Winter storm Toby is barreling our way, bringing over a foot of heavy snow, the potential for more power outages, and causing headaches across the Northeast as routines are once again disrupted. Meanwhile, our Toby continues to make great progress and I’m sure he will be thrilled when the world is once again blanketed in snow.  (Note – if you house train a puppy in a blizzard then they expect to ‘go’ on snow…. This has presented a unique challenge a the previous storm thaws…)

With a new pooch we’ve naturally been a bit more tethered to home as he works to get truly comfortable in his routines and in our space. So, this Sunday seemed like the perfect day for a slow-cooked, hearty, pot roast.  This is another dish that I’d never made before and so I started by browsing through my favorite cookbooks. Surprisingly, NONE of the cookbooks on my shelf had a basic recipe for a pot roast which makes me wonder – what is you go-to cookbook that you have on your shelf for classic dishes like this? I think I’ll add one to my birthday list.

After pulling book after book off of my shelves I came to The Cattleman’s Steak Book, a collection of recipes from an old Steakhouse in NYC where my grandfather worked. This book, written in 1967, presumes a comfortable chef is looking for a general guide with warm suggestions such as “you may roast it in a 300 degree oven.”  

The author describes a Pot Roast as follows:

“A pot roast is made from less tender pieces of beef…. The piece of beef is browned in butter, oil or fat in a deep heavy pot like a Dutch oven. Enough stock, water, wine o rother liquid is added to make one-half to three-fourths inch in the bottom of the pot. It is then cooked slowly for several hours until tender…Gravy is made from the juices.”

The cookbook then goes on to include 5 different pot roast variations from traditional, to western style, to herved, to spicy to Spanish.  This is the kind of guidance I’m looking for in a cookbook! I have a framework that I can work with and build from. So, sending a big thank you to my Grandfather, who was a gentle, loving, and stubborn old Irishman who loved his steak and potatoes.

All in all, this stove top pot roast, cooked in a large dutch oven, is a heartwarming Sunday dish that will fill and warm bellies! We served it with garlicky mashed potatoes and spicy green beans and were able to enjoy lunch leftovers for a few days as well.

Sunday Pot Roast

• Servings: 6-7
• Time: 15 prep + 180 cook = 3 hrs 14 mins
• Print

This pot roast simmers in red wine and stock in a dutch oven on your stove top all afternoon, providing you with a tender and hearty family meal!

Ingredients

• 3.5 pounds of boneless chuck
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 sprig of fresh rosemary (optional)
• 3 sprigs of fresh thyme (optional)
• 4 carrots – chopped into large chunks
• 3 celery stalks – chopped into large chunks

Steps & Notes

1. Rub the roast with salt, pepper, as well as 1 clove of garlic.
2. Heat a dutch oven with a bit of olive oil then brown the meat in a dutch oven on all sides. Add the onions around the meat during this step and season with a touch of salt. This should take about 15 minutes
3. Mince the 2 remaining garlic cloves.
4. Pour about 3/4 cup each of wine and stock over the meat. Then, top the meat with the minced garlic, bay leaf, and fresh herbs.
5. Cook in a covered dutch oven over medium heat for 2-3 hours. Check every now and then to ensure the liquid stays at about 1/2 inch thick- adding wine or stock as necessary.
6. Add the celery and carrots to the dutch oven for the last 30 minutes.
   1. Remove the meat and veggies then simmer the juices for a gravy adding a slurry if necessary

Possible Modifications

• Option to roll the raw beef in flour for easier browning
• Option to sprinkle the raw beef with a bit of sugar
• Add other veggies to the final bake including turnips, whole small onions, quartered large onions, or small potatoes
• Try one of Cattleman’s pot roast variations: Western, Herbed, Spicy, Spanish