Braised Pot Roast

Roast & Liquid

Gravy

Smells Like Home

Pot Roast is one of my favorite dinners to make- it reminds me of my mom’s cooking.  Plus it’s a great excuse to use my cast iron dutch oven, I love cooking in that thing.

The smell is so homey I’m really not sure why they don’t make a Pot Roast candle for realtors to sell houses quicker.  What smell is better than having meat and veggies roasting in the oven all day long?

This is also a great meal to make on Sunday and throw in the fridge for a quick Tuesday dinner.  Just warm everything in the oven for a half hour or so at 350° and dinner is served.  And the leftovers!  I look more forward to making pot roast sammiches even more than eating the dinner itself.

There are a few specific things I do that might be a little different than most recipes you’ve seen.

• I don’t brown the meat before braising- the oven will do that for you- so we can skip a couple steps.
• I like a little garlic flavor in the gravy; the more you cut garlic the stronger the flavor is.  Leaving the cloves whole keeps the garlic flavor mild.
• 1 stalk of celery.  Celery is a strong flavor that I don’t love…a little goes a long way with this.
• I only cook the veggies for a much shorter time, 30 mins. at the end, because I don’t want them mushy.  Also, cooking them at this point with the lid off browns them at the same time and saves a couple more steps.
• Below the cooking instructions are some Flavor Bumps to add extra flavor to your meal.  These are optional but I highly recommend using at least the Bump for the gravy.

A couple notes about ingredients in this recipe:

• Herbs & Spices: use whatever you like.  It’s pretty traditional to use Thyme, Bay Leaf, and Rosemary with a beef braise.  Rosemary is a pretty strong herb and I find it a bit overpowering for a Pot Roast, I’d rather taste onions, carrots, and a deep beef flavor.  Also, dried herbs are perfect for braising, you don’t have to go out and buy fresh herbs for this.  The key is to use whatever flavors you like! I’d stay away from things like Basil or Oregano because they will bring a very Mediterranean flavor.  I like to use Thyme and ground Coriander.
• Red Wine: If you don’t have or want to use wine just use an extra cup of beef stock.
• Acid (for the gravy): Sherry Vinegar is my favorite but you can use Red Wine Vinegar, White Vinegar, or Lemon Juice.  It just balances the gravy and gives a bit of extra flavor.
• Gluten Free: the roast and veggies are gluten free.  There is flour in the roux for the gravy, but you can use a corn starch slurry instead to make that gluten free too.

Directions – Roast & Veggies

1. Preheat your oven to 350°.
2. Put your dutch oven or pot over medium-high heat on the stove.
3. Chop all of the veggies into 4 large pieces each and halve the potatoes.  Remember to peel the carrots and remove the skins from the shallots/onion.
4. Add a small squirt of oil (olive, veggie, whatever oil is handy) to the pot.  Throw in the herbs and spices to cook for about 20 seconds, just long enough to bring out flavor.
5. Pour in the wine and beef stock and let simmer for 1 min. to bring up to temperature.
6. Salt and pepper the roast on all sides.
7. Add only the celery and garlic with the roast to the pot.  Spread the celery around so the roast sits on them evenly.  Cover the pot with a lid or tin foil and put into the preheated oven for 2-3 hours.
8. After 2-3 hour cook time take the pot out of the oven and put roast onto a plate.  Remove the celery and throw away.
9. Put the roast back into the pot and put back into the oven without the lid.  Reduce oven heat to 285° for 1 more hour.
10. Pull the pot out one more time and put the roast on a plate. Take a rubber spatula or wooden spoon and pull some of the juice from the pot onto the sides and scrape off the brown bits.  This will add a ton of flavor back into your gravy later.
11. Flip the roast (so the brown side is on the bottom), put it back in the pot, and add the rest of the veggies around the roast.  Put the pot back into the oven for 30 mins.
    1. If the liquid doesn’t come halfway up the roast then add some beef stock or water until it does.
12. After the last 30 minutes is up, take it out and put the veggies in a serving bowl, cover with foil and a towel, and set aside.
13. Put the roast on a plate and cover with tin foil.  Pour the liquid into a bowl and put in the freezer for 5 mins.
    1. Your roast should be nice and tender though not quite falling apart.
    2. If you want it fall-apart tender then put it back in the oven with the lid on until it’s how you like it.

Directions – Gravy

1. Take the bowl of braising liquid from the freezer and scrape the white fat layer from the top.
2. On medium-high heat, melt 2 Tbsp. of butter- or even better–  1 Tbsp. of butter and the approx. 1 Tbsp. of beef fat from the braising liquid (see Flavor Bump below).
3. Add 2 Tbsp. of flour to the pot and stir.  Let the Roux brown until it is the color of a wine cork, about 3 mins.
4. Add the braising liquid and whisk until the Roux is completely integrated and it’s smooth.
5. Add the Acid (vinegar or lemon juice).  Stir and let the gravy simmer for 1 min.
6. Add the last 1 Tbsp. of cold right-from-the-fridge butter and stir until it’s all melted.  Your gravy should now be smooth and deliciously velvety.
7. Pour into your gravy pitcher/coffee mug/measuring cup and set on the table.

***

Flavor Bumps

1. 2 days ahead of making- salt the roast on all sides and set on a plate uncovered.  Stick it on the bottom shelf of your fridge way in the back.  Just flip it over after 1 day.  When the fridge evaporates water from your roast it creates a more concentrated beef flavor and your roast will have an even deeper taste.
2. Put veggies back on a sheet tray and put back into the oven to brown even more while making gravy.
3. Use beef fat from the juice to make the roux.  This is probably my all-time favorite Flavor Bump for all kinds of recipes- it makes the gravy taste SO much better to me.  When you take the bowl of braising liquid out of the freezer and scrape the fat from the top, just put it back in the pan to melt and add 1 Tbsp. of butter.