I bought a large chuck roast that I had thought I would smoke, but the weather was too cold and windy to stand around tending the smoker, so I had to move to another plan......Pot Roast.
Old Fashioned Pot Roast
Ingredients
1 chuck roast or any cut that needs a long time to get tender
Kitchen Bouquet, Kitchen Magic or Maggi Seasoning
Salt and Pepper
2 large onions, cut into thin half moon slices
2 medium or 1 large carrot, peeled and cut into smallish chunks
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
2 stalks of celery, cut into smallish chunks
oil
1/2 bottle of red wine
2 c chicken stock
thyme sprigs
Method
1. Heat oven to 350°. Coat the entire outside of the roast with the Kitchen Magic or Maggi, painting it all over and getting into all nooks and crannies. Liberally salt and pepper as you go.
2. Heat a cast iron dutch oven, large enough to hold the roast and veggies, add oil to the dutch oven and sear the roast well on all sides. It is best to use tongs as a fork will pierce the meat and allow juices to run out.
3. When the roast is finished searing remove it to a plate and use 1/4 of a bottle of red wine to deglaze the pan. You will really need to scrape at the bottom to loosen up all of the fond. This is a critical flavor building endeavor, do not skip, or God forbid, use a clean pan! Once the fond is up, then reduce the liquid by half.
4. Add in the onions, and cook to soften. Make sure to stir them around to absorb all of the wine-y goodness at the bottom of the pan. When the are soft, add in the carrots and celery and saute until they soften up a bit as well.
5. Make a little nest in the veggies, and settle the seared roast into the pan, pour in any juices that accumulated while resting. Add the rest of the 1/2 bottle of wine and the chicken stock. Mix well and bring to a simmer.
6. Put lidded dutch oven into the hot oven and check on it in about 1.5 hrs. Flip the roast over and return pan to oven. Check on it in another hour or so. The meat is cooked when it is easily pierced by a fork and offers little to no resistance to the fork.
7. Carefully remove the roast to a clean plate or cutting board and tent with foil to keep moist and warm. In the dutch oven is the "gravy". Remove thyme sprigs. Spoon off as much of the fat as you like, and with a stick blender, grind up everything into a thick-ish "gravy".
8. I find that if I cut the roast in half with the grain and then flip that chunk cut side down, then the slices will be cut against the grain and will be more tender. Depending on your esthetics, you can cut into thick slabs or thin, depending on its tenderness and how the meat cooperates with your knife.
