All-in-One Pot Roast
(makes 6 servings)
When I was a little girl my favorite dinner was my Mom's Sunday Pot Roast. Now, as an adult it is still one of my favorites, especially because it is an easy “all-in-one pot” meal that requires very little hands-on cooking and always comes out delicious. My husband and son love it so much that they told me to make it a Sunday night dinner tradition every week.
While it is nearly impossible to mess up this pot roast recipe, there are a few steps that are essential to get it right. First, you must be sure to choose the right cut of meat. I recommend using chuck roast, but if you can’t find this cut you may use brisket or round roast. Next, you must flour and brown the meat on all sides in order to give the meat and gravy that delicious pot roast flavor. Lastly, you must remember to wait to add the potatoes and vegetables after the meat has cooked at least 2 hours otherwise they will get overcooked and mushy.
You will need a large (6-7 quart) enameled cast iron Dutch oven to make this recipe. If you don’t have one, I highly recommend purchasing one. They are very versatile and can be used both on the stove top and in the oven and nothing ever sticks to them so they are very easy to clean. I LOVE my purple Le Cruset Dutch oven but it was quite expensive; however, you can find a very reasonable one on Amazon for only about $60-80.
Ingredients:
- 2.5 lb cut of boneless beef chuck roast (preferably grass-fed)
- 4 medium Yukon gold potatoes (cut into 1.5 inch pieces) or use a 1.5 lb bag of small yellow potatoes (which is about 16-18 small potatoes)
- 8 carrots, peeled and cut into 1.5 inch chunks (use the thicker tops of the carrots and save the skinny ends for snacking on), or you may use a small bag (12-16 oz) of thick baby carrots
- 1 small bag (10-12 oz) of frozen cut green beans
- 1 large yellow onion, cut into large slices
- 2 large cloves of garlic, pressed
- 2 – 32 oz cartons (8 cups) of beef stock or beef broth
- ¼ cup of unbleached all-purpose flour (or gluten-free flour mix)
- 1 tsp of your favorite seasoning salt (Lowry's Nature's Seasoning Blend and Simply Organic All-Purpose Seasoning Blend) or you can just use salt and pepper.
- 4 Tbsp of avocado oil or olive oil
Instructions:
- Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Thoroughly dry the meat with paper towels, then season it with about ½ tsp of seasoning salt on each side.
- Sprinkle about 1/8 cup (2 Tbsp) of flour on each side of the roast until evenly coated on all sides (or you can spread the flour out on a large plate or flat surface and press the roast into the flour until generously coated on all sides).
- Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a medium-high heat on the stove top until the oil is shimmering and hot. Then put the roast in the pot and brown on all sides, including the ends, until deep golden brown (about 5 mins for each side). Transfer the roast to a large plate and set aside for now.
- Reduce the heat to medium and add the onions and fresh pressed garlic cloves into the pot. Sprinkle with some seasoning salt and cook until lightly browned.
- Return the meat and any juices into the pot. Pour the 2 cartons of beef stock on top of the meat. Put the cover on the pot and put it into the oven and cook for 2 hours.
- Remove the pot from the oven and put the potatoes and carrots in it around the roast. Put the cover back on and bake for one hour.
- Remove the pot from the oven again, add the bag of green beans, cover again and return to the oven and bake for about 30 -45 more minutes, or until the roast pulls apart easily and the potatoes and carrots are tender (not mushy).
- Remove the pot from the oven and carefully transfer the roast to a large plate. Pull apart the roast into large pieces with 2 forks to divide into 6 servings and put into bowls to serve immediately, or glass pyrex containers to store for later. Evenly divide out all of the carrots, potatoes, green beans, onions, and gravy into each of the 6 containers with the meat.