Pot Roast - the perfect one pot meal

Sunday night supper:  Pot roast, and mashed potatoes and gravy

Pot roast is a great choice for lazy Sundays when you want a special meal, but you don't want all the work.  With just a little bit of prep in the morning, you can just pop this in the oven and cook it "low and slow" all day long.  The end result is simply perfection.  And best of all - nothing beats a good roast beef sandwich made with the leftovers.  Click below to read more.

Season the roast liberally with salt and pepper

I like to use an enameled cast iron dutch oven when I make roasts like this because cast iron is an excellent conductor of heat.  My kids call it "the blue pot," and get excited whenever they see me take it out of the cabinet.

This particular roast is a Bottom roast, but I've been know to use a Chuck or Eye roast for this meal too.  It's important to choose a roast with some fat marbling.  Don't fear the fat.  It cooks down and renders into the pot, but helps to ensure that the meat is flavorful and tender.

Searing in a cast iron enameled dutch oven

I like to take the roast out of the refrigerator about 45 minutes before I'm ready to cook it so that it gets up to room temperature.  This helps the meat to relax a bit and lets the juices flow evenly throughout.   If you just put a big dense piece of meat in the pan and started cooking it, you risk having the exterior become dry.  While it's coming up to room temperature, I take the time to season it liberally with salt and pepper, starting with the bottom side up and then flip it and season the top.

Make sure to sear well on all sides

Next up is to sear the meat.  What this does is create a depth to the flavor.  While it's certainly true that you don't need to sear it first, it's so much better if you don't skip this step.  And don't be shy either.  Let it really get good and browned on all sides.  When this is done, remove it from the pot and let it rest for a bit while you deglaze the pan.

Onions deglazing the pot

Deglazing is where your whole kitchen smells like heaven (if heaven smells like beef and onions).   As you can see, the pot is full of browned bits of meat.  They look burnt on and you might worry that if you continue to cook in this pot, you'll end up with a burnt mess.  Do not worry!    The antidote for this is a bunch of onions dumped right over top of the browned bits.  They work like magic, and before you know it, all the browned bits reconstitute into a beefy stock and the onions start to take on a browned look.  This is when your kids will come from all corners of the house and ask what's for dinner and you'll have to remind them that it's only 8:00 in the morning and that they need to stop thinking about dinner so early.

Things are really moving along now, and it's just about ready to go in the oven.  Just a few more steps.

Onions after deglazing pot

Now's when I add the roast back to the pot.  I circle the roast with a few cut carrots that no one in my family will eat other than me, then add some beef stock, followed by some red wine.

Adding stock to the pot

Just before I stick it in the oven, I put some Rosemary and Thyme into stainless steel mesh tea infuser.

I use this thing all the time to impart flavor without having to chop the herbs up (or fish them out of the hot broth later!)  Just stick them into the stainless steel mesh ball, lock it, and stick it down into the pot.  That's it!  It's ready for the oven now.  Just cover the pot with the lid, and put it into a 300F oven for about five hours.

While it's in the oven, make some mashed potatoes.  After you take it out of the oven, the only thing left to do is whip up some gravy to go along with those potatoes.

Fresh Rosemary and Thyme

Push herbs down into the pot

Pot Roast Recipe

Ingredients

4-5 pound beef roast (Chuck, Eye, or Bottom)
16 oz. box of beef stock
1 1/2 cup of red wine
2 large onions, sliced
5 large carrots, peeled and sliced on the bias
2 sprigs Rosemary
3-4 sprigs Thyme
Salt and Pepper
Water to bring it to desired volume
1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil (to sear the roast)

Directions
1.  Season the roast liberally on all sides with salt and pepper
2.  Heat butter and olive oil in a heavy dutch oven.  (Yes, butter and olive oil.  Don't judge).
3.  Sear the roast heavily on all sides.  Remove from the pot.
4.  Deglaze the pot with onions.  Cook until the onions begin to soften and the pot is deglazed.
5.  Add the roast and any collected juices back to the pot.
6.  Add carrots, beef stock, and wine
7.  If necessary, add just enough water to nearly cover the roast.
8.  Cook in a 300F oven for 5 hours.
9.  Remove from pot and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.