Sunday Pot Roast with Carrots and Potatoes
Chuck roast seared in a Dutch oven and braised with red wine, broth and herbs until fork-tender, with carrots, potatoes and a rich gravy.
- Full Meals
- Cast iron / Dutch oven
- Oven
- Beef
- Dinner
- 270 min total
- Serves 6
Ingredients
Ingredients for servings
Enter a number of at least ½, in steps of ½.
Original recipe serves 6. Ingredient amounts adjust automatically. Cooking times and pan size may need adjusting separately.
Roast
- 3 1/2 lb beef chuck roast
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
Braise
- 2 yellow onions, cut in wedges
- 4 cloves garlic, smashed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine, or more beef broth
- 2 cups beef broth
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 2 bay leaves
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary
Vegetables
- 1 1/2 lb baby gold potatoes, halved
- 5 carrots, cut in 2-inch chunks
Gravy
- 2 tbsp butter, softened
- 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
Gear
- Large Dutch oven with lid (6 quart or bigger)
- Tongs
- Whisk
Some gear links may be affiliate links. Disclosure.
Steps
Step 1: Heat the oven to 300°F. Pat the roast dry and season all over with the salt and pepper.
Step 2: Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Sear the roast 4 to 5 minutes per side, including the edges, until deep brown. Move it to a plate.
Step 3: Turn the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste and stir 1 to 2 minutes until the paste darkens.
Step 4: Pour in the wine and scrape up every browned bit on the bottom. Simmer 2 minutes. Add the broth, Worcestershire, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary.
Step 5: Put the roast back in. The liquid should come about halfway up the meat. Cover and braise in the oven 2.5 hours.
Step 6: Add the potatoes and carrots around the roast, pushing them into the liquid. Cover and return to the oven 1 hour more, until the beef shreds easily with a fork and the vegetables are tender.
Step 7: Move the beef and vegetables to a platter and tent with foil. Fish out the herb stems and bay leaves and skim the fat off the liquid.
Step 8: GRAVY: Mash the butter and flour into a paste. Bring the braising liquid to a simmer on the stove and whisk in the paste a little at a time. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes until thickened. Taste and season.
Step 9: Slice or pull the beef into chunks and serve with the vegetables and plenty of gravy.
Game plan
Sunday dinner at 5:00 PM:
- 12:15 PM: Roast out of the fridge. Season it.
- 12:30 PM: Sear, build the braise.
- 1:00 PM: Into a 300°F oven.
- 3:30 PM: Add potatoes and carrots. Make a salad and set out rolls.
- 4:30 PM: Check that the beef shreds easily. If not, give it 20 to 30 more minutes.
- 4:40 PM: Rest beef, make gravy. Warm rolls in the oven.
- 5:00 PM: Eat.
Swaps
- Wine: Use all beef broth plus 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar.
- Vegetables: Parsnips, turnips or celery root alongside the carrots.
- Slow cooker: Sear and deglaze, then cook on Low 8 to 9 hours, adding vegetables for the last 3.
Tips
- If it’s tough, it isn’t done. Cook it longer, not shorter.
- A low oven braises more evenly than the stovetop, with no scorched bottom.
The story
HAM Cooking. Let’s fire it up.
Pot roast is the official smell of Sunday afternoon. You come home from wherever you were, open the door and it hits you, and suddenly you’re eight years old again and somebody’s telling you to wash your hands.
The magic is in the cut and the time. Chuck is cut from up front on the steer, where the meat spent its whole life doing heavy lifting, so it’s laced with tough collagen. Rush it and you’re chewing a belt. Cook it slowly in liquid at a low temperature and that tissue melts into gelatin, which makes the meat tender and gives the gravy that rich, silky body. The sear at the start adds the deep browned flavor that boiling alone can’t give you. And the tomato paste? It’s a little hit of savory that makes the gravy taste like it cooked all day. Which, in fairness, it did.
Mashed potatoes optional. Gravy mandatory. Nap afterward highly recommended.
HAM out.
Related recipes
AI illustrationSlow cookerCast iron / Dutch ovenDinnerEasyOnion Soup Mix Pot Roast
Chuck roast slow-cooked with onion soup mix, potatoes and carrots until it falls apart. The packet does the seasoning; you take the credit.
495 min · serves 6 · Beef
AI illustrationCast iron / Dutch ovenOvenDinnerEveryday ClassicsBeef Stew
Chunks of well-browned chuck braised low in the oven with red wine, broth and herbs, with potatoes, carrots and peas in a thick, glossy gravy.
180 min · serves 6 · Beef
AI illustrationCast iron / Dutch ovenDinnerEveryday ClassicsBeef and Bean Chili
A thick, hearty pot of beef and bean chili with bloomed spices, a little cocoa and a splash of beer, simmered until rich and topped any way you like.
105 min · serves 8 · Beef
Cooked this? Tell us how it went.
Loading reviews…