This oven pot roast starts on the stove with browning, then finishes in the oven with a tight seal in a Dutch oven. The gravy practically makes itself and is delicious. It went great with some mashed potatoes and delicata squash.
Oven Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2 Tbs oil
- 1 flat shaped boneless chuck roast, 2 pounds or so
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups thinly sliced onions 2 medium onions
- 1/2 cup chopped celery
- 1/2 cup chopped carrots
- 1 1/2 cups red wine
- 1 Tbs flour per cup of liquid add more liquid as needed
- 1 Tbs butter per cup of liquid add more liquid as needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 450 F with a rack in the middle.
- Coat the roast with the oil while you’re heating an oven proof Dutch oven on the stove over medium high heat. I use my cast iron Dutch oven.
- Salt and pepper the roast on both sides, then put the roast in the pan and cook about 5 minutes on each side, until well browned, while you’re slicing the onions, carrots and celery.
- Take the roast out of the pot. If there’s not 1 Tbs of fat in the pan, add a bit of oil. Then cook the onions, celery and carrots about 5 minutes, until softened. You might need to turn the heat down a bit so you don’t burn the onions.
- Add the wine and simmer a minute or so to burn off most of the alcohol. (If you don’t cook with wine, you can use beef broth, chicken broth or water.)
- Put the roast back into the pan. Take a piece of aluminum foil and press it down over the roast to create a seal. Press down with a hot pad. It can touch the roast. You want it sealed basically. Then add the lid back on and bring the liquid to a simmer. You should be able to hear it bubble.
- Put the covered pot into the oven and cook for 90 minutes. Remove from the oven and let the pot stand, still covered, 10-15 minutes.
- Take the lid off, then carefully remove the foil so you don’t burn yourself with steam. Take the roast out of the pan and skim any visible fat, if any.
- Strain the juice in a small strainer and either eyeball or measure the liquid and figure out how much juice your family likes! We like lots. I added enough chicken broth to make about 2 cups of liquid total after straining. Mix the butter with the flour in a small dish. (So I mixed 2 Tbs butter and 2 Tbs flour together.) Return the liquid to the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the flour and butter mixture and stir in, then simmer a minute.
- Note: If you don’t have (or like) butter, you could use cornstarch or flour mixed with some cold water to thicken the sauce. You could also just skip this step and serve the juices unthickened.
I’d never cooked a delicata squash before but it’s perfect for smaller families and delicious! I just poked a knife into it in a few places and added it to the oven (on a small foil covered pan) the last 45 minutes. When it was done (almost overdone actually), I cut it in half lengthwise and scooped out the seeds, then the squash. Added just a tad of butter and some salt and pepper and called it done.
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