A Net Gourmet Photo Recipe
Chuck roasts are great for “pot” roasts, or in this case a braised roast. In case you don’t know, a pot roast cooks meat in liquid, braising does not use liquid.
The downside of a braised roast is they take about 3 hours to cook. On the plus side, it’s “set it and forget it”, there is no fussing once it’s in the oven, and it takes only about 20 minutes to get ready.
This recipe makes dinner for 4 with some leftovers.
Ingredients:
For the rub:
- 4 Tablespoons flour
- 1 Teaspoon each: Salt, paprika, savory or thyme, ground ginger
- 1/4 Teaspoon ground pepper
For the Dinner:
- 4-6 Medium sized red or white “new” potatoes, peeled
- 8 Carrots
- 2 Onions cut in quarters
For the roast:
- 4 Pound boneless chuck roast
- 3-4 Tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 Large onion cut in quarters
- 2 Large carrots cut in 4 inch length
- 2 Celery stalks cut in 4 inch length
- 3 Whole garlic cloves
Directions: Preheat oven to 325º F.
Blend together the rub ingredients and rub them into all sides of the meat. Be sure to fully coat.
Heat the oil in a dutch oven (or any pan with a secure cover that can be used on the stove and in the oven). Brown the meat on all sides. Usually about 10 minutes.
When browned, remove from the pan. Add the vegetables in the “for the roast” section to the bottom of the pan.
The vegetables are used for flavor and used as a “rack” to keep the meat off the bottom of the pan. Carefully place the meat on top of the vegetables.
Cover tightly and place in the oven. Cook for 2 hours. At the 2 hour point, add the “for dinner” vegetables around the meat.
Re-cover and return to the hot oven for one more hour. Note: The meat must cook for 2½ to 3 hours in total. Remove the meat from the pan and let sit covered on a cutting board for 10-20 minutes.
Make sure the dinner vegetables are cooked through. If they are not, return them in the covered pan to the oven. When vegetables are done, remove from pan and return pan to the stove top. The vegetables you used under the meat can be removed and thrown away.
They look good, but they have very little flavor as they have cooked for so long. There’s a good chance these “rack” vegetables are stuck to the pan and there should be a little juice in the pan. There is a tremendous amount of flavor in this broth, plus there are cooked on bits stuck on the bottom of the pan. Turn the heat to medium, add some water and scrape up those bits.
Strain the broth and use on the meat.
