Slow-Cooked Pot Roast

Fork-tender American pot roast with carrots, potatoes and onion in rich beef gravy.

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A tough beef chuck roast becomes succulent through a long, gentle braise rather than high-temperature roasting.

Ingredients

• 1.5 kg beef chuck roast
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 onions, quartered
• 4 carrots, cut into chunks
• 600 g potatoes, cut into chunks
• 3 garlic cloves
• 750 ml beef stock
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• salt and pepper

Step-by-step method

1. Heat the oven to 160°C conventional or 140°C fan. Pat the beef dry and season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Heat oil in a heavy ovenproof pot and brown the beef deeply on all sides, then transfer it to a plate.
3. Cook onions for 4 minutes, add garlic and tomato paste and stir for 1 minute, then pour in stock and Worcestershire sauce.
4. Return the beef, add thyme and bay leaf, cover tightly and braise in the oven for 2 hours.
5. Add carrots and potatoes around the beef, cover again and cook for another 60–75 minutes until both meat and vegetables are very tender.
6. Transfer meat and vegetables to a platter; skim excess fat and simmer the cooking liquid on the stove if a thicker gravy is desired.
7. Slice or pull the beef into large pieces and serve with vegetables and gravy spooned over the top.