Slow Cooked Chuck Roast Recipe
This Slow Cooked Chuck Roast Recipe uses simple techniques to transform this classic cut of beef into a restaurant-quality meal.
Ingredients
- 4 to 5 pound chuck roast
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 peeled medium-sized yellow onions
- 5 peeled medium-sized carrots
- 5 ribs of celery
- 8 cloves of finely minced garlic
- 1 cup dry white wine, like chardonnay
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 28 ounces tomato puree
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 large sprig of fresh rosemary
- 1 bay leaf
- coarse salt and freshly cracked pepper to state
Instructions
- Place the chuck roast on a rack over a sheet tray and generously season all sides with salt. This could be 1 ½ to 2 tablespoons worth.
- Place it in the refrigerator uncovered for 4 to 24 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 350°.
- Once it’s done dry brining, remove it from the fridge and season it with pepper on all sides.
- Add the oil to a large rondeau or Dutch oven pot and heat it over medium heat for 90 seconds.
- Place the roast into the pot and sear it for 4 to 5 minutes on all sides or until it’s completely browned. Set it to the side.
- While the beef is roasting add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic to a food processor and process at high speed until everything is finely minced. You can also do this by hand.
- Once the beef is removed from the pot add the vegetables, gently season with salt, and cook over low to medium heat for 15 minutes while occasionally stirring.
- Deglaze with white wine and cook over high heat until there are only 2 to 3 tablespoons remaining.
- Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 3 to 4 minutes over low to medium heat until it becomes a rust color. This is known as pinceing.
- Next, add in the tomato puree, beef stock, rosemary, bay leaf, salt, and pepper and mix to combine. Place the seared beef roast back in. Cover it with a lid.
- Place it on a middle rack in the oven at 350° for 3 ½ to 4 hours or until it easily shreds apart. This will read 200° + internally.
- Remove the chuck roast, pull it apart or serve it in chunks.
Notes
Make-Ahead: The chuck roast can be salt-brined for 24 hours before cooking. Or, prepare this recipe up to 1 hour before serving. Place the pot on the stove over medium heat and cover with a lid to keep the beef warm.
How to Store: Once it has cooled to room temperature, transfer the shredded beef and pan drippings to an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 4 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw the leftovers in the fridge overnight before reheating.
How to Reheat: Add as much beef as you plan to eat to a skillet with a splash of stock and reheat over medium heat until warmed. Stir occasionally to prevent it from sticking to the bottom.
I made this beef roast in a large rondeau pan, but a Dutch oven or another large oven-safe pot would work just as well.
Finely mince the vegetables with a chef’s knife if you don't have a food processor.
After deglazing the pan with the wine, scrape the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. These small caramelized pieces of meat are packed with beefy flavors.
Take the time to sauté the tomato paste. The heat will caramelize the sugars in the tomato paste, intensify its amazing natural flavors, and cook off the tinny flavor that usually comes with canned or tubed tomato paste.
If the roast isn’t falling apart easily after cooking for 3 ½ to 4 hours, put it back in the oven for another 30 minutes.
You can skip the dry brine if you’d prefer to get this meal on the table even faster.
If the pan gravy isn’t as thick as you’d like, make a beurre manié using butter and flour and add it to the pot after it comes out of the oven. Heat it on the stove over medium heat for about 4 to 5 minutes or until the gravy reaches your desired consistency.
Serve the shredded beef with the pan drippings drizzled over top, especially when serving this recipe alongside roasted potatoes, mashed potatoes, and/or roasted carrots.
Nutrition
Calories: 756kcalCarbohydrates: 26gProtein: 65gFat: 42gSaturated Fat: 16gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 23gTrans Fat: 2gCholesterol: 209mgSodium: 683mgPotassium: 2204mgFiber: 5gSugar: 12gVitamin A: 9305IUVitamin C: 22mgCalcium: 128mgIron: 10mg