RoastAmerican
Chuck roast, onions and petites
A Dutch-oven chuck, onions collapsed into gravy, petites in for the last hour so they are done with the beef. This is the oven cousin of the crock pot roast — same cut, a better crust.
Made it?
4 hr · 25 min hands-on · pull 200°F · rest 20 min
Ingredients
4.5 lb on the fire · ~2.5 lb to the table · 5 plates at 8 oz
- chuck roast, well marbled4 1/2 lb
- kosher salt2 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- onions, thick sliced3
- garlic cloves4
- beef stock2 cups
- petite potatoes2 lb
- carrots, chunked (optional)4
Method
- 1
Salt the chuck. Brown all sides in a Dutch oven. Onions down in the fat until they go sweet, 10 minutes. Garlic, then stock to come a third of the way up the roast.
- 2
Cover. 300–325°F until the chuck is probe-tender, 2.5–3.5 hours.
- 3
Nest the petites (and carrots if you want them) around the roast for the last 50–70 minutes, lid on, until they yield to a knife.
- 4
Rest 20 minutes. Slice or pull the chuck across the grain. Onions are the gravy. Potatoes stay whole — they already drank the beef.
If you don’t have it
- Chuck roast → Bottom round or a fatty brisket flat. Round needs more liquid and still eats drier. Chuck is the cut.
- Petites → Yukon chunks. In for the last hour. Russets fall apart in the gravy.
- Stock only → Half wine. Same cover. Brown first either way.
Same cook, different day
Crock instead
You will be gone. Use the Sunday pot roast in the library. You lose the crust.
Next-day gravy
Company. Chill overnight, lift fat, reheat. Petites the second day so they do not turn to paste.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making mashed potatoes.
Start when the roast has 30 minutes left, or while a steak rests. Russets, salted water, drain hard. Rice or mash. Butter first, then warm cream. Do not put them on the fire — they want a pot.
35 min
- With this dish, try making rice and gravy.
While the meat rests — use that fond. Long-grain rice. Deglaze the meat pan, reduce, pour over.
25 min