This is ye olde school classic pot roast with veggies – a dish that will be very good immediately after cooking. 12 hours in the fridge, it will be even better. If you let it set for 24 hours before re-heating, grown men will offer you marriage – even if you’re another man and they’re straight. This is The BAMF’s favorite.
TMc's Pot Roast
This recipe will fill a 6-quart slow cooker nearly to overflowing, so govern yourself and your recipe scaling accordingly.
Servings: 8
Ingredients
- 4-5 pound Boneless beef chuck roast
- 4-5 Medium-large Yukon gold potatoes (you can use regular Idaho potatoes, but I prefer Yukons in my slow cooker recipes as they soak up juices and never get mealy)
- 1 Medium sweet yellow onion
- 1 Bag of baby carrots (about 1 lb bag - not the snack size little guy bags)
- 2 Large Portobello mushroom caps (you can use whole Baby Bellas if needed, just know that a meaty mushroom is important here, as nothing soaks up the juices from the roast quite so beautifully)
- 1 Packet brown gravy mix (I strongly prefer Pioneer brand if you can get it)
- 1 cup Wine (your preference - white or rose will have a subtle flavor, red will be very strong)
- Soy sauce
- Worcestershire sauce
- Garlic salt (Lawry's Seasoned Salt is good here too if you have it)
- Black pepper
- Flour
- 2 TBSP Vegetable or other high-heat-friendly oil
- Cooking spray
Instructions
- Scrub and chop potatoes into big bites (but not big enough to require cutting to eat)
- Peel and chop onion into generous chunks (thinking bite-sized again)
- Wash and chop portabella mushroom caps into generous chunks (bite-sized)
- Wash baby carrots
- Dump all veggies into a slow cooker sprayed with cooking spray
- Sprinkle veggies with garlic salt, black pepper, and any other herbs of choice (I am fond of using dried parsley and marjoram with my pot roast)
- Toss veggies by hand to mix spices/herbs and the veggies themselves
- Rub all sides of the roast with a generous drizzle of soy and Worcestershire sauces
- Rub all sides of the roast with a light coating of flour
- Sprinkle all sides of the roast with garlic salt and black pepper
- Pre-heat a big ol' skillet over medium heat for a few minutes, add a little oil to the pan, and brown roast about 3-4 minutes per side
- Set the browned roast on top of the veggies in the slow cooker - if one side is fattier than the other, that is the side that faces upwards
- Whisk the gravy mix into the wine until smooth
- Pour wine gravy mix over roast into slow cooker
- Cover slow cooker and cook on LOW setting for 11 hours or HIGH for 8 hours (Do NOT remove the lid to check on things for at least 8 hours if cooking on LOW, or at least 6 hours if cooking on HIGH)
- When you check the roast, spoon liquid up over the roast, and give the roast a “fork” test to see how far you are from being done – at this point it should be starting to feel “fork tender” - you will know it's perfect when you twist a fork into the meat and a bite of roast essentially jumps up onto the utensil and begs to be taste-tested
Notes
- The flour is important before browning as it will really thicken up your gravy while the roast is cooking.
- Sweet potatoes are also surprisingly tasty in this.
- I sometimes use a can of cream of mushroom soup mixed with the wine if I am after a thicker, more "homestyle" gravy that day.
- Looking for a simpler, "lighter" pot roast? Use white wine, an au jus gravy mix, no flour on the meat when searing, and just lay it on a bed of thick-sliced onions in the slow cooker (this version is perfection for sammiches - crusty rolls are a must).
- Mom’s version for all-purpose use: layer a sliced large sweet onion in the bottom of the slow cooker, seasons your roast with Cavender’s Greek Seasoning, brown it good in a skillet with butter, dump it on the onions, add nothing else, cook on low for 8-10 hours depending on meat size.
I still make it this way when I want it to be really good!