Pot Roast
Confession: I wasn’t a fan of pot roast for most of my life. I just didn’t get it – the beef and vegetables were fine, but typically they are braised in just liquids that aren’t thickened in any way so the end result is like a watery broth. Plenty of flavour in it, but when you pour it over the beef and vegetables, it doesn’t cling to it at all because it’s watery. So I decided to change it and thicken the sauce using a touch of flour. So it’s more like a gravy. Now THAT’s a pot roast worthy of company, in my humble opinion!!! If you love meltingly tender, slow cooked roast beef and deeply flavoured gravy, this pot roast recipe is for you!
How to make Pot Roast
- Means simmering liquid and scraping bottom of pan to release the flavour stuck on the bottom of the pan from searing. It adds a ton of flavour into the cooking broth!
Chuck roast can be purchased in large pieces that are or aren’t rolled. You want to use rolled chuck roast for this recipe, otherwise the beef ends up all warped. Supermarkets and butchers should carry chuck roast that’s already rolled, otherwise, you can roll it yourself and tie with kitchen string or ask the butcher to do it for you.
It’s essentially a slow cooked Roast Beef!
The key point of difference with this pot roast recipe is that the braising liquid is thickened so it comes out like a deeply flavoured gravy rather than a watery broth which is how most pot roasts are made. So it’s essentially a slow cooked Roast Beef that’s fall apart tender that comes with a gravy and tender flavour infused vegetables. Complete meal in one pot!
Because the beef needs to be mostly submerged in liquid while it slow cooks, you end up with lots and lots of liquid in the finished dish. Which means, in my Pot Roast, you end up with lots and lots of very tasty gravy. This is a sensational “problem” to have. Keep leftovers, drown your potatoes with them, toss through pasta (oh yes!!), serve it as a sauce for tomorrow night’s dinner. – Nagi x PS Bread to mop your bowl clean wouldn’t go astray. Try these No Knead Dinner Rolls, a quick No Yeast Irish Bread or these moreish Cheese Muffins.
Watch how to make it
Note: My slow cooker looks like a pressure cooker because it’s a multi function slow cooker (but no, it’s not an Instant Pot!).
This pot roast recipe was originally published January 2018. Updated for housekeeping matters. No change to recipe – I wouldn’t dare! 🙂
More slow cooked beef recipes
Because nothing beats the flavour of beef cooked long and slow until it’s meltingly tender….
Life of Dozer
When the homeless man at the dog park isn’t at his car (usually off tending to the park grounds – best groundskeeper EVER!), I tie food to the boot of his van. Pot Roast, in this case! And this is Dozer, trying to figure out if he can reach the bag. #SHAMELESS
