Recipes from Mom are always the best, and this recipe for Mom’s Pot Roast is no exception.
I don’t make pot roast all that often, but when I do make it I most certainly like to share it with others. We live in Arizona, so we don’t have too many gloomy, cold winter days. I prefer to make Mom’s Pot Roast when we’re at our house up in Oregon in the winter months. It gets below freezing there, and it snows. It’s the perfect kind of weather to enjoy a good, comfort-food meal like this.
I have followed Joshua Weissman’s cooking adventures since he was in high school, so I am thrilled for his success in publishing this #1 New York Times Bestseller: An Unapologetic Cookbook. How wonderful! Since high school, he transitioned to working as a cook in high end restaurants, and now he has a large following on his social media accounts. His tastes have evolved, and he shares really good food. Joshua explains in the book that cooking from scratch does (and should) take time. He shares over 100 delicious recipes in his book with humor attached to his writing. This is one cookbook that I’m glad I purchased. It’s my favorite of the year so far.
Here are several recipes in the book that have caught my eye:
- lots of great recipes for pickled things, condiments, cheeses and jam
- multipurpose bread dough
- perfect soft-boiled eggs
- ricotta pancakes
- smashed patatas bravas
- beer battered fish
- chicken breasts that are actually good
- better than Popeyes chicken sandwich
- a respectable wedge salad
- beef pho
- the ultimate chocolate chip cookie
Ingredients needed:
- chuck roast
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- canola or vegetable oil
- yellow onion
- garlic
- beef stock
- fresh thyme
- carrots
- unsalted butter
- all purpose flour
How to make Mom’s Pot Roast:
The full, printable recipe is at the end of this post. You will need a 5 to 7-quart Dutch oven for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Season the roast generously with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When hot, add the oil. Get the oil nice and hot, and then add the beef to the pot. Sear for 2 to 3 minutes on all sides of the roast. Remove the roast from the pan, and set it aside.
Add onion, garlic and salt/pepper to the pot. Sauté until onions are softened, and then add the broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer, and add the roast to the broth. Arrange fresh thyme sprigs around the roast. Cover, transfer to the oven, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Then add the carrots, cover and cook for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
The meat should be fall-apart tender when done. The carrots will be tender too. Transfer the roast and veggies to a platter, and cover with foil while you make the gravy. Fish out the thyme stems and discard. Save 3 1/2 cups of the cooking liquid.
How do you make gravy?
Making homemade gravy is easy. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour. Then gradually whisk in the cooking liquid from the roast until the desired consistency is reached. You may not use all of the cooking liquid. Stir until completely smooth. Remove from heat.
Add gravy to the pot roast. Serve with your favorite mashed potatoes, if you’d like. And you definitely need a decent hunk of French bread to soak up all the juices. Mom’s Pot Roast is perfect for a Sunday night dinner, or for a cozy winter day. Enjoy!
Mom's Pot Roast
Ingredients
POT ROAST AND VEGGIES:
- One 4-pound chuck roast
- kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 1 large yellow onion, peeled and quartered
- 5 medium garlic cloves, sliced
- 4 cups (1 quart) beef stock
- 8 whole sprigs of fresh thyme
- 5 medium carrots, cut into 1½-inch sections
GRAVY:
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 3½ cups cooking liquid (from the roast)
Instructions
PREPARE THE POT ROAST:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Season the roast generously with salt and pepper. Heat a 5 to 7-quart Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the oil. Once the oil is extremely hot, add the roast and sear for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, or until the roast is nicely browned on every side. Remove the roast and set on a plate to the side.
- Add the onion, garlic and salt/pepper, to taste. Saute over medium-high heat until the garlic is fragrant and the onion is just beginning to soften. Add the broth, and as soon as it boils, immediately reduce the heat to low. Once gently simmering, lower in the roast. Add the thyme sprigs around the roast.
- Cover, transfer to the oven, and braise for 1½ hours. Then add the carrots around the roast, cover and cook for another 1 to 1½ hours, or until the meat is falling-apart tender.
- Remove the roast and veggies to a platter, and cover with foil to keep warm. Discard the thyme stems. Reserve 3½ cups of the cooking liquid for the gravy.
MAKE THE GRAVY:
- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking constantly, for 45 seconds. Gradually whisk in the cooking liquid until the desired consistency is reached. (You may not use all of the reserved liquid.) Continue stirring until completely smooth and then remove from the heat. Enjoy the roast and veggies with a generous ladleful of gravy per serving.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe sounds great and I’m ready to try it. My question is, can you add potatoes to it? Thanks.
I think so!