Showroom · Sunday roast · About 3 hours

Pot Roast

The Sunday centerpiece — a chuck roast seared dark, then braised low with red wine, mushrooms, and a bouquet of herbs until fork-tender, with potatoes and vegetables in the gravy. Worth the afternoon.

~3 hr total 30 min prep 2 hr 15 min braise

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Units

Ingredients

Brown everything, then braise low and slow. A hard sear on the roast and the vegetables is the flavor foundation — don't skip it. Then it braises gently at 340°F: the roast and aromatics first, the potatoes and reserved vegetables added later so they don't turn to mush. The roast is done when a fork twists easily in it.

Easier, if you like

A slow cooker or Dutch oven works — brown everything first, then braise low (about 8 hours in a slow cooker, or a 300°F oven), adding the potatoes for the last hour.
Pre-cut stew vegetables and baby potatoes save the chopping.

Method

Cook's notes

Brown in stages — the roast, then the onions cut-side down with the carrots and celery. Those browned bits are the gravy's backbone.

Add the potatoes and tender vegetables later (for the second hour) so they cook through without falling apart.

Chuck roast is the cut — its marbling and connective tissue turn meltingly tender over the long braise. It's done when a fork twists easily.

Even better the next day; the gravy thickens and the flavors deepen.

Make it gluten-free

Gluten-free: thicken the gravy with cornstarch instead of flour, and use a gluten-free beef broth — everything else is naturally gluten-free.