Kittencal's Beef Pot Roast Recipe

"My signature pot roast recipe and one I have made for many years, and it also works great using a pork butt roast instead of beef! You will need at least a 6-quart heavy pot to make this recipe, at first you will think you have a ton of gravy but it cooks down quite a bit and you can always freeze some to use in the next time you make it, trust me, you will be glad there`s lots, the gravy is FANTASTIC! This is not hard to make just a little prep work and the great thing about it is you can start it a day ahead, cook it for an hour or even two hours, let it cool then place the pot in the fridge for up to three days, when your ready to make it just place the pot back on the stove to finish cooking. You need dry red wine to make this, please do not omit the wine, it add flavor and tenderness to the roast! I don`t fool around with a small blade or chuck beef roast, the roast does shrink while cooking. I have my butcher slice a really big one, double the size that you find in the grocery stores, so I can have future meals for the week or I freeze the slices for another time, I suggest if you make this recipe, make a large roast because I can tell you that you`ll be happy to have leftovers. cooking time and servings are only estimated, This will be a recipe you will make many times, I promise!"

Step by Step Method

Step 1

Prepare a minimum 6-quart (or larger) heavy pot with a lid (or a Dutch oven if you want to free up your stove top and finish cooking it in the oven).

FOR THE BROTH MIXTURE

Step 2

In a bowl combine/whisk the beef broth with next 6 ingredients; set aside.

Step 3

Season the roast generously with ground pepper then garlic powder (DO NOT USE SALT!! you can always add in salt to the gravy towards the end of cooking time).

Step 4

Heat olive oil and/or bacon grease in you pot over medium-high heat (be generous with the oil!). Brown the roast very well on all sides (this may take about 30 minutes - the roast needs to be well browned!). Using two forks carefully remove the roast to a bowl; set aside.

Step 5

Add all the mushrooms to the pot, cook stirring until they loose their moisture (about 8 minutes). Add in onions, minced garlic, bay leaves and rubbed thyme; cook stirring about 8 minutes.

Step 6

Add in the tomato paste; cook stirring 1 minute, then mix in the wine; bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 3 minutes.

Step 7

Pour in the beef broth mixture; bring to a boil, stirring a few times.

Step 8

Carefully using two forks, place the browned roast back in the pot; bring back to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and simmer uncovered for about an hour.

Step 9

After one hour of cooking time cover with a lid and continue simmering partially covered (over low heat) until the roast is fork-tender TURNING the roast every hour using two forks (a very large roast can take 3 to 3 1/2 hours to fully cook until tender (SEASON with seasoning salt towards end of cooking time).

NOTE: this is not a thick gravy, you can use the gravy as is or thicken it with flour/ water slurry if you like (the choice is yours)

Step 10

Carefully remove the roast to a large carving board and allow to sit for about 30 minutes.

Step 11

Slice the roast across the grain using an electric knife. Then place the slices in a serving platter. Spoon some of the gravy and the mushrooms from the pot over the slices. Serve the remainder of the gravy in a bowl.

NOTE ABOUT SLICING

Step 12

To make meat more tender to eat, carve the roast across the grain using an electric knife for easier even slices, carving against the grain makes the meat more tender and seem less stringy, carving in the same direction as the butcher’s twine should be across the grain if your butcher did the cutting right*