A few weeks ago, my dad told me that he had been craving chuck pot roast. He called around to all the elders in the family to get their recipes, and proceeded to make his own rendition in the crock pot. I took one thing from this conversation–as far as I could remember, I had never eaten pot roast. A dish that is nearly as American as apple pie, the very incarnation of meat and potatoes. It needed to be in my repertoire.
So I made it for the first time, and I now know what I’ve been missing out on. Buttery, impossibly tender meat with a delicious beef gravy. There is a reason that chuck pot roast is a classic. It warmed my tummy despite the cold evening, leaving me full and ready to sleep off the hearty dinner.
The Chuck Pot Roast Recipe
PrintThe Best Chuck Pot Roast
Buttery, impossibly tender meat with a delicious beef gravy. Inspired by recipes from TheKitchenista and On Ty’s Plate.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 4 hours and 30 minutes
- Total Time: 5 hours
- Yield: 4 servings 1x
- Category: entree
- Cuisine: american
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 pound boneless bottom chuck roast
- Kosher salt and pepper
- Seasoning Mix:
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tsp onion powder
- ½ tsp allspice
- ½ tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp rosemary
- ½ tsp basil
- ½ tsp thyme
- ½ tsp fennel seed
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 celery stalks, left whole
- 2 carrots, left whole
- 1 yellow onion, quartered
- 5 garlic cloves
- ¼ tsp of anchovy paste
- 2 roma tomatoes, diced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dijon mustard
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 cups of beef stock
- 1/4 tsp maggi cube
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
- Pat 2 ½ pound boneless bottom chuck roast dry with a paper towel. Season with 2 ½ teaspoons of kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Make the seasoning mix: teaspoon each of garlic powder and onion powder; ½ teaspoon each of allspice, smoked paprika, rosemary, basil, thyme, and fennel seed. Season the roast on all sides.
- Heat a dutch oven over medium high heat. Add a tbsp of olive oil and sear meat on all sides to develop a nice brown crust (about 4 minutes per side). Remove from the pot.
- Add 2 tablespoons of butter to the pot. Saute mirepoix (two celery stalks, two carrots, and one onion), five garlic cloves, and a ¼ teaspoon of anchovy paste (careful, it’s salty!).
- Add two diced roma tomatoes, tablespoon of tomato paste, teaspoon of dijon mustard, two bay leaves, and remaining seasoning mix.
- Deglaze the pot with about 3 cups of beef stock (until the beef is covered a little more than halfway with liquid). Return the roast to the pot. Bring to a simmer and add about a ¼ tsp of maggi cube.
- Cover the dutch oven with a lid, leaving the lid slightly open. Put it into the oven for two hours. Flip the pot roast over and cook until roast is fork tender and falling apart. For mine, that took nearly four hours total.
- Discard the bay leaves and remove the meat. Purée the braising liquid until smooth, and simmer for a few minutes to reduce and concentrate the flavors. I added a cornstarch slurry with a tablespoon of cornstarch and three tablespoons of the braising liquid to thicken it into a gravy.
- Shred the beef with two forks and return it to the pot.
Keywords: pot roast, braised, American
The Fixings
The Kitchenista served her pot roast with a delectable set of sides that I decided to replicate in my own way: Horseradish Mashed Potatoes and Glazed Carrots.
Horseradish Mashed Potatoes
As a base, I used Chef Raquel Fox’s recipe for Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes from her Dining in Paradise cookbook. After I made the mash with potatoes, heavy cream, and butter, I mixed in horseradish and sour cream ala this recipe.
Ginger Molasses Glazed Carrots
I melted 4 tablespoons of butter on medium heat and sautéed two shallots. I added thinly sliced carrots, salt, pepper, thyme, parsley, and dried ginger. After adding a nice sized dollop of molasses, I deglazed the pan with vegetable stock. Then I covered the pan with a lid and let the carrots simmer until tender. Finally, I uncovered the pan and let the syrup reduce until it formed a glaze on the carrots.
For another great American meal that is perfect for the wintertime, check out my Southern Mac and Cheese with BBQ Ribs and Collard Greens.
This looks amazing! I made pot roast for New Years in my Instant Pot and it was delicious. I love that you have it with horseradish mashed potatoes! I’m going to pin this for later. Thanks for sharing x
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Thank you! The horseradish really puts it over the top, as it makes the flavors super nuanced. I will check out your post!
That dish looks amazing, I might have to try it at some point
Thank you! I hope you enjoy.
Just made my mouth water. Can’t wait to try them all out!
Please do!! It is worth the long cook time for sure.
Yum, this looks great! My mom just bought us some beef for roast so will have to check out your tips. And I love glazed carrots!
I hope you enjoy 🙂
This sounds amazing!! I love glazed carrots – I’ll have to try with molasses one day! Thanks for sharing!
Of course! The carrots are quite delicious.
My kids call this dish “pull apart meat” because it’s so tender you don’t even need a knife…usually.
I grow and grind my own horseradish, but never thought to add it to the mashed potatoes, we’ll have to try it!
Yes you definitely should not need a knife! Wow I’m sure that horseradish tastes wonderful. It adds such a great taste to the mashed potatoes.
This roast looks so delicious and tender. I am going to try to recreate this. I really want to invest in a instapot.
xo Erica
Thank you! It’s so tasty and pretty simple to make. An instapot would definitely speed up the process.
This roast looks delicious! I am going to try to recreate it! This year I really want to invest in a instapot.
xo Erica
We haven’t had pot roast for a long time. This preparation looks delicious and the side dish is perfect.
Thank you! The sides do indeed pair incredibly well with the roast. I hope you enjoy some pot roast soon 🙂
This sounds amazing! The ginger molasses carrots looks to die for. Thank you for sharing this, will share it with my sisters to add it to our meal plan! 🙂
Thank you so much for your kind words! I am not usually a carrot fan, but this is a preparation I can get behind.
We try to make a roast at least once a month. This recipe was so easy to make and full of flavor. It’s definitely going to be a repeat meal for us.
I am so glad you enjoyed it! Roast is such a simple but hearty meal.
We love pot roast and this recipe fell apart like butter. So delicious and well seasoned!
I am so glad it worked out for you. Thank you for your wonderful feedback!
This was the perfect pot roast!! So tender and flavorful!
I am so glad you enjoyed it!!
This roast is so full of flavor. Meat just fell apart! Will be making again. Thank you for posting this recipe.
Of course! So glad you enjoyed it 🙂
This was my first time making pot roast and I am so happy I found your recipe. It was so delicious!
So happy to hear that it was a hit!
Huge fan of pot roast here, and this one was so flavorful and tender. This will definitely be in rotation again and again!
Glad you found a new favorite!
The seasoning of this pot roast recipe was incredible. I will never use another roast recipe again.
I am glad you liked the seasoning mix! I know it is a bit unique, but I think it gives such amazing flavor.
Pot roast is one of my absolute favorites. So I had to try your recipe! The meat was so flavorful, juicy, and tender. I’ll definitely be making this again soon.
So happy to hear that the recipe was a hit! Thank you for trying it out.
This pot roast was so complex and richly flavored! I loved the addition of anchovy paste!
I am so glad you enjoyed it! I loved the depth of flavor it added. Definitely a great tip I took from The Kitchenista.
I love the flavors of this pot roast and it came out so tender! Thank you for the recipe!
Of course! Pot roast has to be tender. I am happy you enjoyed it 🙂
I loved making this! The meat was so tender and buttery but the gravy was the absolute best!
So happy to hear that it was a hit 🙂 Yes, gravy is the best part of pot roast.
Hands-down the most tender pot roast I’ve ever made. Thanks for the recipe!
It’s my pleasure!
This chuck roast was perfect for this huge snowstorm we just had. I made it and it was so cozy and warmed us right back up after shoveling in the snow!
The snow storm was no joke! So glad you had some delicious roast to warm you up 🙂