A delicious Pot Roast is easy to accomplish, but most folks miss the mark for a variety of reasons.  There is no point in cataloging the “Don’ts”, particularly when the following recipe will cover all of the bases.

Our neighbor at the lake house is one of the finest men I have every met.  He will turn 90 next month and I hope he makes 190!  A few years ago he was at the lake without his wife so we invited him for dinner and made a Pot Roast.  To this day, he claims it was the best roast he had ever had.  High praise based on a lot of experience, indeed.

This offering is a continuation of our series providing a full meal of recipes.

Pot Roast with Gravy

 

Author: Dennis Killebrew

Cuisine: American

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  6 hours

Total time:  6 hours 20 mins

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Ingredients

• 3 Pound "Meaty" Chuck Roast
• 1 Cup All-Purpose Flour
• ¼ Cup Oil
• 1 Large Stalk of Celery Cross Cut into 4 Pieces
• 6 Inches of Peeled Carrot, Cross Cut into 2 Pieces
• 2⅜ Inch Thick Slices of Yellow Onion, Quartered
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, Peeled, Rough End Cut Off
• ½ of a Large Fresh Jalapeno, Seeded and Deveined
• ½ of Small Bay Leaf
• 10 Ounces (Fluid) Beef Broth
• 10 Ounces Water
• Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Instructions

1. Place rack in second slot from the bottom and preheat oven to 250 degrees OR preheat crock pot on the High setting.
2. Place flour in cake pan. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat (you may do this in a dutch oven allowing this recipe to be made in one pot). Wash the roast in cool tap water and dry with paper towel. Liberally salt and pepper the meat on both sides and dredge both sides and edges in flour.
3. Place floured meat in hot oil and brown on both sides. Shake pot/skillet vigorously to prevent roast from sticking. Be patient and make sure to get a good brown color.
4. Place meat in a dutch oven or crock pot. Add the broth and all of the vegetables and the bay leaf; stir well. Measure 2 tablespoons of the leftover flour into the cool water and stir well to dissolve until there are no lumps. Pour into pot. Add ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; stir. Cover pot (place in oven if cooking there).
5. If using a crock pot, once the liquid shows a simmer, reduce heat to low. Cook for approximately 6 hours, turning over the roast every 2 hours (correct for salt after the first 2 hours). It is not possible to give you exact timing because it will vary according to the thickness of your meat and your altitude (the higher the altitude, the longer it will take). It will be done when a fork inserted in the middle and twisted shows individual strands of meat. When you see that, turn off the heat. This can be over cooked.
6. To make the gravy, use a ladle and set a colander over a sauce pan to remove the liquid in the pot to the pan, straining out the vegetables in the process. If you have the time, place the juice in your freezer until the fat solidifies on the surface; then scrape it off with a spoon and discard. If you do not, do your best to spoon off some of the fat floating on the top of the liquid.
7. For every cup of liquid in your pan (just estimate, no need to measure), add 1 tablespoon of the remaining flour and 3 tablespoons cool water to a small bowl. Mix well with a fork until there are no lumps. Stir this mixture into the sauce pan. Heat over medium heat until it has simmered for 4 minutes. Add black pepper and salt to taste.

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Brown Meat First