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Fall-apart tender pot roast with carrots and potatoes in rich onion gravy in a Dutch oven

Classic Pot Roast

Fall-apart tender pot roast braised low and slow with carrots, potatoes, and a rich onion gravy. The one trick: cook it past "done" so the collagen melts into gelatin and the meat shreds with a fork.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 3 hours 30 minutes
Total Time 3 hours 55 minutes
Servings: 6
Course: Dinner, Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the roast
  • 1 (3.5-4 lb) beef chuck roast patted very dry
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper freshly ground
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
For the braise
  • 2 tbsp tomato paste
  • 2 large yellow onions thickly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic smashed
  • 1 cup dry red wine or substitute extra beef broth
  • 3 cups beef broth low-sodium
  • 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 tsp dried
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary optional
Vegetables
  • 1.5 lbs baby Yukon Gold potatoes halved if large
  • 1 lb carrots peeled, cut into 2-inch chunks
To finish the gravy
  • 2 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 2 tbsp all-purpose flour or a cornstarch slurry

Method
 

  1. Heat the oven to 300°F and set a rack in the lower-middle position. Pat the chuck roast as dry as you possibly can with paper towels, dry meat browns, wet meat steams. Season it all over, generously, with the salt and pepper and let it sit while the oven heats.
  2. Heat the olive oil in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high until it just shimmers. Lay the roast in and sear it hard, 4 to 5 minutes per side, until every surface has a deep brown crust. Do not rush this, that crust is the backbone of the whole dish. Move the roast to a plate.
  3. Lower the heat to medium. Add the sliced onions and tomato paste to the pot and cook, stirring, for 5 to 6 minutes until the onions soften and the paste darkens a shade. Stir in the smashed garlic and cook 30 seconds more.
  4. Pour in the red wine and scrape every browned bit off the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon, that fond is pure flavor. Let it simmer 2 to 3 minutes to cook off the raw alcohol.
  5. Stir in the beef broth, Worcestershire, bay leaves, thyme and rosemary. Nestle the roast and any collected juices back into the pot. The liquid should come about halfway up the sides of the meat, add a splash more broth if you need to.
  6. Bring it to a gentle simmer, then cover and slide the pot into the oven. Braise for 2 1/2 hours, turning the roast over once about halfway through.
  7. Tuck the potatoes and carrots in around the roast. Cover and return to the oven for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the vegetables are tender and the meat is fork-tender. This is the one trick: keep going until the internal temperature hits 200-205°F and a fork slides in and twists with zero resistance. Steak temps leave it tough, you want it cooked well past "done."
  8. Move the roast and vegetables to a platter and tent loosely with foil. Let the roast rest 15 minutes, it needs the time to settle and reabsorb its juices.
  9. Meanwhile, make the gravy. Strain the braising liquid into a fat separator or wide measuring cup and skim off the fat. In the empty pot, melt the butter over medium heat, whisk in the flour and cook 1 minute, then slowly whisk in the strained liquid. Simmer 3 to 5 minutes until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste and adjust salt and pepper.
  10. Pull the roast apart into big chunks along the grain (it will shred easily) or slice it thick against the grain. Serve with the carrots and potatoes and plenty of that onion gravy spooned over the top.

Notes

Cut matters: use a well-marbled chuck roast (sometimes labeled shoulder roast or 7-bone). Lean cuts like round or sirloin tip will come out dry no matter how long you cook them. Make-ahead: pot roast is even better the next day. Cool, refrigerate up to 4 days, and reheat gently in the gravy on the stove or in a low oven. It freezes well up to 3 months. Slow cooker: sear the roast and build the onion base on the stove first, then transfer everything to the slow cooker and cook on low 8-9 hours. Pressure cooker: sear and build the base, then pressure-cook on high 75-80 minutes with a 15-minute natural release.