It's the TOPS!
If you want an easy meal that you can put in the oven and let bake all afternoon without having to putz with it, this is for you. And, if you’re not in the mood for Turkey for Thanksgiving, this is REALLY for you. It’s easy to make for any holiday or just for every day. The roast’s aroma is wonderful and it makes a nice cozy meal to sit down to with your besties.
Leftovers are great because you can easily make sandwiches or wraps for lunch the next day, along with warmed up veggies or a nice salad. Spread your bread or flour tortilla with mayo and mustard. Lay in your favorite cheese. Top it with sliced veggies or pickles and add a nice cold glass of milk or soda…and you have another entirely mouthwatering meal.
Start with a nice looking chuck roast. Not too much fat on it, make sure it’s marbled nicely with a little fat for great flavor. If you are not quite sure what you are purchasing, ask the butcher in your store. We have a favorite little family grocery store with an experienced butcher and a top-notch custom meat counter that we frequent. They have top quality meats and the butcher can answer our questions for turning our meat into a delicious meal.
We like to roast a 3 pounder, then we have plenty of leftovers for the next few days. (Or freeze for a couple weeks to have meals later.) Add a few vegetables for the last hour, including carrots, potatoes, onions, celery and you have a delicious meal with lots of vitamins. My Gram even used to include a cut up a rutabaga from her garden to include with her roasts. You can add your own favorites, too. Gravy to drizzle of the potatoes is easy to make with a little cornstarch with the drippings, but we usually go sans gravy.
Preheat your oven to 300F degrees for a slow roast, to keep the meat from getting too dry.
Prepare your pans:
- Set out a covered Dutch oven type pan for the roast and your veggies to fit in. We prefer our big blue metal roasting pan. We have a large one and a smaller one, that we have used for over 30 years. They are light weight, roast the meat and veggies nicely, and are very easy to clean. No need to line them with foil or baking bags.
- Drizzle about 2 tablespoons of extra virgin oil in a 12-16” fry pan. This will be used to sear your roast.
Gather your Ingredients:
3# Chuck roast, raw, nicely marbled
Ketchup or Chili Sauce
1 Onion, peeled, cut in quarters
6 Carrots, peeled and chopped in 4” chunks
3 Potatoes, large, unpeeled, washed, cut in halves
2 Celery stalks with leaves, cleaned, cut in 4” chunks
2 Bay leaves, whole
6 C water
Salt & Pepper to taste
Sear and Bake:
- In your fry pan, drizzle a couple tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil or butter and heat on medium high on your stove burner.
- Sprinkle a few drops of water in the oil to test to make sure the pan is hot enough. If the water dances around and sizzles, the pan is ready.
- Carefully lay the roast in the pan (it’ll sizzle!) and sear until it’s nicely browned and a little crispy. Turn and repeat on the other side. This will seal in a lot of the juices while the roast is in the oven.
- Take the roast out of the fry pan and set it in the roasting pan.
- Drizzle some ketchup or chili sauce on top of the meat, but not to cover the meat.
- Place the chunks of onion on top of the meat along with the bay leaves.
- Add 4 cups of water in the pan around the roast. It’s up to you if you want to add the rest of the water now or later, in order to make gravy.
- Cover the pan and set into the preheated 300F degree oven for 3 hours. Doug usually checks it at the 2-hour mark to check on the water level. If a lot of the water has evaporated, you might want to add more water.
- Prepare your veggies, cleaning, peeling and cutting them into chunks. Set aside until you add them at the 3-hour mark. Half the potatoes just before placing them in the pan. Of course, if you want them peeled go ahead and do so, peeling them just before you add them to the pan, so they don’t get discolored.
- At the 3-hour mark take the pan out of the oven and surround the meat with the rest of the vegetables. If you plan to make homemade gravy, which is the best, add a couple more cups of water at this point.
- Bake for the last (4th) hour to roast the vegetables. We give them an hour to thoroughly bake.
- Check the potatoes and carrots by sticking one or two with a fork. If they feel tender, it’s time to share with your besties.
- Onto a serving platter, set the roast beef and cut into chunks. Add the veggies around the beef on the platter. Toss out the bay leaves.
- If you plan to make gravy, set the platter of meat and veggies aside under foil or back in the oven, until ready to serve.
To make gravy:
- To make gravy, put about 2-3 cups of the liquid from the roasting pan into a sauce pan on the stove top.
In a small bowl, whisk together 1-2 tablespoons of cornstarch or flour with a half cup of water until all the lumps are gone.
- Bring the drippings in the sauce pan to a low boil or simmer, letting the cornstarch mixture slowly drizzle into the pan, whisking constantly.
- Turn the heat down as the mixture thickens – it will only take a few seconds or up to a minute.
- If it’s too thick, add a tablespoon or more of the drippings from the roasting pan or some water. If it’s too thin, let it simmer just a little longer.
- Salt and pepper to taste.
- Pour the gravy into a serving bowl for adding to individual servings of the roast or on the veggies. Yum!!!
I like to make roast beef and veggies on a cold fall or winter day. It makes the kitchen smell so good. If you’ve never made this, try it! You’ll be so proud of making a delicious chuck roast with veggies. It’s delicious and nutritious for you and your family. And, it’s not at all hard to make – it’s an easy first time recipe to make and enjoy.
Roasts are a wonderful way to have a nutritious family meal, with delicious leftovers for sandwiches or wraps. To the cold leftover sliced meat, add mayo, mustards, ketchup, lettuce, pickles…whatever you fancy. Add chips or leftover veggies on the side and you have another delicious vitamin packed meal. However, you garnish your roast or leftovers, “Bake your own Memories!”
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