Agreed!

I often make a 2 lb. slab of chuck on slow cook low with veg for 6-8 hrs. and it's amazingly good. I don't know if that helps, however.

Thank you, gardengal and pillog.

Pillog - at what temperature do you cook yours for 6-8 hours? At 300F?

I never make larger than a 2-lb pot roast, it's just DH and I. I put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 1.5 hours with just the meat, cooking liquid (broth, in my case), seasonings, and onions/garlic. After 1.5 hours, I add the potatoes and carrots, then cook another 45 minutes to an hour. Super simple.

I use an enamel-coated cast iron Dutch oven at 300 for pot roasts. The heat conduction of those pots is really good so that temp works well. I‘ll bring it to a low boil on the stove before transferring to the oven. Based on that, I would figure about an hour per pound for chuck roast, but going a bit longer will be fine. As gardengal posted, a tight lid and liquid are key.

AuntieJenny, I meant in a slow cooker, but I found a reference that said lo in my model is 194 F degrees. My oven will do 200F, but the slow cooker is more convenient. I've also done the braise in a CI dutch oven or braiser (flatter covered pot) in the oven at 275-300 F, the way Chloebud and Gardengal described. You can sear the meat before braising, but it may affect your final cook time a bit. The liquid should come up at least halfway up the meat in height in the pot, and be ready to add some if it escapes. You can go all French and seal the lid with simple dough (flour and water to a clay consistency, rolled between your hands and baking surface into a rope, flattened into a 2” wide ribbon, and pressed around the join between the lid and the pot. This limits your ability to check, however.

I will expand on what Chloebud said. The cast iron is a poor conductor (as metal goes) so holds on to its heat and provides an even heating environment inside, rather than fluctuating a lot with the heating cycles of the oven. The only reason I can think of for all the temperature changes in the recipe, including the initial boil, is that the author is used to crummy ovens. If your oven gives you problems, it's another story, but if it'll hold heat as set within 25 degrees either side, which is the minimum accuracy of current ovens (some have a swing of less than 5 degrees either way), and you have a good cast iron pot, you really shouldn't need to fuss so much.

“…so holds on to its heat and provides an even heating environment inside…”

Right, excellent heat distribution and retention. One of the best features of it.