Oh, mmmm, pot roast!

18 years ago

I wish I'd taken a picture! I don't think I've made a pot roast in years...what's wrong with me? The weather outside is frightful, so I pulled a chuck roast out of my freezer on Saturday to thaw overnight for Sunday dinner. (Instead of decorating for the holidays I've been cooking instead.) It roasted all afternoon and tasted so good; the ultimate in comfort food. I remember when I was growing up we used to have pot roast and vegetables with regularity. After I made the gravy, it felt like we were having a holiday meal! How often do you make pot roast?

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Comments (11)

claire_de_luna
Original Author
18 years ago
I made a plate of leftovers for another day...
{{!gwi}}
lindac
18 years ago
At least every 6 weeks or so! I love good old Yankee pot roast!
Linda C
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I've tried several recipes and pot roast always comes out tasting about the same but this one stuck out as particularly good. (copied from my blog) Slow-Cooker Pot Roast with Caramelized Onion Gravy The Essential Eating Well Cookbook Copyright 2004 1 4-pound boneless top or bottom round beef roast, trimmed of fat, twine on (I didn't trim or tie my roast) salt and freshly ground pepper to taste 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, divided 2 large onions, thinly sliced 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves Â½ cup brewed coffee or 1 teaspoon instant coffee granules dissolved in Â½ cup boiling water I used brewed coffee 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons cornstarch, mixed with 2 tablespoons water 1. Season beef with salt and pepper. Heat Â½ tablespoon oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add beef and sear until well browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a 4-quart slow cooker. 2. Add remaining Â½ tablespoon oil to skillet; reduce heat to medium. Add onions and cook, stirring, until softened and golden, 5 to 7 minutes. Add garlic and thyme; cook, stirring, for 1 minute more. Stir in coffee and vinegar; pour onion mixture over beef. 3. Cover and cook on high until beef is tender but not falling apart, about 4 Â½ hours. Transfer beef to a cutting board, tent with foil and let rest for about 10 minutes. 4. Meanwhile, pour juices from slow cooker into a medium saucepan. Skim off fat. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Add the cornstarch mixture to the pan. Cook, whisking constantly, until gravy has thickened slightly, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. 5. Remove twine from beef and carve. Serve with gravy. Here is a link that might be useful: Slow-Cooker Pot Roast with Caramelized Onion Gravy
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Sharon, I'm glad your pot roast turned out so well. I agree, leftovers are perfect "hot beef sandwiches", with some mashed potatoes and gravy over everything. As I've mentioned before, I'm also one of those poeple who doesn't put the carrots and clery in the pot roast because the vegetables flavor the gravy. I like potatoes in pot roast, but I'd prefer them mashed and so they get cooked separately too, usually. The only difference of opinion we have is on the use of sirloin. Sirloin is one of my favorite pieces of beef, not fork tender but juicy and flavorful, so I like it rare and sliced very thinly, I'd never "waste" good sirloin on pot roast, LOL. round? Now round is imminently suited to braising. Annie
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A friend of mine gave me this recipe, and it made the best pot roast we've ever had. I just did a search and found it on-line, so I didn't even have to type it out! Lisa's Lazy Pot Roast from The Complete Meat Cookbook Ingredients: 1 tsp. dried thyme 1 Tbs. chopped fresh rosemary or 1 tsp. dried rosemary 1 Tbs. paprika 1 Tbs. Kosher salt 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper One 4 lb. boneless beef chuck roast or a beef brisket, trimmed of most fat 2 Tbs. vegetable oil 1/2 cup water or beef or chicken stock, or more if needed 5 cups thinly sliced onions (about 3 large) 6 chopped garlic cloves Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Preparation: For the flavor step, combine 1 teaspoon dried thyme, 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, 1 tablespoon paprika, 1 tablespoon Kosher salt and 1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a small bowl. Rub the meat thoroughly with the mixture. You can cook the roast immediately, but it will taste better if it sits for an hour or two at room temperature or overnight in a zipper-lock bag, or well wrapped, in the refrigerator. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large, heavy casserole or Dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Brown roast on all sides, about 7 minutes. Remove and set aside. Pour off any fat from the pan and deglaze the pan in water or stock, scraping up any browned bits with a wooden spoon or spatula. Put the roast back in the pan, cover it with 5 cups thinly sliced onions and 6 chopped garlic cloves, cover and bake for 1 hour. Remove the cover, turn the roast over so that it is on top of the onions, and continue to cook, uncovered, for another hour, adding more liquid if needed. Stir the onions around after about 30 minutes so they can brown more evenly. Replace the cover and continue to cook for 1 hour more, or until the meat is fork tender; brisket will take a little longer than chuck. Remove the meat from the pot and let it rest, covered loosely with foil, while you prepare the sauce. (At this point, you may refrigerate the pot roast for later reheating. Refrigerate the cooking liquid separately. To serve later, remove any congealed fat from the cooking liquid and strain it before using it to reheat the meat gently.) To serve, strain and defat the sauce. Taste for salt and pepper. Cut the meat into thick slices or separate it into chunks. Spoon some sauce and onions over for serving. Serves: 6 Chef's Note: If you are in a hurry, you can eliminate the herb rub. In fact, if you are really in a hurry, do not bother with the browning. Just put the roast in a heavy casserole, smother it with the onions, and cook it as described above. You will be amazed at how good it is, and you family will think you have been slaving away at the stove all day.
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catherinet
18 years ago
Oh Yum! That looks good!
I make it about once every 2 weeks. I usually cook it in my LeCreuset pot, but recently I got a recipe on a TV show that makes it in the crockpot.......just the roast, canned whole tomatoes and juice, onions and whole small red potatoes and sprigs of rosemary and cooks on high for 6 hours. Its really good too.
Plus.....I really like the price of chuck roasts!
wizardnm
18 years ago
Just bought one today, tossed it in the freezer but we'll have it soon. We have one about every 3-4 weeks during the fall and winter. I think in Oct. I made one about once a week, it was tasting so good.

Nancy
claire_de_luna
Original Author
18 years ago
Catherine...the pot roast cooks on high? Mine was in the oven for almost 5 hours on 300 degrees.

That begs the question, what temperature do you all use to cook your roast? For how long? Do you cover the pot, or leave it uncovered part of the time? How much liquid for the braise?
san_
18 years ago
claire--we eat pot roast about once every over week during the fall and winter--GREAT stuff! when i cook it in the oven it's at 350 and covered. makes a mess of the inside of the pyrex but that cleans up easily enough...
lindac
18 years ago
I make it on top of the stove in a Le C Dutch oven. After browning it, I cook it on the lowest almost simmer I can manage....for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours for maybe a 3 pound chuck. I brown it and then add about 1 1/2 cups of "something"...broth, wine beer...cover and simmer very very slowly. If for some reason I do have to put it into the oven I set it as about 212...half way between 250 and 200....but the pot is hot when I put it into the oven.
Linda C
fenworth
18 years ago
Catherine, or anyone with a good crock pot recipe, would you mind posting it?

I'm also wondering if 11-12 hours on low could be substituted for 6 hours on high without killing it?
claire_de_luna
Original Author
18 years ago
I'm sorry, I don't have a good crock pot recipe, but I just wanted to say I always thought a longer time on Low would be preferable to cooking a pot roast on High. (I don't use my crock pot so I'm hardly an expert, just thinking back to my Low and Slow methods of cooking.) I seem to kill most things in a crock pot, however, which is why I don't use it any more! In fact, I don't know why this appliance is taking up space in my kitchen, if the truth be known...
donnar57
18 years ago
In a slow cooker/Crock Pot is the ONLY way I've ever cooked a pot roast. Here's how I do it:

1 roast, whatever kind you like (chuck, rump, even London broil cut works well)
garlic and onion powder
1/3 cup each: soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, water

I put the roast in the cooker, sprinkle a bit with garlic and onion powder. Then I mix the 3 liquids in my measuring cup and pour it over the roast. If you like you can add carrots and potatoes - I usually put in 2 cans (drained!) of whole potatoes or some whole peeled little red taters.

In my old Crock Pot, 8 to 10 hours on low cooked it nicely until the pot got old and started to burn stuff at about 7 hours. I recently replaced it with an HB slow cooker - we have yet to have our first roast of the season. Probably next week when DD#1 is home from college?

DonnaR/CA
arley_gw
18 years ago
If you want a really elegant and incredibly rich pot roast, check out Molly Steven's All About Braising for her recipe for Christmas Estouffade. It takes a few days for marinating, etc. but the end result is heavenly. It's over-the-top rich.

It can be mostly cooked ahead and refrigerated for a few days, to be finished without much fuss when you're ready to serve it.

The link is to Niman Ranch's web site which posted this recipe (and of course Niman Ranch products are listed in the ingredients), but of course you don't need to use Niman Ranch's products to make it. Any good chuck roast would probably do just fine.

I've only made this once, and in no time at all there were no leftovers. Highly recommended, as is Molly Stevens' book.

Here is a link that might be useful: Christmas Estouffade

Oh, mmmm, pot roast!

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claire_de_luna
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Oh, mmmm, pot roast!

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