I don’t know about you, but on a chilly Fall day I love a good hearty, slow cooked meal. Enter, the perfect pot roast recipe. This recipe is warming and soulful. The pot roast is melt in your mouth tender and juicy. Not to mention the perfect cooked carrots and the sauce, oh the sauce.
I love everything about a perfectly cooked pot roast. I spent a lot of time perfecting the recipe and this is truly the perfect pot roast roast recipe. Here is why.
How can I know this is the perfect pot roast recipe?
For one thing, the roast itself needs to be perfectly tender, while staying juicy. I have had many a pot roasts where the meat is tender, but dry as all you know what. I have also had pot roast that the sauce is too thin or too thick and gloppy. Nobody likes that. I have also had pot roast where the carrots came out mushy. No, no no… no mushy carrots, please!
So, how do you get the perfect tender, juicy meat, thick and luscious, (not gloppy) sauce and perfectly cooked, not mushy carrots? Don’t worry, I have you covered with this recipe. Did I mention it is the perfect pot roast recipe?
How do you get the meat to be tender and not dry?
Braising, my friends. This is the technique of cooking your meat in a little bit of liquid on a low heat for a long time covered tightly. By using this cooking technique, you will ensure a tender and juicy piece of pot roast every single time. Also, one step that often gets lost in the braising process is the searing of the meat before you begin the braise. This is definitely a restaurant/chef tip here. We almost always sear the meat before we being the braise. This will lock in all of those juices and give a beautiful crust to the outside of the meat. In short, it will add flavor to the meat and the whole dish while you get those brown bits on the bottom of the pan first.
What do you need to make the perfect pot roast recipe?
Well, this will go a little beyond your normal pantry ingredients, but not too much. You will obviously need the meat and veggies, but the rest of things are basic pantry staples.
Boneless Beef Chuck Roast-Â Since this is the star of the show, you do not want to skimp on quality here. If you can find a prime cut, that is the best. Yet, if you can only find choice, that is the next best thing. I do not recommend going less than a choice grade for this. You want it to have some fat, (fat is flavor), but you want it to be trimmed up nicely as to not make a greasy sauce.
Kosher Salt-Â As you know, always kosher salt in my kitchen
Freshly Cracked Black Pepper-Â Pepper is one of those spices that freshly cracked is truly best, but use what you’ve got
AP Flour-Â Nothing fancy here, this is just to help slightly thicken our sauce as the pot roast cooks
Olive Oil- This does not need to be extra virgin, you are cooking with it. Just make sure it is good quality oil
Carrots-Â Whole carrots are best for this and just peel and cut them into large 2 inch pieces. You don’t want to cut them too small or they will become mushy
Onion-Â Whole yellow onions, peeled and cut in half are perfect here. You don’t need the fancy pearl ones or anything like that
Garlic-Â I like a good 4-5 cloves in here. I love the garlic flavor in this dish
Good Red Wine-Â the alcohol will cook out, so no worries there. But it is important to use a good quality wine. That doesn’t mean expensive. I always recommend for people to cook with wine they would want to drink. I never recommend cooking wines, they are fortified and concentrated and not best for using in dishes that call for wine
Crushed Tomatoes-Â This is a more controversial ingredient in pot roast. Some people use tomato products, others don’t. I always use some type of tomato product in a good braise, so I also do here. I like the crushed in here though over the paste or the whole peeled. It gives a nice texture and consistency to the sauce
Stock-Â Chicken or Beef… the age old question. I like to use beef stock in here to enhance the beef flavors, but chicken stock is completely fine and if that is what you have, use that
Fresh Herbs-Â Classically in pot roast you will use thyme and rosemary. I like to make a little sachet with herbs and tie it to the side of the pot. This way they can be removed easily. Also, they will leave there flavor behind without their leaves.
Chef’s Tips-
This recipe is fairly straightforward. I love recipes like that. The biggest thing to think about when making a great pot roast is the braising technique. Which in any sort of culinary situation or recipe really, if you know the technique you can use the recipe more as a guide than as the bible. It is important when cooking that you learn and think of recipes and dishes in the techniques that you are using. This is true even of baking. If you learn a technique, you can comfortable apply that technique to many other recipes and dishes.
For properly braising meat, make sure that you sear the meat first. Then remove the meat an begin building the sauce. Once the foundation of the sauce has been built, you will add the meat back into the pot or roast pan. Then make sure you cover the meat half way up with your cooking liquid. So, if you sauce is built and you add in your meat and you realize it is not halfway up the meat, either use a smaller vessel or add a little more stock or liquid. Then cover your cooking vessel and cook on a low heat for a long period of time. Do not go back and uncover and check on it every 30 minutes.
The most common mistakes when braising are too high of heat or too lean of meat. So, make sure you have a good quality pot roast. Your heat is no more than 350 degrees and that you are covered and leave it alone for at least a couple of hours.
What equipment do you need to make the perfect pot roast recipe?
Not much really. You need a great vessel for braising. I love a good enamel pot for this. These are great for low and slow cooking. They hold in the heat, they keep the heat even, they have tight fitting lids and they usually clean up very easily. Which is important as you may think the braise is burnt on there.
Here are a couple of options. I am a sucker for Le Creuset, but I have also listed a couple of others that are great as well and a little more budget friendly.
My favorite Le Creuset braiser
Other than the braising pan, you will just need a cutting board, knife and tongs. Here are my favorite chef’s knife and cutting board
Other recipes to try if you love this one
Here are some of my other favorite Fall or chilly weather recipes. Message me or comment below if you make or try any of these. I would love to hear what you think.
The Best Homemade Cheddar Biscuits– this recipe is perfection with the perfect pot roast recipe
The Perfect Pot Roast Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 4 to 5-pound prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- All-purpose flour
- Good olive oil
- 4 carrots peeled and cut into 2 inch pieces
- 2 yellow onions peeled and cut in half
- 4-5 cloves peeled and smashed
- 2 cups good red wine such as Burgundy or Cabernet
- 3 cups beef broth
- 1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp flour-additional
- 1 tbsp butter at room temperature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
- Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
- Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, and garlic, kosher salt, and pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned.
- Add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the crushed tomatoes, beef stock, more kosher salt, and more pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover.
- Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer. Do not remove the roast or the pot from the oven when doing so.
- Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stove top over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer.
- Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Add more kosher slat and pepper if needed. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it and the carrots on the side. ENJOY!
Love food, family and this community
-Chef Steph
