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–+ servings

Family Favorite Pot Roast

Author: Si Foster
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes
Servings: 6 servings

Ingredients 

  • 1 3-3 1/2 pound roast (pot roast, chuck roast)
  • 2-3 cups onion, chunked (I prefer yellow or sweet onion)
  • 1 cup celery cut into 1-inch chunks
  • 1 pound carrots (baby carrots or whole carrots, peeled and cut up in large chunks)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2-3 tablespoons olive oil
  • salt and pepper, garlic salt
  • 2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
  • 2-3 cups beef broth

If making gravy from juice:

  • one package or tub of flavor enhancer (I like Knorr brand "Homestyle Stock" beef flavor)

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 225 degrees if slow cooking (8 hours) OR 275 degrees if cooking for 4 1/2 hours, plus 1 hour in oven with heat off
  • Set rack in the middle of the oven.
  • Season meat generously with salt, pepper, and garlic salt on top and bottom of roast, about 1 teaspoon each salt and pepper and 1 teaspoon garlic salt per side. Rub seasoning into meat if desired.
  • Heat heavy pan on stove over medium high heat and add oil. This should be the same pan used to slow cook meat in oven.
  • Add meat to pan and brown on both sides for 2-3 minutes per side.
  • Remove meat to plate.
  • Add another tablespoon of oil to pan if needed. Add chopped onions, carrots, and celery. Cook for 3-4 minutes and loosen the bits of meat from the bottom of the pan. Season with additional salt and pepper.
  • Add minced garlic and reduce heat. Cook for about 1 minute.
  • Leave the vegetables in the pan and add the meat back to the middle of the pan, pushing the vegetables around the sides of the roast.
  • Evenly sprinkle the Worcestershire sauce and balsamic on top of the meat.
  • Pour beef broth around the edges of the pan. Do not pour over the top of the roast. It will wash away the seasonings and sauces. The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the roast.
  • Drizzle the entire pan with a bit of olive oil.
  • Cover tightly with foil or lid.
  • If using a roasting pan that is not deep, place the pan on top of a jelly roll pan so any excess juice created while cooking will spill onto the pan and not into the oven.
  • Place in oven to bake.
  • If baking for 8 hours, oven temperature should be 225 degrees.
  • If baking for 4 1/2 hours, oven temperature should be 275 degrees. After 4-4 1/2 hours, turn heat off and leave roast in oven for an additional hour. The roast will be done in 4 hours but will tenderize as it sits in the oven with the oven off.

For Gravy:

  • Pour the juice off of the roast and vegetables or use a bulb and extract the juice.
  • Cover pan to keep meat and vegetables warm.
  • Melt 4 tablespoons of butter into a saucepan over medium heat.
  • Add 3 tablespoons of flour. Whisk until the flour and butter are a paste-like consistency.
  • Cook for 1-2 minutes.
  • Slowly add about 4 cups of the juice from the roast, whisking while adding the liquid.
  • Add the concentrated stock tub and whisk until dissolved. Cook until gravy thickens.

Notes

You may use either a roasting pan with a tight lid or any type of pan where you can secure a seal using foil or a lid. The key is to keep liquid in the pan.
If you are doubling the recipe and want to use the extra roast for French dip sandwiches, it is not necessary to double the vegetables as well. Add an additional cup of beef broth to the pan.
You may add 1 pound mushrooms or 2 pounds scrubbed potatoes, cut into chunks, to the vegetable mixture.
I like to add fresh or dried herbs, such as rosemary, thyme, oregano, to the roast as well before cooking in oven.