The cheap cut wins again. Pot Roast braised until the beef falls apart, with potatoes and carrots soaked in red wine gravy. This is the best thing you can do with a $20 chuck roast.
Classic Dutch Oven Pot Roast With Potatoes And Carrots
I’ll admit something about pot roast. I don’t make it because it’s easy. I make it because of what it does to the house.
You put it in the oven after lunch and by mid afternoon the whole place smells like somebody’s grandmother lives here. Out on the acreage in the middle of winter, that counts as an event.
And it is so good. The beef shreds under a fork, the potatoes have been soaking up wine and broth for an hour, and the gravy you make at the end is dark and glossy and worth the entire afternoon.
Jack Ryan follows me everywhere, so he spends the whole 3 and a half hours lying next to an oven full of beef he’s not getting any of. I don’t think he minds. Ok, maybe he gets a little.
The Best Cut Of Beef For Pot Roast
Chuck roast, every time. Chuck comes from the shoulder and it’s full of fat and tough stringy bits. That sounds like a downside and it’s the opposite. Leave it in a covered pot for hours and all of that softens into beef you can shred with a fork.
Look for one with plenty of white marbling running through it, and don’t trim any of it off. The fat is what you’re paying for. Lean cuts are where it goes wrong. Round roast and rump roast look like nicer beef sitting there in the case, and they come out dry and stringy no matter how long you cook them. Save those for roasting whole.
Brisket works if that’s what you’ve got. It stays a bit firmer and slices rather than shreds. Still a good dinner, just different.
I usually buy 4 pounds, which feeds 8 and leaves enough for sandwiches the next day. I’ve never once regretted buying too much pot roast.
Ingredients in Pot Roast
- Beef chuck roast (4 pounds): Boneless, well marbled, and don’t trim the fat. If your grocery store labels it “chuck pot roast” or “shoulder roast,” that’s the same thing.
- Salt (2 teaspoons) and black pepper (1 teaspoon): Season the outside generously before it hits the pan. Four pounds of beef can take more salt than you’d think.
- Olive oil (3 tablespoons): For the sear. Any oil that can take high heat works.
- Onion (1 large, cut into wedges): Wedges, not diced, so they hold their shape through 3 and a half hours and don’t disappear into the sauce.
- Garlic (4 cloves, minced) and tomato paste (2 tablespoons): Both go in for 1 minute after the onions. The tomato paste goes from bright red to a deeper brick color in the hot pot and loses the tinny taste it has straight from the can.
- Dry red wine (1 cup, or more broth): Cabernet, merlot, whatever you’d drink. It lifts all the browned bits off the bottom of the pot and adds depth you can taste at the end. You can use broth instead and nobody will come after you.
- Beef broth (4 cups, low sodium): Low sodium, because it reduces for hours and regular broth gets salty fast. Use one you’d be happy sipping.
- Worcestershire sauce (2 tablespoons): You won’t taste it on its own. It just makes the beef taste more like beef.
- Fresh thyme (3 sprigs) and fresh rosemary (2 sprigs): Whole sprigs go in and whole stems come out at the end. Dried works in a pinch, about 1 teaspoon of each.
- Bay leaves (2): In with the broth, out at the end with the herb stems. You notice them when they’re missing.
- Baby potatoes (1½ pounds): Whole, skins on, no peeling and no chopping. They go in for the last hour so they’re tender and not mush.
- Carrots (4, cut into chunks) and celery (3 stalks, cut into chunks): Big chunks. Anything small turns to nothing in an hour of braising.
- All purpose flour (2 tablespoons): Whisked with a little water into a slurry and stirred into the pot juices at the end. That’s your gravy.
- Fresh parsley (2 tablespoons, chopped): Green on top of a plate that is otherwise entirely brown. Worth doing.
How To Make Pot Roast
Season the roast: Heat your oven to 325°F. Pat the chuck roast dry all over with paper towels and season it with the salt and pepper. Dry beef browns, wet beef steams, and browning is where a lot of the flavor comes from.
Sear it: Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the roast 4 to 5 minutes per side until it’s deeply browned all over. Don’t rush this. You want a real crust, dark and a little crackly, not just gray. Move it to a plate.
Start the onions: Add the onion wedges to the pot and cook 3 to 4 minutes, until the edges start to brown. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and give it 1 minute. Watch the paste turn from bright red to brick red.
Deglaze with the wine: Pour in the red wine and scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. All those stuck brown bits come loose and go into the sauce. Let it reduce 2 to 3 minutes, then add the beef broth, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary and bay leaves.
Into the oven: Put the roast back in along with any juices that collected on the plate. Cover it and braise for 2½ hours. Leave it alone. There’s nothing to check and nothing to stir.
Add the vegetables: Add the baby potatoes, carrots and celery, nestling them around the roast. Cover and braise another 1 to 1½ hours, until the beef is fork tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
Rest the roast: Move the roast and vegetables to a platter and tent them with foil. Fish out the herb stems and the bay leaves and throw them away.
Make the gravy: Whisk the flour with a little water until it’s smooth with no lumps, then whisk it into the pot juices. Simmer it on the stovetop 3 to 4 minutes until it thickens.
Serve: Slice or pull the roast apart, spoon the gravy over everything, and sprinkle the parsley on top.
How Long To Cook A Pot Roast Until It Falls Apart
A 4 pound chuck roast takes about 3½ to 4 hours at 325°F, but I’d check it with a fork before I trust the timer. Bigger roasts want longer, and every oven runs a little differently. Stick a fork in and twist. If the beef shreds, it’s ready. If it holds together, put the lid back on and give it another 30 minutes.
| Roast weight | Total time at 325°F | Add the vegetables |
|---|---|---|
| 3 pounds | 2¾ to 3 hours | Last 1 hour |
| 4 pounds | 3½ to 4 hours | Last 1 to 1½ hours |
| 5 pounds | 4 to 4½ hours | Last 1½ hours |
| 6 pounds | 4½ to 5 hours | Last 1½ hours |
How To Make Pot Roast Gravy
Whisk the flour with a little cold water first, then add it to the pot. Dumping dry flour straight into hot liquid gives you lumps you’ll be chasing with a whisk for 10 minutes. Mix about 2 tablespoons of flour with 3 tablespoons of cold water in a small bowl until it’s completely smooth, then whisk that into the simmering pot juices.
Give it 3 to 4 minutes at a simmer. It thickens as it goes and it’ll coat the back of a spoon when it’s ready. If there’s a lot of fat floating on top, skim some off before you thicken it. A spoon works, or lay a paper towel flat on the surface for a second and lift it off.
Taste it before it goes on the plate. After hours of reducing, it can want pepper or it can want nothing at all. Cornstarch works instead of flour if you’d rather. Use 1 tablespoon mixed with 2 tablespoons cold water, and it gives you a glossier, slightly thinner gravy.
What To Serve With Pot Roast
- Mashed potatoes. There are already potatoes in the pot and I make mashed anyway, because the gravy needs somewhere to go.
- Crusty bread or a soft roll, for the same reason.
- Green beans or roasted broccoli, so something on the plate is green.
- A sharp green salad with vinaigrette, which cuts through all that richness nicely.
Storage and Leftovers
Keep the beef, vegetables and gravy together in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Storing them together keeps the beef from drying out.
Reheat it gently, covered, in a 325°F oven for about 20 minutes, with a splash of broth if it’s looking dry. The microwave works for a bowl, but low and slow in the oven is kinder to the beef.
For freezing, shred the beef and freeze it in its gravy for up to 3 months. Thaw it overnight in the fridge. I’d leave the potatoes out, since they go grainy and watery coming back from the freezer.
And if you’re wondering what to do with the leftovers, pile it on a crusty roll with some of the gravy for a hot beef sandwich. Chop it into a skillet with the leftover potatoes and fry it into hash with an egg on top. Or shred it into a beef barley soup, which is my favorite ending for a pot roast and the reason I make 4 pounds.
Other Recipes You’ll Love
- Slow Cooker Beef with Mushroom Gravy – Chuck roast again, but hands off in the slow cooker with a mushroom gravy.
- Slow Cooker Beef Barley Soup – Where my leftover pot roast usually ends up.
- Old-Fashioned Beef Tips and Noodles – Tender beef in gravy over noodles, for a weeknight instead of an afternoon.
- Scalloped Potatoes – If you want something creamier than mashed beside all that gravy.
- The Best Crock Pot Roast – The slow cooker version, for the days you’re not home to mind an oven.
- Mashed Potatoes – What I serve under this every single time.
Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 4 pounds beef chuck roast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 1 teaspoon black pepper
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 large onion, cut into wedges
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine, or more broth
- 4 cups beef broth, low sodium
- 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 2 bay leaves
- 1½ pounds baby potatoes
- 4 carrots, cut into chunks
- 3 stalks celery, cut into chunks
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325°F (160°C). Pat the 4 pound chuck roast dry and season all over with the 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper.
- Heat the 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Sear the roast for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until deeply browned all over. This crust is where a huge amount of the flavor comes from, so do not rush it. Transfer the roast to a plate.
- Add the onion wedges to the pot and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until they start to brown. Stir in the 4 cloves minced garlic and 2 tablespoons tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
- Pour in the 1 cup red wine, scraping up all the browned bits from the bottom, and let it reduce for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the 4 cups beef broth, 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, the thyme, rosemary, and 2 bay leaves.
- Return the roast to the pot along with any juices. Cover and transfer to the oven. Braise for 2½ hours.
- Add the baby potatoes, carrots, and celery, nestling them around the roast. Cover and braise for another 1 to 1½ hours, until the beef is fork tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
- Transfer the roast and vegetables to a platter and tent with foil. Fish out the herb stems and bay leaves.
- To make the gravy, whisk the 2 tablespoons flour with a little water until smooth, then whisk it into the pot juices. Simmer on the stovetop for 3 to 4 minutes, until thickened.
- Slice or pull the roast, spoon the gravy over everything, and sprinkle with the 2 tablespoons parsley.
Recipe Notes
- Use chuck. Chuck roast has the fat and connective tissue that break down over hours. Lean cuts like round or rump come out dry and stringy.
- Pat the beef dry. Wet beef steams instead of browning, and the sear is a large part of the finished flavor.
- Don’t rush the sear. Four to 5 minutes per side, until there’s a real dark crust.
- Go by a fork, not a clock. The roast is done when a fork twists and the beef shreds. A tough pot roast is usually undercooked, so cover it and give it another 30 minutes.
- Vegetables go in late. Adding them for the final hour keeps them tender instead of falling apart.
- Smooth the flour first. Whisk the flour with a little cold water into a slurry before it goes into the pot, or the gravy will be lumpy. Cornstarch works too, 1 tablespoon with 2 tablespoons cold water.
- No wine. Use another cup of beef broth in its place.
- Make ahead. Pot roast is better the next day. Cool, refrigerate, and reheat covered at 325°F for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Storage. Keep the beef, vegetables and gravy together in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freeze the shredded beef in its gravy up to 3 months, without the potatoes.
Nutrition Information
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, and I’ve got a whole recipe for it over on JoCooks. Sear the beef first either way, since that crust is most of the flavor.
You can. Use another cup of beef broth in its place. The wine adds depth, but it still comes out rich and deeply savory without it.
Around 200 to 205°F, which sounds alarmingly high for beef and is exactly right here. Pot roast isn’t medium rare beef, it’s beef you’re trying to break down completely. A fork is still the more reliable test.
I wouldn’t skip it. Those 10 minutes in the hot pan are where a lot of the finished flavor comes from, and nothing later in the recipe puts it back.
It’s genuinely better the next day. Cook it, cool it, refrigerate the whole thing, and reheat it covered at 325°F for 30 to 40 minutes. The flavors settle overnight.
Plain cooked beef, yes, in small amounts. This pot roast, no. There’s onion and garlic in it and both are bad for dogs, plus a lot of salt.
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