Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables

A year ago this week we were in Oahu, a piece of heaven on earth, with friends enjoying the warm weather, ocean breezes, white sandy beaches, blue skies, and exquisite landscapes. If I close my eyes I can still take myself back there. Like some say, what a difference a year makes. It has been snowing for four days here in the midwest. Double digit snow accumulations along with icy, snow packed roads have made for less than desirable driving or running conditions. Getting the long and circular driveways shoveled are exhausting, but not as energizing, as a boot camp workout. Before this snowpocolyse began Thursday evening, I along with hundreds of others, filled a large cart, and waited in the long lines at one of my local grocery stores. This was not a milk and bread mission. Anticipating this hyped winter storm would actually come to fruition, I put together a grocery list containing all of the ingredients needed to make some long over due comfort foods. The Potato Leek Soup and this Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables were two things I thought would not only get us through the snowy weekend, but would make for some great leftover meals in the upcoming week. Which would mean each time I opened up the refrigerator door I could find myself saying 'Hello Delicious' outloud.

Pot Roast, a timeless combination of melt in your mouth beef, seasoned root vegetables, and a rich, velvety gravy, is quintessentially classic American comfort food. The method of slow cooking meat in a liquid is a century old technique (aka braising), but one not appearing in American cookbooks until the late 19th century. Beef chuck, brisket, short ribs, and pork shoulder, generally considered tougher cuts of meat, have always been considered ideal braising options, as they are rich in marbled fat and connective tissue. Over a long, slow cooking process those qualities convert to gelatin, resulting in swoonworthy, fork tender, pull-apart perfection bites of deliciousness. Many of us grew up with Pot Roasts gracing the Sunday dinner table. When craving the taste of a childhood memory meal, we might find ourselves seeking it out on diner menus. Yet, invariably we never seem to find a Pot Roast to live up to the ones we remembered. Get ready to create new memories.

Cooking options for a Pot Roast are roasting in the oven or cooking in a slow cooker. This one stays with a traditional approach and uses the oven method. Braising liquids used in Pot Roasts include he options of beef stock, red wine, or a combination of the two. This one uses only beef stock. The aromatics used to flavor the beef and subsequently the gravy range from a myriad of fresh herbs (rosemary and thyme being the most common) to dried herbs to fresh vegetables to spices to various combinations of all of the aforementioned. This version relies primarily on spices and fresh garlic, however, beef bouillon powder and Worcestershire sauce are critical flavor components.

Searing the beef is less about retaining moisture and much more about adding flavor. The key to a good sear is the use of a heavy bottomed pan, like a cast iron skillet, in order to prevent the meat from being 'steamed' rather than being 'seared'. Once seared, the beef is transferred to a roasting pan and the meat is studded with garlic cloves. After pouring the braising liquid over the beef, the pan is tightly covered with aluminum foil and inserted in a preheated 425 degree (F) oven for 30 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, top with carrots and parsnips, tightly recover the pan with foil, reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees (F), and then let cook for up to 5 hours or until it is pull apart fork tender. That's it! Sit back, go to yoga, read a book, watch a movie, sit in a hot tub, or shovel snow. Let the oven do all the work of melding the flavors together.

The difference between a too short or just right roasting time is the difference between a tough roast and one melt in your mouth, fork tender. After several hours of roasting, begin to check for doneness. My four and half pound chuck roast was done perfectly after four hours of roasting at 300 degrees (F), not including the thirty minutes of roasting at 425 degrees (F) for thirty minutes. (See Note below for cooking times.)

Between the beef stock you added to the roasting pan and the juices exuding from the beef, you should have somewhere between three and four cups of liquid at the end of the cooking process. This highly flavored liquid creates the most incredible gravy imaginable. Usually when making a gravy, I transfer the liquid to saucepan, combine some flour and milk together to make a paste, add a little of the heated liquid to the flour/milk mixture, pour that mixture into the saucepan, then whisk until the liquid turns to gravy. But the process for making this gravy is different. You begin by creating a roux with melted butter and flour in a saucepan. As soon as the roux takes on a light brown color (approximately 2-3 minutes of cooking time), slowly add in the liquid. Whisking until it reaches your desired state of gravy consistency. I honesty had a moment when I tasted this rich, velvety, deeply flavored gravy. And if gravies could win medals, this one would earn GOLD. I will never make a savory gravy any other way again. Never ever.

I love roasted potatoes but with a Pot Roast I much prefer mashed potatoes. Yukon Golds hand mashed with their skins on is how we roll here. 

The carrots and parsnips were sweet, fork tender, and went perfectly with this Pot Roast. Of course, Ina Garten has been pairing these two root vegetables for years. If you have never had parsnips before, this Pot Roast gives you the perfect opportunity to discover how deliciously sweet they are.

When serving the Pot Roast, ladle some of the gravy over the meat and arrange the roasted vegetables around it. Sprinkle with chopped flat leaf parsley and bring this jaw dropping platter to the table. This Pot Roast is seriously throw down worthy. In my fantasy world, someone invites me and the Pioneer Woman to a Pot Roast throwdown and this one wins! 

Recipe
Pot Roast with Roasted Vegetables (inspired from multiple sources)
Serves 6-8

Ingredients
Roast
3-5 pound chuck roast, trimmed
2 Tablespoons olive oil or vegetable oil
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled, quartered
3 cups beef broth
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
3 Tablespoons dry minced onion
2 Tablespoons beef bouillon powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 fresh bay leaf (could use a dried bay leaf if fresh is not available)
2-3 pounds of carrots, peeled and kept whole
1-2 pounds of parsnips, peeled and kept whole
Optional: Chopped flat leaf parsley for garnish

Gravy
2 cups of the broth/juice from the roast
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions
1. Remove chuck roast from the refrigerator at least one hour prior to cooking.
2. Preheat oven to 425 degrees (F).
3. Heat olive oil or vegetable oil over high heat in a cast iron or heavy skillet. Sear meat on all sides until browned (approximately 2-3 minutes per side). Transfer meat to a large roasting pan.
4. Insert garlic clove slivers into the roast.
5. In a large mixing bowl/cup, whisk together the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, dry minced onion, beef bouillon powder, garlic powder, kosher salt, black pepper, and bay leaf. Pour over the roast.
6. Cover the roasting pan tightly with aluminum foil. Roast for 30 minutes.
7. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees (F). Remove pan from oven, add the carrots and parsnips. Cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Continue to cook for an additional 4-5 hours. The Pot Roast is ready when it is fall apart tender.
8. Remove carrots and parsnips from the roasting pan. Place on a baking sheet and return to the oven to keep warm.
9. Transfer roast to a serving board, cut against the grain in 1/2" slices and place on a large serving platter.  Cover loosely with aluminum foil to keep warm while you make the gravy.
10. Melt butter in a medium sized saucepan. Add in the 1/4 cup flour and whisk to create a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking continuously, until the roux is lightly browned.
11. Slowly stir in two cups of the juices/broth from the roasting pan. Simmer until gravy has thickened. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper.
12. Arrange carrots and parsnips around the roast. Drizzle some of the gravy over the roast, sprinkle with chopped parsley, and serve. Put remaining gravy in a gravy boat.

Notes: (1) Recommend serving with homemade mashed potatoes rather than putting the potatoes in with the roast. (2) Roasting time will vary based on the size of the roast. For a 3 pound roast allow 3 to 3 1/2 hours, for a 4 to 5 pound roast, allow for 4 to 5 hours of cooking time. (3) You should have at least 3 to 4 cups of roasting broth/juices which would enable you to make a double batch of the gravy. (3) When cutting the pot roast, cut across the grain. (4) Leftovers reheat beautifully in a low temperature oven or in the microwave. Any leftover pot roast also makes great sandwiches.

Oahu, February 2017