Perfect Pot Roast

When I made my 30 Things to Make Before I Turn 30 I asked my hubby if had any requests. "BEEF!" He responded, particularly pot roast.  The poor guy doesn't get to eat much red meat. Both he and I ate Pot Roast as kids and I had never tried making my own Pot Roast, so put it on the 30 Before 30 List. I remember coming home from church and  smelling my Mom's Pot Roast cooking in the oven and enjoying it several hours later. 

One of my favorite cooking bloggers, The Pioneer Woman, posted her Pot Roast recipe recently because she made it for her recent appearance on The Today Show. I was excited that this recipe is very simple and that you just let it cook for several hours. I guess that is the magic of a Pot Roast! The meat just fell apart, that's how "perfect" this Pot Roast is. Very moist, flavorful, and colorful with the mushrooms, onions, and carrots! I served  Paula Deen's Turnip Mashed Potatoes alongside this dish because potatoes are a MUST with Pot Roast. Hubby was very happy and (I'm hoping) felt like a manly man eating all that meat and potatoes. :)

Perfect Pot Roast

From The Pioneer Woman

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 4 to 5 pound Chuck Roast

2 whole onions

6 whole carrots, peeled and sliced into 2 inch pieces

1 container button mushrooms

4 cloves garlic, sliced

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

1 cup red wine

2 to 3 cups Beef Stock

3 sprigs fresh thyme

3 sprigs fresh rosemary (dried is also fine!)

Directions:

Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Cut the onions in half and the carrots in slices. When the oil in the pan is very hot, but not smoking, add in the halved onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so. Remove them to a plate.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the pan. Place the meat in the pan and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate. With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef  broth, about 1 cup, to deglaze the pan. Scrape the bottom with a whisk to get all of that wonderful flavor up. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan. Add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onions and carrots, as well as 3 or 4 fresh sprigs of rosemary and 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275 oven for 4 hours.