast. It always comes out fork tender.

I have cooked it in my dutch oven stovetop and in my blue roaster in the oven and both turn out the same.

Sometimes I sear first coated with flour, salt & pepper and sometimes I don't. I think you are not cooking long enough.

I have tasted that roast at Costco and it is not bad but you can make it just the same at home and just as good. That brand at Costco definetely has brown gravy mixed in with it.

It's cooking time. Check it with a fork and pull when ready- the timer and stated times are simply guidelines.

michaelp

If you brown the roast really well in a little fat, the gravy will turn out dark brown. I made a chuck blade roast a couple days ago and it took 3.5 hours to get to the falling apart stage. After browning and the doing the other stuff I cooked it in the oven at 300.

Try using a meat broth for the liquid. Chicken broth will do. Low sodium is best, or if you use regular broth avoid adding extra salt.

Try using red wine for the cooking liquid!
Linda C

Those chuck roasts have several different muscles, of varying toughness. If you test only one part of it, it can seem tender enough, but other muscles in the roast may not be tender at that point.

Crockpot, crockpot, crockpot.

I toss in a frozen roast, large chunks of potatoes, carrots and onion.
Turn on low and do something fun for the day!! (or go to work.........darn it).
At least 6 hours, better if you can make it 8.
If I prep the carrots and onions the night before and put them in the fridge, I can get this ready in less than 10 minutes in the morning.

You can thicken the liquid after removing the meat and veggies if you like, but I usually just put the whole crock of liquid in the fridge with a paper towel or two on top of the liquid.
Next day you can pull all the fat right off with paper and use the gelled "broth" as a base for Vegetable Beef Stew, make gravy with it and serve Hot Roast Beef sandwiches, etc.

I told y'all..........I'm lazy!

Deanna

Try using red wine for the cooking liquid!
Linda C

First off I am not worried about getting rid of "ALL" the fat. I'm just sort of in between!! I like the fat! I don't have a weight problem, one of the lucky ones!

It appears I am not cooking it long enough to become a class "A" recipe according to you guys.
Can I please have a "standard" recipe with potatoes, carrots, onions, celery, and the roast?
You will have to give me step by step so I will follow your instructions to the letter.
I'm using a cast iron dutch oven.

This is what I do, although everyone has their own variations.

Heat 1-2 tab. oil (canola) in dutch oven over medium high. Brown chuck roast on all sides, even the thin sides until nut brown, but don't burn. You may have to raise and lower the temperature. This takes about 10-15 minutes. Remove to a platter.

Add 1 chopped onion (cut it how you want, long slices, rings, or coarse/medium dice). Add 1/4 cup flour, and 1 clove garlic. Cook all this while stirring for about 7 minutes over medium low. It will be gummy. Don't let it burn.
Add 1 can Campbell's condensed beef broth (no additional water) and 1 cup red wine. Bring to a boil and scape bottom of pan.

Put the meat back in the pan and sprinkle with dried thyme. About 1/2 teaspoon. Season also with pepper.
Bring everything to a simmer, cover and put in preheated 300 degree oven.
After 2 hours, add chopped carrots and potatoes. Cook for another hour and a half.

The thing is, I almost always cook my carrots and potatoes separately because I like very crisp carrots and mashed or baked potatoes. So the hour and a half for those is a guidline only. YOu may need to cook it another hour.

Some people use homemade broth or a different brand. Lots of people don't use wine. Others use fresh herbs,a crockpot, french onion soup packages, etc.

I've been making it this way for 15 years and like it.
It does make a beautiful gravy and the fat is incorporated so it doesn't rise to the top when refrigerated.
I don't add salt because the broth has salt and that's salty enough for me.

I forgot to mention to add the celery at the same time as the carrots.

Would it be all right to just leave it in the dutch oven at a simmer rather than putting it in the oven ?

It would be ok, but when you put it in the oven, you get even cooking around the whole pot and you know what the exact temperature is-which means you can plan the cooking times better.

bumblebeez, I don't need to worry about planing cooking times right now. Thats why they make wine, LOL!

I would do the oven because you don't need to worry about it burning on the bottom and you ge even cooking in the oven. The other alternative is a slow cooker or crockpot.

I dredge the pot roast in flour before browning but don't add any other flour. I like to add some finely chopped carrot and celery along with the onion to build the flavor base for the liquid. Usually I use red wine and some tomato paste or sauce in the liquid but I don't put in beef broth.

Personally I like to taste my beef and not mask it with a lot of spices... It doesn't matter if it's a Chuck Roast, Bottom Round, Eye of Round, Sirloin Tip or Round Steak, whatever is on sale, they all get stuck in a covered pot and baked until they're tender...

I usually trim all the fat ( can't get it all with Chuck without ending up with shredded beef ) then wash off that nasty 'blood' and plop it in a glass pot, cover and cook until the top gets really brown, turn it over, add some filtered water, half way ( if the roast is 4 inches thick add 2 inches of water ), and cook until fork tender...

If it's a Chuck roast, about half way through, I lift the roast a couple of inches, pour cold filtered water over it to get the grease off, place it on a plate, drain off all the juices, put the roast back in and add a little fresh water... I remove the fat from the juices and next time I open the oven I put the meat juice back in the pot...

A Bottom Round roast is the only one I don't trim off all the fat, I leave the top layer... I usually buy the ones without any marbling and fat is what gives it that distinctive taste.... When the roast is done that layer of fat usually comes off in one piece, just scrap it with the side of a fork... Rinse with filtered water and let it rest for a few minutes before slicing...

Rita

The recipe given by bumblebeez is a good place to start. I like to cook my vegetables in with the roast after first baking the meat by itself. The roast gravy does marvelous things to carrots, potatoes, and onions!

I second baking in a slow oven (300-325F) for about 3 hours. When cooking on the stove top, the liquid can boil more and even at a simmer can reduce in volume more than you want.

Try 1 can beef broth and 1 cup dark beer for your braising liquid. You will get a dark, flavorful gravy. To thicken, mix 2 TB cornstarch in 1/4 cup cold water, stir smooth. Stir into the simmering pot roast gravy after the roast is done. Continue to stir until the gravy is thick.

I also like a chuck roast best for potroast...
I like to use my Dutch oven, I cut a piece of the fat off of the meat and try it out in the pan ( cook until the grease comes out) and then put the roast in that hot fat....medium fire or less. I brown it quite slowly on all sides, and when I am on the final side...I add one small onion chopped fairly small and a crushed clove of garlic, cook and stir until the onions are browned.
Then I add a cup of dry red wine. Depending on the size of your roast and the size of your pot, that may be enough....if not you can add a bit of beef broth...or even chicken broth if that's what's handy.
I also add at this time a bay leaf and about 1 tsp of worchestershire, and a very small amount of rosemary...maybe 2 "needles".
Cover and keep at the lowest possible simmer, on top of the stove until all is fork tender. Turn over about every hour, and add a little water if the liquid boils down...if your lid doesn't fit well.
I don't use celery and I don't usually cook carrots nor potatoes in with the meat.
When the meat is done, I remove it to a cutting board, and make a slurry of 1/2 cups of beef broth and 2 1/2 tablespoons of flour....slowly whisk into the bubbling stuff in the pan, cook 3 or 4 minutes until thickened, correct salt and pepper seasonings ands erve with the meat and mashed potatoes.
Variations....a good dark beer instead of the wine...dried cherries and more onions and calamata olives in the cooking pan.
Fresh sliced mushrooms in with the onions at the beginning.
More garlic, and about 1 tsp oregano and 1 T. red wine vinegar in the cooking liquid....and about 45 minutes before it's done, add some slivered green pepper and halved cherry tomatoes.
Linda C

Linda C brings up a couple of good points -- If you want to do your pot roast on top of the stove, you'll need to turn it at least once or twice during the cooking period and you'll want to keep the heat at a very low simmer. I agree with others that pot roast baked in the oven is great, but stove top cooking produces good results too. I don't cover the meat with liquid. I find that too much liquid results in a rather insipid sauce and less desirable meat texture.

A almost always cook a pot roast on the stove top. There have been a few occasions when I did it in the oven for one reason or another....but 99% of the time I do it in a Le Cruset oven on the stove top.
I learned that 300 or 325 is way too hot in the oven. If I need to put it in the oven, I try to keep the temperature just at the boiling point...and that is 212....about half way between 200 and 225. If cooking on the stove top...know your stove....this cook top needs to be on the lowest simmer setting AND have a flame tamer beneath the pot too...my son's new stove will keep a pot at a perfect simmer without any tamers or diffusers.
I much prefer cooking a potroast on the stove top...that's the traditional way and I like it best. And frankly my Le Cruset Dutch Oven stays cleaner....doesn't get those burned on spatters on the sides.
I very rarely cover the meat with the liquid...but on the occasion when I knew I would have a lot of grand kids eating mashed potatoes and gravy I have.
I don't find there is a problem with texture...no more than with the texture of the beef in a stew. As for the liquid being insipid...not really!...since the liquid consists of wine, beef broth, caramelized onions and garlic and other stuff. If you are using water to cover the meat, it very well mey be insipid and watery...but wine, broth, some onions, garlic a bit of bay leaf and perhaps some dried porcini make all the difference. And as a "cheat" if your gravy lacks something...add some beef stock base....and don't tell!
I do it pretty much the same way Bumblebeez does, but I don't add the flour with the onions...."They say" that cooking a thickened gravy a long time causes it to be less thick....easy enough to correct...but worth remembering.
Linda C

Bumblebeez, I used your recipe today and it was delicious! Thanks.

Thank you, Stbonner. I'm so glad it worked out for you.

WOW!! I think I have it figured out now with the help of "All" of you. I have picked a recipe to try tomorrow (if I get a good price on a Blade chuck), with very slight variations.
The main one is I will be cooking it on top of the stove in a cast iron dutch oven that is very very old!!
This is dependent on getting some fresh rosemary and thyme if lucky, dried if I can't find the fresh, everything will then be a go as they say at "NASA"! I believe I have discovered my mistakes through the posters and emails from everyone on this web site, we'll see. I'll post my results so you guys can hopefully see that your help hasn't gone in vain! I'll post absolutely everything I did.

Thanks a lot, Change.

PS. The only thing that could upset things right now is I am really starting to feel pretty bad, with several trips to the U know where!! Hell of a thing to say on a food site, but S%#t happens, whether we like it are not!