A Good Pot Roast Recipe Equals Good Eats!

A good Pot Roast Recipe begins with a good cut of beef.

What's great about it is the fact that the inexpensive, less tender cuts of beef are best.

A cut from the chuck or round is what's needed here.

The roast is first browned and then braised very slowly in a covered pot with a little liquid. The result is a flavorful, tender piece of beef.

How To Cook A Pot Roast

Cooking a pot roast is not difficult. However I'm sure that a novice cook could be intimidated by such a huge piece of meat. Let's break it down step by step.

The Cooking Vessel

Any cooking utensil you have large enough to hold all the ingredients will work. However the ideal is a heavy metal pot with a heavy tight fitting lid.

The objective in cooking the pot roast recipe is to apply low, moist heat evenly over a long period of time.

For oven roasting a cast iron pot is perfect.

A crock pot or slow cooker with a tight fitting heavy lid is the ideal pot roast recipe cooking vessel.

Selecting The Roast

Before I started my beef cooking education I always chose a boneless beef chuck for my pot roasts. I guess that's because that's what my Mom always used. And Mom is always right. Right?

However the meat case is full of roasts that do great in a pot roast recipe. Other than the many chuck cuts there's brisket, top round, bottom round and rump.

Keep in mind that the more tender cuts of the beef critter will be furthest from the horns and the hooves.

That means any cut from the chuck should be closest to the rib primal and any cut from the round should be closest to the sirloin primal.

My personal choice at this time is the 7-bone chuck. It's called that because the bone in it is shaped like the number seven.

You can usually count on two servings per pound from a bone-in roast and about 3 servings per pound from a boneless cut.

Buy extra! Leftover pot roast is even better than when it's first cooked.

The Browning

Regardless of the pot roast recipe I'm using I always season and brown the roast before I begin the braising process.

It's not true that browning sears in the juices of the meat but it certainly adds extra flavor that I miss in the finished roast if it's not browned.

I just add salt and pepper, flour it a bit and then sear it for 3 or 4 minutes on each side. Of course I deglaze the pan to get the goodies off the bottom and add that to the braising liquid.

The Braise

Braising is a process of slow cooking in liquid in order to add flavor and to moisten and tenderize the meat. This is THE ONLY method for a pot roast recipe.

In a beef cut such as a chuck roast, there is a pattern of connective tissues and thick marbling that makes the meat tough if it is not cooked with a method that melts these tissues.

Braising does a better job of breaking down the tough fibers than any dry heat cooking method. The internal temperature of the meat reaches a level that is high enough to melt the connective tissues and fat.

The moisture in the pan prevents the outer portions of the meat from drying out.

The cooking liquid is an opportunity to add even more flavor. I usually use broth but you can use anything. I've even seen a recipe that used coca-cola. Tomato juice is nice.

Don't forget aromatics. I mean veggies like onion, garlic, celery, etc. These are just for the flavoring they add.

Any veggies added for eating along with the roast will be added the last hour of the cooking time. Except for a crock pot version, which you can add from the start.

Add the braising liquid about half way up the roast. You want to braise and not boil.

Cover tightly and simmer gently over low heat on top of the range, or in a preheated 325 degree oven, roughly 45 minutes per pound or until the beef is fork-tender.

The cooking liquid may be thickened or reduced for gravy or sauce as desired.

Like most main dishes a Pot Roast Recipe is very adaptable, so don't be afraid to substitute with the ingredients you have on hand.

Seasoning and flavoring possibilities are endless.

Buy Beef Online

Now why would anyone want to buy beef online? Beef is readily available at the supermarket. There’s only one answer: Quality! In order to compete with the supermarkets mail order beef has to be the best.

(Don’t buy beef online for a pot roast recipe. Or for that matter any old fashioned pot roast dinner. Supermarket beef is fine.)

In fact there are some types of gourmet beef that you can’t get except online. Kobe beef, grass fed beef, dry aged beef? I’ll bet you’ve never seen those in the supermarket. The only way to get them is to buy beef online.

Kobe Beef

Kobe beef is from the Japanese Waygu cattle. The marbling, flavor and tenderness of Kobe beef puts it grades above USDA prime beef. But you can only get Kobe beef when you buy beef online.

Grass Fed Beef

Grass is the natural food of the beef animal. And some people feel the flavor of grass fed beef is far superior to feed lot beef. This is gourmet beef at it’s best. And once again you can only get grass fed beef when you buy beef online.

Dry Aged Beef

Dry aged beef is how beef was done in the good old days. The beef is hung in a controlled temperature and humidity environment and allowed to age for almost a month.

Why can’t you get dry aged beef at the super market? Expense! Dry aged beef loses approximately 1/3 of its weight during the drying process. Today’s wet aged beef brings more profit to the processor.

Guess what? You can only get dry aged beef when you buy beef online! Dry aged beef is truly gourmet beef.

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

Certainly you wouldn’t want to buy beef online for old fashioned pot roast. Mail order beef is for special occasions. Your Sunday pot roast dinner is fine with a chuck roast from the supermarket.

Any Pot Roast Recipe is fine with supermarket beef also. As any old fashioned pot roast dinner would be.

On that special occasion, such as boss for dinner night, is when this beef will make an impression. My thoughts would be running along the line of a Prime rib dinner with sure enough USDA prime beef. You can only get USDA prime beef when you buy beef online. USDA choice is the best you can get at the supermarket.

Enjoy your regular Pot Roast Recipe with your family with beef from the grocery. But when you really want to impress buy beef online.