Traditional Beef Pot Roast

Pot roast is something we have all eaten at one point in our lives and they can be stringy, dry, or the flavor can be lacking.  The gravy can come out lumpy with the only flavor it offers is that of salt.  A good roast starts with the cut of meat.  Bottom round, chuck, and boneless rib roasts are good cuts for this recipe.  I tend to like the bottom round or chuck roast the best for a good pot roast and find the more marbled with fat, the better the flavor.  If I may say something about beef.  Be mindful of where your meat comes from.  There are several excellent places locally that you can purchase bulk quantities of meat and the health benefits are worth it.  I try not to purchase nationally acquired beef that stores offer.
Good places for Beef:
Harmon's Grocery Stores-at one time they told me they bought local meat.  Check your local Harmon's see if that still holds true.
Utah Natural Meat This ranch raises all kinds of meat and does it naturally.  No by products, hormones, etc.  They even raise their own feed for the cows organically.  They raise very lean but flavorful meat.  Orders can be made in bulk or you can visit their ranch in West Jordan and purchase individual quantities.
My Neighbors This website is a fantastic place to order meat.  It is a community forum that includes an online farmer's market from local farmers and ranchers and you can purchase items from honey to produce, to beef to lamb, and even eggs and chia seeds.  It is a fantastic way to connect with local growers and help our local community.

*For those that live outside the Utah area, I would encourage you to research where you can purchase "clean" meat locally.  Most grocery chains buy their meat from national conglomerates and these are the companies we constantly hear about in the news that are selling meat that has to be recalled from time to time.  Ask your grocery store where they buy their meat.  Let them know you would like to see local foods in their stores. 

Equipment:
Enameled French Oven or Dutch Oven 8 qt. cooking pot
Tongs
Large wooden spoon
Cutting Board
Sharp chopping knife
Sharp fillet knife
Two ceriel size bowls
2 small prep bowls

Ingredients:
1 2lb roast of your choice
3 C of chopped up carrots
1 whole vidallia onion chopped into 1/4 inch pieces-you can use white or yellow I just found this to be a nice flavor
1 1/2 cups of beef stock
3 T sauteing fat-either olive oil, canola oil, rendered beef fat
1/2 bottle Marsala Cooking Wine-6.35oz
(optional) 1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 T dried parsley
1 T dried thyme
3 dried bay leaves
4 large cloves of garlic-smashed

Procedure:
1.  Once you have selected your cut of meat, it is time to trim some of the fat.  Don't cut it all off!   Fat helps to tenderize the meat while it is cooking and helps the roast from drying out.  Save any trimmings to render for future use.  I use previously rendered beef fat (tallow) to saute my roast before cooking.
2.  Rinse off the roast and pat dry with paper towels.  The roast must be dry to brown.  Salt and Pepper on all sides. 

3.  Heat the pot to medium high heat and add fat of choice to the pot and let it sear on all sides.  You want your meat to brown on all sides for about 5-6 minutes at medium high heat.

4.  While the roast is browning, prep your herbs and your veggies and place them in the prep bowls.  Cutting up onions is a breeze if you put them in cold water immediately after cutting them.  I like to have a cereal bowl next to the cutting board filled half way with water.  I place all of the onions in the bowl and set them aside until I need them.  There are no onion fumes!
Peeling garlic can be a tedious activity and so I like to smash the cloves with the side of my knife and this releases the papery covering easily.  Simply place your garlic on the cutting board and with the knife blade pointed away from you, slam the palm of your hand down on the flat of the knife.  This smashes the garlic. 

5.  Once the meat has browned, remove it from the pot and set aside.  Cover it with foil until you are ready for it again.  

6.  Strain the onions taking care to reserve the water for later use.  Pour the strained onions and the carrots into the pot to cook for about 8-9 minutes.  Add salt and pepper to the veggies while they cook.  You want the onions to be almost cooked but not soft just yet.

7.  Add the herbs and the garlic and continue cooking for about 2 minutes.  You will be able to really smell the herbs bloom and the other flavors will really come to life.
8.  Pour the Marsala Cooking Wine in to the pot and let boil for about 5 minutes.  Add the beef stock to the pot and stir around the ingredients.
9.  Add the meat back into the pot.

10.  The liquid should just cover the roast.  If you need to add more liquid at this point then start by adding the onion water you saved.  This adds flavor and won't water down the sauce you have created.  If more liquid is needed add hot water till it just covers the roast.
11.  Cover the pot and bring the stew to a boil.  Then place it in an oven and cook at 350 degrees for 2 1/2 to 3 hours.  If you would like to use a crock pot, you can put the liquid and the roast into the crock pot and cook on high for the day if you want to leave the oven off.  The texture of the roast will be slightly different coming out of the crock pot.  There will be lots of liquid and the roast will have a fall apart texture.  If you cook the roast in the oven the texture will be tender but more conducive to slicing.  The liquid in the pot will have reduced down considerably and doesn't require much help to thicken.  The stock from the pot is much more flavorful too.  I will cover the gravy part of this recipe later.
12.  You may need to go as long as 3 1/2 hours so check the tenderness of your meat at about 2 1/2 hours to see if it is to your liking.  It shouldn't cook beyond the time given or the roast will dry out and the liquid in the pot will cook away and burn to the bottom of the pot.
13.  Once the roast is done, let it sit off the heat, in its cooking container for about 20 minutes.
GRAVY
1.  To make the gravy, measure out 1 cup of strained liquid from the pot and set aside for the moment.
2.  In a sauce pot, add 1 T of fat skimmed off the liquid from the roast and add to it 1 T of all-purpose flour.  If you don't have the fat you need then simply use butter. 
3.  Cook over medium heat until combined into thick clumps. Increase the heat slightly then,
4.  Slowly whisk in the stock you strained until all the liquid is mixed into the flour mixture and it is smooth.  Taste to see if it needs seasoning. 

Slice the meat and serve with the veggies on the side and the gravy to top. 

Any reserve liquid you have in your pot (crock pot or dutch oven) can be strained into a metal bowl and placed in the refrigerator overnight.  The next day, skim off the fat and pour it into ice cube trays.  The rest of the liquid can also be poured into ice cube trays and used as your stock base next time you make a pot roast or anytime you need beef flavoring in a recipe.  It is a much better way to have bouillon and doesn't have any "extra" stuff in it like the little squares you buy from the store.  The liquid may have gelled some like jello.  This is what you want.  Simply spoon it into the ice trays and then store in a plastic bag in the freezer for later use.