Pot Roast - an herby, meaty, simple, and fall-apart tender dinner!
Pot Roast is one of my all-time favorite meals. I love the way the whole house takes on the herby, meaty aroma as it cooks. I love the simplicity of it, and I love how it makes even the most inexpensive cuts juicy and fall apart tender.
Cooking low and slow, using a small amount of acid is the best way to turn a tough cut into butter!
- Serves: 4
- Prep time: 30 mins
- Cook time: 3 to 4 hours
Ingredients:
- 2 lb beef roast (chuck roast, brisket, shoulder steak, round roast, etc.)
- 1 yellow onion
- 1 cups broth/stock (plus extra for deglazing)
- 4 button mushrooms
- 1 tbsp butter or rendered animal fat such as tallow or bacon fat or avocado oil
- 1/4 cup prepared tomato (marinara) sauce (see Subs & Adds section for alternatives)
- Fresh or dried herbs such as rosemary, thyme, marjoram
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 275 degrees Fahrenheit, or 135 degrees Celsius.
- Preseason roast with salt and pepper and let rest outside of refrigeration for 30 mins.
- While roast is resting, slice 1 onion in half, and remove ends and outer papery layer and discard.
- Melt 1 tbsp butter, rendered animal fat, or avocado oil in an oven safe pot over medium/high to high heat.
- Add onion halves, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and brown on both sides. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Add roast and brown on all sides. Add stock to deglaze pan as needed to prevent burning.
- Return onion to pan and add tomato (marinara) sauce.
- Add enough stock to cover meat 1/2 way (approximately 1 cup).
- Place a few sprigs of fresh or dried herbs on top.
- Place a lid on your pot and transfer it to the oven and bake for 3-4 hours, until meat is fall-apart tender.
- About a half an hour before serving, add sliced mushrooms to the saucy/soupy part of the pan, cover with lid, and return to oven.
- Before serving, remove any woody parts from the herb sprigs.
Subs & Adds
- Pro-tip: If you don't plan far enough ahead for 3-4 hours of cook time, cut your pot roast into halves, thirds, or quarters. It'll cook up and become fall-apart tender much quicker in smaller chunks.
- Alternative to adding tomato sauce, you could use splashes of red wine to deglaze your pan while searing the meat. The acidity in the red wine accomplishes the same goal as the tomato sauce. If you don't have tomato sauce, you can sub in 1 tbsp tomato paste. Add your tomato paste after the meat has browned, then add your broth/stock as directed above.
- I used a homemade tomato (marinara) sauce similar to Rao's. A prepared marinara sauce (such as Rao's) would also work well in this dish.
- This dish is very easily customizable to suit your tastes. If you like carrots or other vegetables in your pot roast, add them at the same time you cook the onions. If you do not like an ingredient used, simply omit it from your dish. I can't see in your house and you won't offend me if you leave out the mushrooms (or onion, or whatever you prefer not to have in your pot roast).
- I used homemade bone broth (stock) to make this dish. If you don't like or don't have homemade broth or stock, you can use prepared beef stock, chicken stock, vegetable stock, or bone broth.