Classic Pot Roast
You want a pot roast that is fork-tender and full of flavor. Picture this, you make a delicious and healthy meal for your family, and your toddler says, “This tastes better than candy!” Those are sweet words coming from a toddler who typically only eats bread and bananas.
Listen, I’ve made a lot of beef roasts, and I never could get them quite right…until I used my MIL’s recipe. Several years ago she made it for a family with a new baby, and their toddler told his mom it tasted better than candy.
Beef and candy may be on opposite ends of the health-food spectrum (and one has zero sugar), but they can both impress your family! Here’s the not-so-secret Schrader family recipe:
Ingredients
4 lb. chuck roast (we usually choose bone-in but boneless is fine)
Kosher salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp. olive oil or butter
1 large onion
4 large carrots
3 potatoes
4-5 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved
1 cup of coffee (you could also use broth)
3 sprigs of fresh rosemary and thyme (you can use a sprinkle of dried herbs instead)
Choose a good roast
Sourcing meat from a quality source does make a difference! Good cooking won’t make bland or gamey beef taste like premium beef. For consistent, high-quality meat that you can feel good about eating, click here.
Prepare your roast
Season your roast with a light sprinkle of pepper and Kosher salt on both sides.
You may also need to cut your roast in half so it fits flat across the bottom of your pot. Remember, surface area is king! If the roast is too big and the edges don’t touch the bottom of the pan, they won’t caramelize and you’ll miss out on good flavor!
Sear roast
Melt oil or butter in a Dutch oven over high heat on your stovetop.
Sear roast for about 4 minutes per side. This caramelizes the sugars and protein in the meat, creating a delicious brown crust with savory flavor. This is how you turn your beef roast into candy (even though they are on opposite ends of the health-food spectrum and one doesn’t have sugar.)
Prepare veggies while meat sears
While the meat sears, peel and chunk your carrots, potatoes, onion, and garlic. Since they are going to cook with your roast for a long time, cut them in rather large chunks. They will take longer to cook, so they finish at the same time as your roast.
Brown veggies
When meat is done searing, brown the onions and carrots in the same dish, separately, for about one minute each. Browning equals caramelization equals savory flavor (that goes for meat and vegetables). Remove vegetables when done browning.
Prepare dish
Add meat back to the dish. Top with carrots, onions, potatoes, fresh garlic cloves, and fresh herbs like rosemary and thyme. Pour one cup of coffee over everything for an extra depth of flavor and to keep the meat moist while it roasts.
Cook low and slow
Roast at 300ºF for about 2 hours for a 4-pound roast. The internal temperature should be about 200ºF. However, it’s more important to look at the meat than the temperature. If you can’t pull the roast apart easily with a fork, it’s not done cooking yet. You can’t rush perfection!
