pat's Recipe

Classic Pot Roast - Chgo Chef Koetke

Category: Beef

Select a thick cut (1 1/2 - 2 inch thick) from the beef chuck (shoulder) with or without the bone, frequently called a chuck roast. This tough cut of meat, when cooked right, transforms into tender succulence.
Searing the meat is an essential step in developing deep, rich flavor. This means sauteing the meat in a very hot pan until it is dark brown. For more flavor, saute all the vegetables until they are light brown. Finallym add enough flavorful liquid (beef broth and wine) to almost cover the meat. This keeps it moist, allows the flavors to mingle and also produces lots of gravy. After that, it is all about low and slow. Cooking the pot roast in a 300 oven for several hours allows the meat to soften until it almost falls apart.
At the very end, stir in a cornstarch slurry, which will thicken the delicious gravy.

3 lbs chuck roast (2 inches thick)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
3 Tbsp olive oil, divided
2 1/2 cups thinly sliced yellow or white
onion
3/4 cup diced carrot
3/4 cup diced celery
1 parsnip, peeled and diced
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1 pound shitake or portabello mushrooms
sliced
1 tsp chili powder
1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium, low fat beef broth
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups red wine
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 Tbsp corn starch
2 Tbsp cold water

Preheat oven to 300. Trim beef of all visible fat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Heat 2 Tbsp oil in a large Dutch oven. Add beef and brown on all sides. Remove from pan.
Add remaining 1 Tbsp oil, onion, carrot, celery and parsnip to pan. Saute until lightly browned, about 8 minutes.
Add garlic, mushrooms, chili powder and cook 3 minutes.
Return meat to pan and add broth, tomato sauce, red wine, thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Place in oven and cook 3 to 3 1/2 hours, until beef is fork tender. (thee will be lots of liquid)
Dissolve cornstarch in cold water. Pour cornstarch mixture into pan, stirring constantly. Return to oven and cook 15 minutes or until sauce has thickened.

serves 10