Raise your hand if the thought of roast brings to mind Sunday lunch at MawMaw’s house!! ✋🏼✋🏼 I’m not sure why that was the lunch of choice but I never minded!! We’d go over after church and the smell would greet you before even walking through the door. I remember going to the stove, lifting the lid on the pot and amazed at how beautiful that ball of beef sitting in a silky gravy looked! I would venture to say that those days started my love of cooking. Now of course my grandmothers were amazing cooks so it was never a surprise that we left feeling miserably full.
My mother has kept the tradition going strong for my children and I look forward to continuing it for my family as well. I have to admit that we do it a little different than done in the past but the outcome is just as delicious. They would season the whole roast, sear the top and bottom, and then cook the heck out of that thing while it sat in its juices. This method is great and brings back lots of memories but we started doing it a little different. I found that my favorite part was the seared edges. So why not have a bunch of them?? The way we do it now, is cut the roast into pieces about 3 inches big. This allows more surface to benefit from that great caramelization when seared.
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Once you have the chunks of chuck, season that beautiful meat with generous portions of salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder. Not only is this going to flavor the meat, it’s also going to start putting the season profile in the pot! Tip: Don’t just season the meat and throw it in the pot, let the seasonings sit for a few minutes so that they “stick”. If not, they will just come off in the pot and possibly burn.
There’s two key components to achieving a good sear. One is using a heavy duty dutch oven and the other is to simply not crowd that pot! By adding too much at one time the temperature will drop and you’ll create a steam bath. The whole point is to get them browned, save the steaming for the lobster!
I’d venture to say that this step is the most crucial for the dish. This is where the majority of your flavor is going to come together. By searing the meat, you are essentially flavoring your oil. Once all of the meat has been seared, add your onions and stir to get up all that good stuff from the pot. Since garlic can turn bitter, wait until the water starts to release from the onions before adding. Let this all cook down until the onions start to get tender.
Now comes the part where the meat is going to do it’s thing. Add the meat back to the pot (don’t forget any liquid that has gathered at the bottom of the bowl), the beef stock, water, and all other seasonings. Bring this to a boil and cook for about 2 to 3 hours until the roast turns tender. Add water or stock if needed. By allowing the meat to cook in this liquid it eliminates having to watch over the roast so it doesn’t burn or dry out. Trust me, it won’t be drying out at all!
Whisk together the cornstarch and water to make a slurry and thicken the gravy. Slowly pour in the slurry and stir. Add in the potatoes and carrots and continue to boil for about 30 minutes or until the vegetables are fork tender. And that’s about it. Serve over cooked rice and enjoy!
Sunday Roast with Potatoes & Carrots
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb Chuck Roast cut in 3" pieces
- ½ Tbsp salt
- ½ Tbsp black pepper
- ½ Tbsp garlic powder
- ½ Tbsp onion powder
- ½ Tbsp olive oil
- 1 large onion chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 32 oz beef stock or beef broth
- 1 ½ cup water
- 2 Tbsp Better Than Bouillon beef flavored
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp ground thyme
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch for slurry
- ½ cup water for slurry
- 2 cups chopped carrots bite size
- 2-4 potatoes, cubed
Instructions
- Trim excess fat from roast then cut into 3" pieces
- Dust meat with salt, pepper, garlic and onion powderAllow to sit for a few minutes once seasoned.
- In a heavy duty pot, heat olive oil. Add a few pieces at a time and brown all sides of the meat. Once browned, remove and set aside in a bowl.
- After all meat is browned, add onions to the already heated pot and stir to release bits from pot. Once the water has started cooking out of the onions, add the garlic and continue to cook until the onions start to get tender.
- Return the meat and juices to the pot, add the broth, bouillon, water, and seasonings then cook on medium high heat for 2 -3 hours or until meat is tender.
- In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and water to make a slurry. Slowly pour into pot while stirring and allow to thicken.
- Add washed and cut potatoes and carrots then continue to cook until fork tender.
- Serve over cooked rice.