Stout Pot Roast & How To Make Pot Roast
Jackie Dodd-Mallory
(Senior Editor)
This is an exercise in patience.
You can hurry a lot of things but pot roast isn’t one of them. If you aren’t going to take the time to cook it low and slow, you might as well just make something else. Or have take out.
The rules of pot roast, the American Grandma’s Saturday Night Special, are few but unyielding, ignore them and you’ll have shoe leather.
Step one: Caramelize the carrots and then the onions.
Caramelizing the vegetables in a hot pan gives another level of flavor that you won’t get by just tossing them in the pot with the roast.
Step two: Season the crap out of your roast, then flour it.Â
Use a lot of salt, it’s imperative to getting the results you want. Use good kosher or sea salt (stop buying that iodized table salt already), and don’t be shy with it. Add some garlic powder as well, and then rub in some flour.
Step Three: sear the meat in a hot pan until browned on all sides.Â
Step Four: deglaze the pan with beer, it also acts as a meat tenderizer.Â
Step Five: add back in the roast, vegetables, some broth and herbs. Cook slow and low for lots of hours.
Don’t boil, it’ll turn that roast tough. Cook it slow and low, I’ve even heard of people cooking their pot roast for up to 12 hours.
Step six: Be patient, it takes a while. Â
Stout Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2 tbs olive oil
- 1 tbs unsalted butter
- 5 large carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 sweet white onions quartered
- 1 4 lbs chuck roast, well marbled
- 1 to 2 tbs Kosher or sea salt
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbs flour
- 12 ounces stout or porter beer
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 2 sprigs thyme
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 250.
- In a large dutch oven heat the oil and butter until hot but not smoking.
- Add the carrots, cook until browned, remove from pot and set aside.
- Add the onions, sear until browned, remove from pot, set aside.
- Sprinkle with roast on all sides with salt, garlic powder and the flour. Rub the flour in evenly.
- Sear in the pan until browned on all sides, remove from the pot.
- Pour the beer into the pot, scraping to deglaze the pan.
- Add the meat and vegetables back into the pot. Add broth, rosemary and thyme. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Cover with an oven safe lid, transfer to the oven and cook until fork tender, about 4 hours and up to 8.
I use this Dutch oven all the time, it’s a staple in my kitchen (affiliate link)
Comments
Sarah | The Sugar Hit December 18, 2013 um 12:50 am
I love pot roast. Not liking pot roasts is akin to not liking little old ladies, and that’s just not cool.
Julie December 18, 2013 um 2:21 am
What temp do you cook it at in the oven?
Jackie December 18, 2013 um 9:48 am
250, slow and low 🙂
Cassie December 18, 2013 um 6:40 am
This is major comfort food. Sounds amazing with the stout, too!
Sophia @ NY Foodgasm December 18, 2013 um 7:32 am
YES! YES! YES! Perfect recipe to beerify!
samantha December 18, 2013 um 6:32 pm
Also divine with a Flander’s red in lieu of a stout.
Tieghan December 18, 2013 um 8:44 pm
Sounds and looks amazing! My family loves a good pot roast and this looks like a must try!
dishing up the dirt December 19, 2013 um 9:04 am
I don’t eat pot roast very often, however my folks are coming for Christmas and my dad LOVES pot roast. I can be patient and take my time in the kitchen with this puppy!
Krista January 5, 2014 um 5:13 pm
I made this tonight with Sam Smith’s Oatmeal Stout and it was DELICIOUS! I added some potatoes and celery the last hour and a half of cooking and it was perfect. My husband thought it was one of the best tasting roasts we have had. Thanks for a great recipe and great website. I love all of your ideas!
Jackie January 5, 2014 um 7:55 pm
That’s great! Thank you 🙂
Camera-crazed January 10, 2014 um 8:35 am
Will any type beer work?
Jackie January 10, 2014 um 9:51 am
Possibly, but a stout or a porter will work best.
Nikki P. March 20, 2014 um 1:20 pm
This recipe is from Pioneer Woman, she invented this dish.
Jackie March 20, 2014 um 1:27 pm
No, it’s not. As much as Pioneer woman has contributed a lot to Internet Food, she did not invent Pot Roast. This is a pretty standard pot roast recipe, the way many, many, many grandmothers have been making it for decades. Including mine and most likely hers.
Carmone May 26, 2014 um 7:52 am
I have used an oatmeal stout with my corned beef for years, but never tried it with my pot roast! Thank you for the recipe. I can’t wait to try it! I also wanted to say I am so excited to try so many of your recipes.
Jennie December 15, 2014 um 9:16 am
Would a crockpot work for the slow cooking? I would do all the prep on the stove, then transfer. Have you tried that?
Jackie December 15, 2014 um 12:48 pm
Probably. I’ve never tried it but it sounds like it would.
eric February 12, 2015 um 12:38 pm
Why oh why do they say "no salt butter…and then require lots of salt!"
Jackie February 12, 2015 um 12:47 pm
Because if you use salted butter you have no idea how much salt is in it. It isn’t a standard measurement and can be up to three times as much depending on brand. If you use unsalted butter and add the salt yourself, you know exactly how much salt is in it.
Richard February 12, 2015 um 1:27 pm
Why do you say in Step 5 to cook it slow and low on the top of the stove for many hours and not to let it boil; then in the directions below you say to cook it in the oven for 4-8 hours? Confused???? Which is it, top of stove in a Dutch oven or in the oven? Thank you for a clarification.
Jackie February 12, 2015 um 1:30 pm
Sorry, Don’t mean to be confusing. Don’t boil in while it’s on the stove top. Just bring it to a simmer. You’ll cook it (in the oven) after that for several hours. If you prefer, you can also simmer it on the stove (without boiling) for several hours until tender.
Rita November 22, 2015 um 1:33 pm
This is the only pot roast recipe I ever use- Perfection!