Tender Pot Roast with Potatoes and Carrots

I'm a huge fan of an oven roast. Either a round roast or a sirloin tip roast, cooked to a perfect medium rare and sliced - for me that's hard to beat. 

But every once in a while, a pot roast really hits the spot. There's something about that fall-apart tenderness, coupled with a perfect gravy. Especially as temperatures begin to drop, it's the ultimate comfort food. 

And obviously I'm a huge fan of the more things you can fit into fewer dishes, the better. So huge win on that front. 

When you're picking out a roast to cook as a pot roast, you want to choose one that has a bit more fat in it. The good ones for this are chuck or cross rib. These cuts have more connective tissue in them too (which can make them tough), but by cooking them longer you will break it down and they will become fall-apart tender. And, the fat in them keeps it moist throughout that long cook time, so that you don't have to worry about the meat drying out. Beautiful. 

So let's get started. First, you obviously start with your roast of choice. Oh and preheating the oven to 350F now is probably a good move too. 

Find an oven safe dutch oven that will fit your roast, with a bit of extra room for the veggies. I started with a dutch oven for a 4.5lb roast, and quickly realized I had made a major miscalculation and had to upsize to a large casserole dish. 

Season the roast with salt and pepper, then heat the dutch oven up on high and put some butter in it. Then, sear all sides of the roast - about 4-5 minutes per side, to get that nice dark brown crust on it. There's a lot of deliciousness in there. 

Remove the roast, and add the beef broth to the pot to deglaze it and scrape up all of those browned bits. Put the roast back, then arrange the vegetables around it. Mix together the rest of the ingredients and pour overtop. 

Cover and place in the oven - you will probably need to allow about three hours for it to cook. You want the roast to be fall-apart tender, so I check for doneness just with a butter knife - it should slide through fairly easily, but there will be a bit of resistance. At the end of the day, it should shred easily with a fork.

And any drippings at the bottom make for an incredible gravy! Gravy can actually whip up fairly quickly, and I always recommend making a roux for it. Take equal parts butter and flour (a couple tablespoons of each). Melt the butter in a pan, whisk in the flour, and then let the mixture cook for a bit until it starts to thicken and brown. Add in your drippings, and you can cook it for a bit longer if needed to get to your desired consistency. 

Enjoy!

- Cara