How to make perfect grass-fed pot roast
Now that we’re into the winter months, it’s a great time for warm, savory food. My all time favorite is pot roast. But here’s the thing, I had never made a good roast. My mom makes awesome roast. She’s figured out her recipe and written it down for me, but even following her exact steps didn’t give me a pot roast I loved.
The biggest issue I ran into was the size of the roast. I was usually making it out of venison, with smaller chunks of meat instead of one big one. So I was really excited to get some bigger chuck roasts from our grass-fed beef this year.
Joe took the first crack at roast out of this grass-fed roast, and he knocked it out of the park - of course! Seriously, we couldn’t even talk after we took the first bites. All I could do was bang my fist on the table.
I followed his recipe, and although it wasn’t quite as smooth of a process for me, I did end up with great results at the end. But I learned some really important lessons.
Does anyone else struggle with roast? Or do you avoid it because of the commitment? My friends, let me say, if I can do it, YOU can do it. I’ve made every mistake in the book - too small of cuts, too big, wrong size pan, not enough time, too much time, not enough liquid, etc. Seriously, I’m surprised I even like roast any more after all my failed attempts.
But to make it easier for all of you, I’m giving Joe’s recipe, with notes taken from my mom’s as well, and the hard lessons I’ve learned along the way.
Grass-fed Beef Pot Roast Recipe
What you’ll need:
Chuck Roast (2-3 lbs.)
1 box or 2 packages Dry Onion Soup Mix
Beef or vegetable Stock
Salt
Pepper
Butter or bacon grease
Preheat the oven to 225 degrees.
Pat the roast dry and season on both sides with salt and pepper. Remember the soup mix will be salty, so easy on the salt. (Note: We love to season, so you can be as creative here as you want. My mom uses seasoning salt; we like throwing a little of everything on, like onion powder, garlic powder, paprika, etc. My mom also dredges her roast in flour first, before seasoning. Or if you want to flour, you can add the seasoning to the flour first.)
In a Dutch oven, melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter or bacon grease.
Sear both sides of the roast.
Warm 5-6 cups of stock in the microwave. (Note: Joe uses stock for extra flavor, but again it can be salty. My mom uses water. I used half and half - and I used chicken stock because it was what I had on hand.)
Dissolve the Onion Soup Mix in the water and add to the pot. (You don’t want to add cold water to warm meat! It’ll make it tough, and we’re trying to tenderize this roast!
Note: My mom transfer her roast to a larger roasting pan at this point. If you’re doing a bigger roast, say 4-5 lbs., this is a good idea. I cut a 5 lb. roast in half and layered it in the Dutch oven, this resulted in me having to go almost double the time to cook since it wasn’t a single layer.)Add the cover and place in the oven for 3 hours. (Joe checked it every hour just to see how things were progressing.)
After 3 hours, increase the oven temperature to 275 degrees for another 30 minutes.
The roast is done when it is fork tender. I like it falling apart.
Some people go even lower and slower and use a crock pot. I’m going to give an eight hour, crockpot roast another try this winter. A friend of mine shared some of her winner, go-to recipes for me to try.
Happy roasting friends!
