Sunday Dutch-Oven Pot Roast
Beef chuck braised low and slow with onions, carrots and potatoes until fork-tender, in a rich pan gravy.
You'll need: 6- to 7-quart Dutch oven
A little history
Pot roast was a cornerstone of the American Sunday supper for generations. Families often put it in the oven before church and came home to a finished meal. Tough, inexpensive cuts became tender through long, slow cooking — a lesson in thrift that still holds true.
How we've written it for today
Searing the beef well, deglazing with broth and keeping the lid on gives the deepest flavor. We give a precise oven temperature in place of instructions like 'a slow oven, three hours.'
Directions
- Heat the oven to 300°F. Pat the beef dry and season all over with salt and pepper.
- Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the roast for 4–5 minutes per side until deeply browned. Transfer to a plate.
- Lower the heat to medium. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, then the garlic and tomato paste for 1 minute. Sprinkle in the flour and stir for 1 minute.
- Pour in the broth and Worcestershire, scraping up the browned bits. Add the thyme and bay leaves and return the beef with any juices.
- Cover and braise in the oven for 2 hours. Add the carrots and potatoes around the meat, cover and cook 1 to 1½ hours more, until the beef is fork-tender.
- Discard the herbs, rest the meat 10 minutes, then slice or pull into chunks. Spoon the gravy over the beef and vegetables.
Tips from the recipe card
- Chuck roast has the marbling that turns tender during braising; leaner cuts can dry out.
- Pot roast tastes even better the next day — chill, lift off the fat, and reheat gently.
Serving & keeping
- Serve with the vegetables, gravy and warm biscuits.
- Shred leftovers into hot sandwiches or hash.
Found a recipe like this in an old family notebook? Our guide to reading old recipes can help you make sense of it.
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