Perfect Pot Roast

A good pot roast recipe is something everyone needs in their cooking repertoire, and the recipe I will be sharing with you today is the perfect addition! Pot roast is a favorite meal in our house. I love it because it is so simple to make. It's one of those "fix it and forget it" meals, so you can whip everything up and binge watch Netflix. Have I convinced you to make pot roast for dinner this week yet?

Before you hit the grocery store, you want to make sure you have the right cut of meat. My very favorite is the chuck roast. It has a lot of fatty tissue which makes the meat melt in your mouth delicious when cooked for a long period of time at a lower temperature. I have used rump roasts in the past with no complaints from my picky eater, they just never turn out quite as tender as a chuck. 

Now let's get cooking! 

Ingredients:

- Chuck Roast (about 4 pounds)

- 3 tablespoons Olive Oil

- 2 Red Onions (cut into fourths)

- 6 Carrots (cut into 1-2 inch long slices)

- 1 cup Red Wine (optional)

- 3 cups Beef Stock

- 1 Tablespoon Rosemary

- 1 Tablespoon Thyme 

- Salt and Pepper to taste 

Directions:

1. On your stove top heat a Dutch oven over medium high heat. Once the Dutch oven is warm, pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and heat.

2. Once the oil is hot (but not smoking) add in the onions. You will brown one side, then the other. Remove the onions to a plate as they just start to become soft and fall apart. 

3. After you remove the onions, add the carrots to your Dutch oven and toss for about 1 minute. Remove and place on the onion plate with they are slightly brown and just start to become soft. 

4. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to the Dutch oven. Place your roast in the pan and sear on all sides. You want the roast to be nice and brown all over. You may want to grab some tongs to make searing the sides easier. Remove the roast to a plate. 

5. With your heat still on medium high, pour in 1 cup of red wine to deglaze your pan, use a whisk to get all the yummy "brown stuff" off the bottom of your pan and mixed in with your wine. If you wish to omit the wine (for some crazy reason) you can substitute 1 cup of beef stock. 

6. Once you are done deglazing your pan, place the roast back in and add beef stock to cover the roast halfway (about 2-3 cups). Add in the onion and carrots to the sides of the roast. 

7. Sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of rosemary and thyme over your roast. I say about because I almost never measure my seasonings into my roast. So this is a pretty accurate guesstimate. If you would prefer to use fresh thyme and rosemary, use about 3 sprigs each. 

8. Salt and pepper to taste. I recommend using a course salt such as Penzys Grey Sea Salt. Kosher salt would also be a good choice!  

9. Put the lid on your Dutch oven and roast in a 275 degree oven for 4 hours (4-5 pound roast). For a 3 pound roast plan on about 3 hours. Now go fire up Netflix. 

Be prepared for your house to smell heavenly while you are waiting for your roast to be done. Try to fight the temptation to open your oven and peek at your roast. Trust me, just let it be! In about 4 hours your timer will go off and you will open your Dutch oven to find this little piece of Heaven awaiting you.

Yummy. To insure the roast is cooked thoroughly, use a fork to open the roast. If the meat falls apart easily, it's done. As a side note: A lot of people like to throw in potatoes while they cook the roast. I am not totally against that, however I find that the potatoes turn out lacking in flavor and very soggy. For this reason I prefer to make roasted or mashed potatoes, the latter being my favorite. 

I normally serve this straight out of the pan. That way everyone can pick how much meat and veggies they want. But if you are having a fancy dinner party (roast is always an awesome dinner choice for a dinner party) serve the roast on a platter with the veggies separate. Be sure to have a small serving bowl with extra juice so guests can drizzle it over their meat and potatoes as well! 

Good luck!