The Best Pot Roast

Pot roast was a childhood staple and still is in my parents’ household. It needs slow cooking over low heat to ensure tender, flavorful meat.

Pot roasts typically use the tougher cuts of beef—a pot roast or shoulder roast—that have the most flavor. Slow cooking over low heat melts the tough connective tissue between the muscle fibers, leaving a tender flesh that can be pulled apart with a fork.

For pot roasts and other slow-cooked tough meats, fat is your friend! Fat not only adds flavor, it also helps keep the meat from drying out during long, slow cooking. So look for cuts that are well marbled with fat.

Another tip? Allow the roast (wrapped) to rest outside the fridge for 1-2 hours before cooking to allow it to come closer to room temperature (between 20 and 22°C). Otherwise, it will take much longer to cook at the low heat called for in this recipe.

How much liquid do you need?

This is my mom’s tried and true pot roast recipe, and she only puts 1/2 cup of liquid in the pot! Why does this work?

Beef is about 60-70% water (the rest is protein and fat). So if you keep the heat very low and cover the pot tightly, the beef will release water as it cooks and cook in its own juice.

The result? A deeper beef flavor for your pot roast. The key is to keep the temperature down and make sure the lid is tight. Otherwise too much steam will escape from the pot and you will end up with a dry pot roast.

This recipe calls for 1/2 cup of red wine for the liquid. Use the red wine you like to drink. The wine adds a richer flavor to the roast, but if you don’t have wine on hand or prefer to cook without it, you can substitute water or broth for the wine.

Can I prepare this pot roast in another way?

My mom cooks her pot roast on the stove, but you can cook it in the oven, slow cooker, or pressure cooker.

• When you cook in the oven Fry the meat and onions and bring to a simmer first on the stove. Then place in the oven, starting the temperature at 350F for 15 minutes, then lowering to 250F for the next hour, and then to 225F.
• If you use a slow cooker, brown the meat and onions and add to the slow cooker. Follow recipe as directed and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours.
• If you use a pressure cooker, Brown the meat and onions (if using an Instant Pot, you can do that yourself right in the stovetop), then pressure cook for 65 minutes, then allow to naturally release for 15 minutes. Read the instructions in our Instant Balsamic Rosemary Pot Roast recipe.

Note! If you have a gas stove, you may have trouble getting the flame low enough. A tip I read Cook’s Illustrated suggests rolling up some aluminum foil tightly, shaping it into a donut, and placing it on the burner to give a little more clearance between the stove and the pan. If you’re using a high BTU range, even that might not be enough. In this case, I recommend starting the roast on the stovetop and placing it in the oven to cook.

Can I add potatoes to this pot roast?

The problem with the potatoes is that the long, slow cooking of the pot roast can cause them to fall apart. If I was going to add potatoes, I would use firmer new potatoes instead of russets (they hold their shape better). Cut them in half, 1 1/2 inch in diameter, and quarters if larger.

I would first reheat the potatoes in the microwave or oven on a roasting pan (so they don’t lower the temperature in the pot when you add them) and then add them to the pot roast for the last hour of cooking.

Who doesn’t love a good pot roast?

• Moroccan pot roast
• Beef Brisket Pot Roast
• Pressure cooker pot roast with balsamic vinegar and rosemary
• Italian pot roast