Classic Pot Roast

I'll be honest, I was a bit disappointed with this recipe.  Maybe it was the cut of meat that I had bought (it was labled as being for a pot roast!) or I just did something wrong but the gravy that this created was so oily it just turned me off...and made my stomach hurt!  Not what I was expecting from a Cooking Light recipe :(.  I also found it to be rather bland...something was definitely missing even though I even used fresh thyme leaves from the plant my Aunt Ying gave us for our housewarming and freshly ground pepper and sea salt.  I much prefer my other Crockpot Pot Roast recipe (which, I'll probably make sometime this winter and post...or if you really want it now, leave a comment).  It was more complicated than my other recipe, too (I even did the crockpot version that Sara developed!).  The flouring and searing of the roast didn't seem to add anything versus the recipe I typically use. 

Net, I probably won't be making this one again but here it is for those who are interested.

Classic Pot Roast
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Yield: 10 servings (serving size: 3 ounces roast, about 3/4 cup vegetables, and about 3 tablespoons cooking liquid)

Ingredients:

• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3-lb boneless chuck roast, trimmed
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Flour
• 2 cups coarsely chopped onion
• 1 cup dry red wine
• 4 thyme sprigs
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 14-oz can fat-free, less-sodium beef broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut diagonally into 1-inch pieces (used about 3/4 of a small bag of baby carrots)
• 2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• Fresh thyme leaves (optional)

Directions:

Oven method:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chuck roast with salt and pepper, and evenly coat the roast with flour.
3. Add roast to pan; cook 5 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove roast from pan.
4. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until tender.
5. Return browned roast to pan.
6. Add the red wine, thyme sprigs, chopped garlic, beef broth, and bay leaf to pan; De-glaze pan and bring to a simmer.
7. Cover pan and bake at 350° for 1-1/2 hours or until the roast is almost tender.
8. Add carrots and potatoes to pan. Cover and bake an additional 1 hour or until vegetables are tender.
9. Remove thyme sprigs and bay leaf from pan; discard.
10. Shred meat with 2 forks.
11. Serve roast with vegetable mixture and cooking liquid.
12. Garnish with thyme leaves, if desired.

Slow Cooker method:

1. Place chopped vegetables (carrots and potatoes) into the bottom of your slow cooker.
2. Follow steps #1-#6.
3. Place crusted pot roast into your slow cooker on top of your vegetables.
4. Pour the red wine mixture on top of your pot roast.
5. Cook the roast on LOW for 7-8 hours or HIGH for 3-4 hours.

Source: Cooking Light October 2006 as seen on The Piggly Wiggly