Mains · American
Pot Roast
Sunday-style beef, simmered until a fork slides right through, with carrots, potatoes and its own gravy.
- Hands-on
- 35 min
- Hands-off
- 2 h 45 min
- Total
- 3 h 20 min
- Makes
- 8 servings
- Serves
- 8
About 35 minutes hands-on (coating, browning, the gravy base, adding the vegetables, carving); you can cut the vegetables while the beef simmers. Passive time is about 1 hour 50 minutes of covered simmering, then about 55 minutes more with the vegetables. Matches the 3 hours 20 minutes of the recipe it's based on.
- easy
- sunday-dinner
- one-pot
- make-ahead
- comfort-food
Verified against at least two trusted test kitchens or food-safety guides · Last checked · What this means
Scaling? Cooking time depends on the thickness of the roast, not just its weight, and a bigger roast needs a bigger pot with a tight lid. Go by the fork test, not the clock. Some items (like eggs) don’t halve neatly: beat them, then measure out half.
Ingredients
You need: large heavy stockpot or Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid · shallow dish for the flour · tongs · whisk · large fork · cutting board and carving knife · instant-read thermometer (optional)
Contains: wheat
Method
Season and coat
Mix the 60 g (1/2 cup) flour with the 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Coat the beef all over with 2 tbsp of this seasoned flour and save the rest for the gravy. Wash your hands after handling the raw beef.
Otto tried this firstOtto dumps all the seasoned flour on the beef. Only 2 tbsp go on the meat; the rest is what thickens the gravy later.Brown the roast
Heat the 1 tbsp oil in the pot over medium heat until hot. Add the roast and brown it evenly on all sides, turning it with tongs. Lift the roast out for a moment and carefully pour off the fat left in the pot, then put the roast back.
Ready when: An even brown crust on every side. The inside is still raw; the long simmer cooks it through.
Make the gravy base
Add the 950 ml (4 cups) broth, 29 g (2 tbsp) tomato paste and 2 tsp dried thyme to the pot, then whisk in the rest of the seasoned flour. Bring to a boil.
Ready when: The liquid is bubbling all over and the flour has whisked in with no dry lumps.
Simmer the beef
Turn the heat down, cover the pot tightly and simmer gently for 1 hour 45 minutes to 2 hours. Stir the gravy when the time is up.
Ready when: A gentle simmer the whole time: small, lazy bubbles, never a hard boil. The beef will still be firm at this stage; that's expected.
Add the vegetables
Add the halved potatoes, carrot pieces and onion wedges around the roast. Bring back to a boil, turn the heat down, cover tightly and simmer 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Ready when: A fork slides in and out of the beef easily, and the potatoes and carrots are fork-tender too. Beef is safe from 63°C (145°F) with a 3-minute rest; pot roast cooks far past that so the tough chuck turns tender. If the fork still meets resistance, cover and keep simmering.
Otto tried this firstOtto pokes the roast at the 2-hour mark, finds it tough and decides it's 'overcooked'. Braised chuck is tough because it isn't done yet. Patience.Carve and serve
Lift the roast onto a board. Skim off any fat floating on the gravy. Cut the beef across the grain into slices about 1 cm (1/2 in) thick, or pull it into chunks. Serve with the vegetables and plenty of gravy.
Ready when: The beef pulls apart or slices easily and the vegetables are tender all the way through.
Swaps
- Instead of cross rib chuck roast: boneless chuck-eye roast of about the same weight Also cut from the chuck (shoulder), and braises the same way; go by the fork test.
- Instead of stovetop simmering: oven braising: once the pot is boiling, cover it with foil and the lid and cook at 150°C (130°C fan, 300°F), turning the roast every 30 minutes, until a fork slips easily in and out, 3 1/2 to 4 hours Hands-off heat. The oven version we checked braises the beef alone; for this recipe, add the vegetables for the last hour and check them with a fork.
Make ahead, store & reheat
- Make ahead
- Pot roast slices more neatly when cold. Cool it, then refrigerate the meat with its vegetables and liquid overnight (up to 2 days). An hour before serving, slice the cold beef across the grain, lay it in a baking dish with some gravy, cover tightly with foil and reheat at 160°C (140°C fan, 325°F) for about 45 minutes until heated through to 74°C (165°F).
- Storage
- Refrigerate within 2 hours of cooking. The cooked beef and vegetables keep 3 to 4 days in the fridge or 2 to 3 months in the freezer (best quality). Gravy is more perishable: use it within 1 to 2 days, or freeze it.
- Reheat
- Reheat until steaming hot all the way through, 74°C (165°F), either covered in a low oven or gently on the stove with a little gravy so it doesn't dry out.
If something goes wrong
- Beef is tough Why: It isn't done yet: chuck needs long, slow cooking before it turns tender.
Cover and keep simmering, checking every 15 minutes, until a fork slides in and out easily. - Greasy gravy Why: Chuck is a fatty cut and the fat rises to the top.
Let the liquid settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat off the surface with a wide spoon.
Good to know
- Pour off the browning fat before the broth goes in so the gravy isn't greasy.
- Slice across the grain (the lines in the meat) for the most tender bites.
Safety
- Keep raw beef away from ready-to-eat food, and wash hands, tongs and boards in hot soapy water after handling it.
- Browning splatters, and pouring off hot fat can burn. That job, and lifting the heavy pot, belong to an adult; kids can scrub potatoes and help peel carrots.
- Beef roasts are safe at 63°C (145°F) with a 3-minute rest; pot roast cooks well beyond that for tenderness. Use a thermometer when reheating leftovers: 74°C (165°F).
- Broth can contain allergens such as wheat, soy or celery; check the label.