Beef pot roast, like good spaghetti sauce or vegetable soup, can taste like a bunch of ingredients in the same pot, or it can transcend to a flavor much greater than the individual flavors of the ingredients. There are four simple secrets to reaching the pinnacle of flavor. First is the choice of meat. Second is browning the meat. Third is the amount of liquid used. Last, just like spaghetti sauce or vegetable soup need long simmering, beef stew or pot roast need long, slow roasting.
Selecting Beef for Pot Roast or Stew
No matter what the other ingredients are, beef stew or pot roast needs a full, beefy flavor. Without flavorful beef, a stew or roast is good, but not great. Pot roast is made from a single, large piece of beef. Stew is made from 1" to 1 1/2" beef cubes. When grocery stores package and sell stew beef, they don't specify what cuts of beef are included. It's better to cut your own stew beef from a roast so that you know exactly what cut goes into a stew. A well marbled chuck roast has the best beef flavor. Large pieces of fat can be cut out before cooking.
Pot Roast Recipe
This is a basic recipe that can be varied by the choice of vegetables and liquid. Whatever ingredients are used, it's important to follow the same cooking method. Keep the seasoning simple to allow the beef and vegetables to take center stage.
- 1 lb. chuck roast
- 1 large onion, cut into chunks
- handful of baby carrots
- Pacific or other brand beef broth
- 1 large baking potato
- 1/2 jalapeno pepper, finely minced (this small amount adds flavor, not heat), or a couple dashes of Worcestershire Sauce
- Brown the Meat and Onion - Choose a heavy dutch oven with a lid that can be put in the oven. Heat the pan on high with enough olive oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Place the beef in the pan and brown until dark brown on all sides. The pan must be very hot to prevent the juice from the meat coming out into the pan. When cooking stew, it is sometimes necessary to brown the meat in small batches. The meat needs to brown in the oil, not cook in its own juice. Adding too much meat at once cools the pan down. Once the meat is thoroughly browned, add the onions and stir until the onions are also browned.
- Add the Broth - It 's not necessary or desirable to cover the beef with the liquid. About 1/2" of liquid in the bottom of the pan is enough, more can be added as it cooks, if it's needed. Too much liquid will prevent the beef from developing a deeply roasted flavor.
- Roast in the Oven - There's no need to get something else dirty, so it's easiest to cover the pot and put it in a 300 degree oven. Allow a minimum of 3 hours for the flavors to develop and the meat to be falling apart. Check it now and again to be sure the liquid hasn't cooked down completely, adding a little more as needed. Some of the vegetables don't need to be cooked 3 hours, they can be added near the end. A baking potato can be cooked in the microwave, cut into chunks, and added in the last 20 minutes.
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