Updated 12/2016 and again 12/2022 with recent refinements and modifications.
This is a "master recipe" that I have worked on using a lot of input from various Cooks Magazine recipes. The smell in the house as it is finishing up is quite intoxicating. I am making some now to eat tomorrow, and at 8:00pm after already having eaten, it smells so good I want to devour it now.
Chuck roast is the king of pot roasts. When braised in liquid for several hours, it comes out falling apart tender with great flavor, and you can sometimes find it on sale for under $4.00 a pound (2016, not so in 2022). There is lots of information out there on what types of roasts to choose for what type of cooking, so I won't go into that here. Just trust the chuck for pot roasts and stew! (2016 update: I have found that grass fed quality roasts from retailers like PCC or Whole Foods really do make a difference in taste.)
Buy more meat than you think you need, since leftovers are awesome. Around ½ - 3/4 lb per person. The following general quantities are geared around a 3 lb roast or 2lbs of stew meat.
In a large dutch oven that is big enough for everything to fit in with at least an inch of room below the top brown/sear the roast in some high temp oil like Avacado oil. Roast should be dry and seasoned liberally with salt and pepper before searing. Spray or brush with some oil on the meat first to hold the seasoning on. Sear on all sides holding upright with tongs if necessary. Adjust heat while searing to keep from burning fond. Remove roast when browned to a plate and cover with foil.
Sauté about 3 cups mirepoix until soft. Then add at least ½ bottle of decent red wine. Turn up the heat and deglaze the pan and reduce the wine to 1/3 or 1/2. With heat still up, add a 32 oz box/can of prepared beef broth; half a 6oz small can of tomato paste, and either about 3 inches of anchovy paste out of the tube or about 4-5 minced anchovies (these are optional, but nicely enhances the beefiness of the broth and resulting gravy. This ingredient was from Cooks Mag.) Also optional, add about 2 tablespoons chopped dried porcini mushrooms and a packet or two of Savory Choice beef broth concentrate. Add a couple bay leaves, some juniper berries if you have them and a little bit of thyme if you want. Blend together and add the meat and any juices back to the pot. Liquid should just cover the meat.
Cover dutch oven and put in a 285 - 300 degree oven for at least 3 hours. (Tip: foil the bottom side of the lid and you won't have to clean off a layer of thick dark goo later.) Roast should be close to done at this point. Taste test the broth and add salt and pepper if required. Add cut up red potatoes and large chunks of carrots and optionally a small parsnip for about another 90 minutes of cooking until vegetables are nice and soft. Mushrooms and fresh green beans can be used too. Liquid should just cover everything.
When done, remove meat and vegetables and any solids to a warm serving dish and keep warm and covered. Add a little of the cooking liquid so it doesn't dry out while making the gravy.
Strain the cooking liquid into a separate sauce pan and keep on low heat. Preparing a roux in the Dutch oven. Add the hot simmering liquid to roux slowly whisking into a luxurious gravy. Don't add roux to broth or use cool broth unless you want lumpy gravy. (This gravy, made from a butter roux and the cooking liquid that started out with wine and beef broth, enhanced by the cooking of the roast and vegetables, is like liquid gold. You will want to drink it straight and go to heaven, which you may, since it will probably clog your arteries, but you will die happy.)
Modifications for Stew:
Cover dutch oven and put in a 285 - 300 degree oven for at least 3 hours. (Tip: foil the bottom side of the lid and you won't have to clean off a layer of thick dark goo later.) Roast should be close to done at this point. Taste test the broth and add salt and pepper if required. Add cut up red potatoes and large chunks of carrots and optionally a small parsnip for about another 90 minutes of cooking until vegetables are nice and soft. Mushrooms and fresh green beans can be used too. Liquid should just cover everything.
When done, remove meat and vegetables and any solids to a warm serving dish and keep warm and covered. Add a little of the cooking liquid so it doesn't dry out while making the gravy.
Strain the cooking liquid into a separate sauce pan and keep on low heat. Preparing a roux in the Dutch oven. Add the hot simmering liquid to roux slowly whisking into a luxurious gravy. Don't add roux to broth or use cool broth unless you want lumpy gravy. (This gravy, made from a butter roux and the cooking liquid that started out with wine and beef broth, enhanced by the cooking of the roast and vegetables, is like liquid gold. You will want to drink it straight and go to heaven, which you may, since it will probably clog your arteries, but you will die happy.)
Modifications for Stew:
- For stew meat, unless your butcher has high quality, well trimmed chuck stew meat, the best approach is to buy a chuck roast and trim it meticulously and cut it up yourself. This takes probably an extra 30 minutes but the quality of the stew meat is so much better and your guests won't get that "chewy piece". I tend to make my stew meat pieces 1/2 to 1/3 the size of what comes typically in the store.
- When browning the meat, brown in batches so you are just barely covering the bottom of the pan or it will stew instead of brown. (I know this is supposed to be stew...)
- Cut the vegetables a little smaller more appropriate for a stew and soup spoon.
- Eliminate the gravy step and serve straight from pot.
