As some of you may have noticed, most of my recipes tend to be vegetarian. I would say that 90% of our diet is vegetarian with the occasional seafood and meat when we go out or to other peoples houses. I have always HATED cooking with raw meat. It just creeps me out. I can’t even look at the meat counter at my H.E.B. without getting a little queasy. I really have no explanation for this. I won’t go into why I choose not to eat meat (maybe I will post that at another time) but needless to say I am quite happy to abstain from it and happily eat my tofu and drink my soy milk.
Until last week. Out of nowhere, I just had this urge to make pot roast. I have NO IDEA why. It has never been a favorite of mine. I don’t remember eating it as a child. And yet, I could not get it out of my mind. I decided to add it to this weeks menu. First came the task of finding “the recipe”. After searching the internet and finding lots of recipes that included onion soup mix and canned cream of mushroom I decided to turn to the one woman who has never ever let me down, Pioneer Woman. I browsed her recipes and sure enough she had a pot roast recipe. It seemed simple enough and so I jotted down a quick list of ingredients to add to my grocery list.
I set out to the grocery store. I picked up my veggies and herbs and headed to the meat department. Um, just one tiny problem. I have no idea what kind of meat I need. I stood there for about 30 minutes looking at everything and thoroughly disgusting myself when a very nice butcher asked if I needed help finding something. Sheepishly, I told him I wanted to make pot roast and I had no idea what to buy. He pointed me toward the chuck roasts and helped me find one small enough for two people with enough for at least one more meal of leftovers. I finished my shopping and went home anxious to make dinner.
I dragged my laptop to the kitchen and began making dinner. This is the first time in my life that I followed a recipe EXACTLY how it is. I was so nervous to screw up what seemed like such an easy dish so I wasn’t going to take any chances. The verdict? Quite possibly the best thing I have ever cooked for dinner. The meat was moist, flavorful and just delicious. The fresh herbs gave so much flavor to the whole dish. I served mine with some mashed red potatoes and the rest of the red wine that was not used in the recipe. Jordan has decided that it has to go into our menu rotation. The leftovers were just as tasty and my only regret was not buying a bigger roast so we could have more leftovers.
Pioneer Woman’s Pot Roast
Source: Pioneer Woman Cooks
- 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
- 1 whole (4 To 5 Pounds) Chuck Roast- (I bought a roast that was about 2.8 pounds)
- 2 whole Onions
- 6 whole Carrots (Up To 8 Carrots)
- Salt To Taste
- Pepper To Taste
- 1 cup Red Wine (optional, You Can Use Beef Broth Instead)
- 2 cups To 3 Cups Beef Stock
- 3 sprigs Fresh Thyme (or More, To Taste)
- 3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary (or More, To Taste)
First and foremost, choose a nicely marbled piece of meat. This will enhance the flavor of your pot roast like nothing else. Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil (or you can do a butter/olive oil split).
Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices (you can peel them, but you don’t have to). When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.
If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate. With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme. Put the lid on, then roast in a 275 degree oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours. Remove meat and veggies to a platter. I strained the pan dripping and skimmed as much of the fat out of them as I could and served the dripping with the roast in lieu of making a gravy.
How to store the leftovers: Place any leftover roast and veggies into a casserole dish (I used my 9 x13 pyrex). Spoon pan drippings over the meat and into the pan. Cover tightly with foil. When ready to reheat, pop the whole thing in the oven on 350 for 20-30 mins until heated through.
