share your pot roast secrets please!

[patandchickens]

I grew up loathing pot roast (mom's cooking was generally good, but she could dry out a chunk o' beef like nobody's business) and only started cooking -- and liking! -- it when I got married 6 yrs ago, so I have neither heritage nor lifelong experience to draw on, here.

I like it to have a kinda thickened 'gravy' to it, and I am NOT gonna get the blender out to puree the veggies that've cooked along with it. To be quite honest, the only way I currently know to make pot roast come out more or less the way I like is to put half a carton of that Campbells' Gardennay brand soup ("roasted red pepper and somethingorother" flavor) in along with the water and veggies

Could someone who produces potroast with a thickish gravy to it that does *not* involve pureeing anything, make any suggestions as to how to achieve this just using Real Ingredients?

Thanks,

Pat (having had pot roast for dinner tonight, as you might've guessed)

 

[miss_thenorth]

I actually cook mine in a pot-hence the pot roast. did it once in the oven and never again.

Put cooking oil in pot and turn on high. Season roast however you want, then sear it in the oil. Turn heat down, add cup of water, a bayleaf, put the lid on and then walk away for an hour or two.

To make gravy, I usually use bisto in the juices from the roast. I also add potatoes to the pot too.

 

[2dream]

I make mine several different ways to get the gravy.
1st for all ways is I just make some brown gravy and pour in with the roast. (You know oil or bacon drippings, flour, water, salt, pepper). And let my roast cook in that. You can always add more flour later to thicken it up some more if needed.
Depending on the taste I want sometimes I add a can of cream of chicken or cream of mushroom soup. NO WATER if I have already added my gravy and water.
Or I will add a packet of brown gravy mix. The cheap stuff from the dollar store. No water with that either unless my gravy is getting to thick.
I am sure you will get a million more suggestions. But that is how I usually do mine.

 

[poppycat]

Here's how I do it

I have a large enameled dutch oven, I heat some oil on the stove in it till it's nearly smoking. I brown all the sides of the meat that I can until they are seared and release easily from the pan.

Then I dust the whole mess with *about* 1/3 cup of flour and turn the meat over a few times to spread the flour around. The flour and oil should mix and cook/bubble a bit.

Then I add my liquid, be it water, beef stock, or red wine for venison. The liquid should nearly cover the meat. Then throw in your veggies of choice (I use carrots, onions, celery, and potatoes cut into large chunks.)

Add a bay leaf, slap the lid on and put into a 325 degree oven for a minimum of four hours. If you are going to let it cook longer you may need to add a little water at about four hours of cooking time.

Now my mom adds a can of tomatoes and some instant tapioca the last hour of cooking instead of making the flour roux. Tapioca has always reminded me of eyeballs, so I prefer the flour.

I'm sorry I don't have an actual recipe, but I tend to cook by the seat of my pants. Usually things come out pretty well though

 

[sufficientforme]

.

 

[sufficientforme]

This is another winner at our house, also a crockpot recipe.
* 2 1/2 lbs boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed of fat
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon pepper
* 2 medium onions, thinly sliced
* 24 garlic cloves, minced (about 4 tbsp.)
* 2 beef bouillon cubes
* 1/2 cup hot water
* 8 ounces lager beer
* 3 tablespoons brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
* 1 tablespoon cider vinegar
* cornstarch (dissolved in water, for gravy)

Directions
In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoons of the oil and brown roast on both sides, seasoning with salt and pepper; remove to a platter and keep warm.
Add the remaining tbsp of oil to the pan and add the onions, cook until they just start to wilt then add the garlic, them cook until the onions are tender, a few minutes more.
Add the bouillon cubes to the hot water and stir to dissolve; add that to the skillet along with the beer, brown sugar, mustard, and vinegar; stir to mix well.
Pour mixture into the bottom of the crock pot.
Place roast on top of liquid, cutting into pieces if it doesn't lay flat.
Set the crock pot on low and cook for 7-8 hours.
Remove meat from crock pot and pour liquid into a pan on the stove; heat to a boil, and mix a slurry out of the cornstarch and water; thicken pan liquid with slurry to make a gravy.
Serve gravy over meat or with potatoes or noodles

 

[Dace]

Poppycat...I am about to make my first pot roast tomorrow. Do your veggies turn to mush after 4 hours? I was kind of thinking that I would add them at about halfway thru the cooking process.

 

[Quail_Antwerp]

This is the simpliest thing I make...literally...

I put my roast in a granny spackleware roasting pan....season it with just about every seasoning in my cupboard....salt, pepper, garlic, onion, basil, one bay leaf, parsely....then I pour in water just until the roast is covered....pop that in the oven overnight on 175.....so it roasts slowly all night....that sucker falls apart by morning! I then add sliced white or sweet onions, potatoes, raw carrots, sometimes celery, but dh hates it...cook on 350 until veggies are done...use juices from roast to make a gravy.

That's it.

 

[pitzerlady47]

I guess I cheat !Pressure cooker is the easiest and quickest for me. Brown roast, add 1 or 2 cups water (depending on size of roast)some onion and celery, pressure cook for 30 min. let pressure drop, add carrots and potatoes, pressure another 10 minutes. thicken juices with flour/water mixture mmmmmm

 

[patandchickens]

Can you believe I never thought of using flour to thicken up the 'gravy' the way you would with, er, gravy?

Thank you all very much. I am also looking forward to trying out other parts of your recipes next time I make pot roast. (I am in the 'stove-top' camp, btw, only because I lack a covered roaster, but I'm keeping an eye out for a good one at thrift shops because I want to be able to cook middle-aged chickens that way, so when I find one I'll probably try the oven version of potroast too)

Pat