Farm Pot Roast
Submitted by chadrell1
Farm pot roast simmered low and slow with onions, carrots, and stewed tomatoes until the beef pulls apart with a fork. A Sunday-dinner classic with a rich pan-drippings gravy.
YIELD
8 servingsPREP
40 minCOOK
3 hrsREADY
4 hrsA no-frills, low-and-slow pot roast born of farmhouse Sunday-dinner thinking. Round steak, dredged in flour, browns slowly in a heavy kettle alongside whole garlic cloves until both develop a deep mahogany crust. The garlic gets pulled out before it burns (a small detail that matters), then onions, carrots, and a couple of cans of stewed tomatoes join the pot for a 3½-hour simmer that turns chuck-tier beef into something fork-tender.
The tomato is the smart move. Most pot roasts use red wine, beef broth, or both. Stewed tomatoes bring acidity, sweetness, and just enough liquid to braise without dilution, plus they break down into chunks that thicken the final gravy without much help. A flour-and-water slurry stirred into the strained pan juices at the end gives you a velvety brown gravy without the work of a separate roux.
Eight servings, one pot, gravy that ladles thick. The pot-roast playbook done old-school.
Chef Tips
- Pull the garlic when it browns and add it back later; burned garlic ruins the broth
- Brown the meat patiently on all sides; this is where most of the flavor in a pot roast actually comes from
- Add hot water (not cold) when the pan looks dry mid-simmer; cold water tightens muscle fibers
- Turn the roast occasionally so all sides braise in liquid; one side dry means uneven tenderness
- Strain the vegetables before making gravy; chunks in gravy are uneven on the plate
Variations
- Add a cup of red wine in place of half the water for a deeper, more complex gravy
- Stir in a tablespoon of fresh thyme leaves with the vegetables for an herbal lift
- Toss in chopped potatoes or parsnips during the last hour for a one-pot meal
Ingredients
Directions
Dredge the meat in the ¼ cup flour, season with salt and a little pepper if you like.
Brown slowly on all sides in shortening with garlic cloves in a heavy kettle.
Watch that garlic--when it’s brown lift it out! Add vegetables, return garlic, season to taste.
Add ½ cup water.
Simmer covered, until tender, about 3½ hours.
Turn the pot roast occasionally, adding more water if needed.
Remove the meat, strain vegetables, and measure broth in pot and add enough meat stock to make 2 cups.
Blend and add the 2 tablespoons of flour and ¼ cup cold water.
Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened.
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