Classic Pot Roast W/Potatoes, Carrots, Mushrooms and Onion

Google Image. Will add my own later

After years of tossing a pot roast in my crockpot - too lazy to even brown or thaw it ahead of time - and getting average reviews, I decided to make more of an effort.

We were back east visiting my daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter. They were having their fourth wedding anniversary while we were there. The actual date was on a Thursday, but they booked a fab high-end tasting restaurant for Saturday night so they could relax and enjoy the time out. We would baby sit, of course.

I decided on Thursday my daughter would get the night off from cooking by stepping into the kitchen. I needed something easy I could prep earlier in the day while my grand daughter was sleeping, and then have fun while it cooked. This was the perfect opportunity to try making a traditional oven baked pot roast. 

I had seen Joanna Gaines do one on her new cooking show on Magnolia Network, so used that as a template. Of course I had to change it to suit my needs. I added sprigs of both thyme and oregano. I added quartered baking potatoes in stead of green beans. I added additional beef broth instead of the red wine, and mushrooms. I also buttered the roast before I put in in the frying pan with heated olive oil to brown to add a little extra flavor.

Overall it turned out great and received rave reviews. I served it with an easy salad I learned to make at a cooking class in Spain (recipe coming), focaccia I sliced, brushed with olive oil on one side and broiled until slightly crispy, and for dessert - watermelon decorated cupcakes as a nod to my granddaughter. The only mistake I made was using heritage carrots in several colors. The purple ones faded to a weird shade. HAHAHAH. Next time it will be straight deep orange ones (or you could cook them separate to and add at the end).

Below is what I did with notes where different from the original recipe. Enjoy!

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Classic Pot Roast W/Potatoes, Carrots, Mushrooms and Onion
Serves 6

Ingredients -

5 lbs.                Chuck Pot Roast (also called chuck blade roast)
3 T                    Olive oil

2-3 T                 Butter (the real deal, salted or unsalted)
1 T                    Kosher Salt
1 T                    Freshly ground black pepper
5-6                    Baking Potatoes, peeled and quartered, depends on size (they used 1 lb Green beans)

8                       Large carrots, peeled and cut into 2- to 3-inch chunks
1                       Sweet Onion cut in wedges (they used white onion cut in half)
2                       Garlic cloves, smashed
2-1/4 C             Beef broth (they used 1/4 cup red wine)

1 pkg                Your favorite mushrooms (I cut in half, but will leave whole next time)

4                        Sprigs Thyme

4                        Sprigs Oregano

Instructions - 

Preheat the oven to 300°F.

In a large non-stick Dutch oven or frying pan, heat the olive oil.  Rub the roast with softened butter and season with salt and pepper. Sear the roast until browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes per side. 

Put the meat in a large roasting pan. Scatter the onion, garlic, carrots, mushrooms, and then potatoes around the roast. As the potatoes are the most fragile, make sure they are on top. Add the beef broth to the pan and place the springs of herbs on top. Sprinkle with a little more salt and pepper. Cover, transfer to the oven, and roast until the meat falls apart and the vegetables are fork tender, about 4 hours. 

Serve the pot roast hot with the vegetables. I separated the potatoes in one dish, the sliced meat on another and the veggies (carrots, onion and mushrooms) on a 3rd.  

NOTE - It is important to make sure the pot roast is in the juice to keep it from drying out, so make sure your meat platter has raised edges and ladle some of the juice from the pan over the meat. I served additional juice on the side in a gravy boat. You could also make gravy from the pan drippings.