The Best Pot Roast I've Ever Had

I absolutely love pot roast. Just thinking about the fork-tender, braised beef, earthiness of the oven-roasted vegetables and richness of the gravy makes my mouth water. Yum. Yum. Yum.

The past few days have been so wonderfully chilly that today I decided to make pot roast for dinner. Bryan and I were out for the first half of the day, so I didn't get started until about 2:30pm. Given that this pot roast recipe takes about 5 1/2 hours total, I would recommend starting about six hours before you want to serve the roast. Unless you really love eating late; in which case, go ahead and start whenever you want!

Time commitment aside – ohmygoodness – this recipe is amazing. I'm sure by now you're not surprised that it comes from another of Ina Garten's cookbooks, Back to Basics. A few months ago I tried a pot roast recipe from Emeril Lagasse and I've got to tell you, I prefer this recipe hands-down. The flavors are great, the meat completely falls apart and overall, it is really delicious. While Ina's original recipe is fantastic, I added mushrooms, celery and small red potatoes for some additional great texture and flavor. Oh, and five more cloves of garlic than she originally called for. What can I say? We love garlic.

Here's what you need to make the pot roast:

• 1 (3 to 5 pound) Beef Goose Neck Tender Roast or chuck pot roast
• 15 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 4 sprigs of rosemary
• 5 sprigs of thyme
  
• 4 cups (32oz.) beef stock
• 3/4 pound small new or red potatoes, quartered
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 3 carrots carrots, peeled and chopped
  
• 4 celery stalks, chopped
  
• 3 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 2 cups sliced Cremini mushrooms
  
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/2 cup water

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Make 15 slits throughout the roast. Stuff a clove of garlic in each slit. Rub the entire roast with the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Heat a dutch oven over medium heat. When the dutch oven is hot, sear the roast on all sides, about 3 to 4 minutes.



Tie the rosemary and thyme sprigs together with kitchen twine, creating a "bouquet garni." If you don't have kitchen twine, dental floss will work just as well. Sounds strange, but it's true. Add the bouquet garni to the dutch oven along with the beef stock and cover. Place in the oven and cook for 4 hours. In a mixing bowl, toss the vegetables with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Place the vegetables around the roast and cover. Cook for one more hour.


Remove the roast from the oven and arrange on a serving platter, reserving the liquid in the dutch oven. Whisk the flour and water together in a small bowl until smooth. Pour the flour mixture into the reserved liquid and whisk continuously until the liquid comes to a simmer. Cook for 4 to 6 minutes, season with salt and pepper and serve with the pot roast. Enjoy!

Once it was all said and done (at about 8:30pm), I actually did a little "I just made a really awesome dinner" dance in my kitchen. There may have been a "Woot! Woot! Woot!" somewhere in there, too. I'm not afraid to admit it. And the best news is that Bryan and I absolutely loved the pot roast; leftovers tomorrow should be even better after the flavors have a chance to settle in.