Pot Roast

Before You Start

Chuck. A leaner joint will be stringy however long you give it.

Vegetables in for the last hour only.

Uncover for the last twenty minutes to reduce the gravy.

Making Pot Roast

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1. Heat the oven to 150°C / 300°F.

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2. Season the beef all over with the salt and pepper.

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3. Heat the oil in a casserole and brown the joint hard on every side, about 10 minutes in total. Lift out.

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4. Add the onions and cook 6 minutes, until softening and browning at the edges.

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5. Stir in the garlic and tomato purée and cook 2 minutes.

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6. Pour in the wine and let it bubble for 3 minutes, scraping the base.

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7. Return the beef, add the stock, thyme and bay, and bring to a simmer.

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8. Cover and cook in the oven for 2 hours 30 minutes.

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9. Add the carrots and potatoes and cook a further 1 hour, uncovered for the last 20 minutes.

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10. Lift the meat and vegetables out, stir the cornflour slurry into the bubbling liquid to thicken, and serve the gravy over the pulled beef.

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What's Going On Here

Chuck, and only chuck. It is the cut with enough connective tissue to turn to gelatin over three hours, which is what makes a pot roast sticky and rich rather than dry — a leaner joint like topside will be stringy at the same temperature for the same time and there is nothing to be done about it. Add the vegetables in the last hour or they dissolve.

Storage and Reheating

Better the next day. Keeps 3 days refrigerated, freezes 3 months.

If You're Missing Something

• An eighth of a teaspoon of garlic powder per clove is the stand-in usually given when you are out of fresh garlic; it will not brown the same way, and it burns easily, so add it with the liquid.

What to Serve Alongside

• Buttered greens
• Horseradish
• Crusty bread for the gravy

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Philadelphia Soft Pretzels, Boston Baked Beans, 3 Ingredient Biscuits.

Pot Roast Nutrition

Per serving, calculated from the ingredient list with USDA FoodData Central figures (SR Legacy). A calculation, not a laboratory analysis: brands, cuts and how you measure change the real numbers. The calories include 4 g of alcohol a serving, which is not part of the protein, carbohydrate or fat. How the figures are worked out.

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