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Classic Beef Pot Roast

Source of Recipe

From "The Complete Make-Ahead Cookbook" by America's Test Kitchen


Recipe Introduction

"The ideal make-ahead dish is one that improves in flavor and texture from one day to the next. We found exactly that with our Classic Beef Pot Roast. While the roast tasted great when served right away, chilling it overnight not only made the roast moister and easier to slice, but it also brought out deeper, beefier flavor in the meat and the gravy. To start, we separated a boneless chuck-eye roast into two pieces, which allowed us to remove the knobs of fat that stubbornly refused to render and shortened the cooking time by about an hour. Next, we built a flavorful base with a mirepoix of onions, carrot, and celery plus garlic, tomato paste, red wine, thyme, and a bay leaf. Some recipes use water as the primary cooking liquid, but when we tried this, the gravy turned out as you'd expect�watery. We had better luck with beef broth. The resulting gravy boasted a rich, complex character. Sealing the pot with aluminum foil before securing the lid and moving the pot to the oven concentrated the steam for an even simmer and fork-tender meat. To make the gravy, we blended all of the flavorful braising ingredients, not wasting an ounce of what went into the pot with the meat. The result: a meltingly tender roast sauced in a savory, full-bodied gravy. Use a Dutch oven that holds 7 quarts or more for this recipe."

List of Ingredients

◦ 1 (4-pound) boneless beef chuck-eye roast, pulled into 2 pieces at natural seam and trimmed of large pieces of fat
◦ Salt and pepper
◦ 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
◦ 2 onions, halved and sliced thin
◦ 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
◦ 1 celery rib, chopped
◦ 2 cloves garlic, minced
◦ 1 cup beef broth, plus extra as needed
◦ � cup dry red wine
◦ 1 tablespoon tomato paste
◦ 1 sprig fresh thyme
◦ 1 bay leaf
◦ 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar


Recipe

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Tie roasts crosswise with kitchen twine at 1-inch intervals. Pat dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.

Melt butter in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in carrot and celery and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in broth, � cup wine, tomato paste, thyme sprig, and bay leaf and bring to simmer.

Nestle roasts on top of vegetables. Cover pot tightly with large piece of aluminum foil, then cover with lid. Transfer pot to oven and cook until fork easily slips in and out of meat, 3 � to 4 hours, turning roasts over several times during cooking.

Remove pot from oven. Transfer roasts to carving board, tent with foil, and let rest while finishing sauce. Strain liquid through fine-mesh strainer into 4-cup liquid measuring cup. Discard bay leaf and thyme sprig; reserve vegetables. Let liquid settle for 5 minutes, then skim excess fat from surface. Add extra broth to defatted liquid as needed to total 3 cups.

Process liquid and vegetables in blender until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer sauce to medium saucepan and bring to simmer over medium heat. Stir in remaining � cup wine and vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste. Slice meat against grain into �-inch-thick slices and arrange on platter. Spoon half of sauce over meat and serve with remaining sauce.

Serves 6 to 8






❧ To Make Ahead:
Pot roast with 3 cups liquid and reserved vegetables, prepared through step 4, can be refrigerated for up to 2 days. To reheat, transfer meat to cutting board, slice into �-inch-thick slices, arrange in 13 by 9-inch baking dish, cover with foil, reheat in 325-degree oven for 45 minutes, and continue with step 5.