Classic Pot Roast

My Italian Pot Roast has become one of the most popular recipes on my site sooooo I decided to create one that is more ~~classic with some hearty potatoes and a tomato-y broth (my boyfriend said it tasted like “chef boyardee sauce” HA!) It is simply just veggies, meat, and sauce! The addition of sweet potatoes (I think) brings it a little more warmth and flavor as opposed to just regular ole starchy potatoes.

what you need:

• 5 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 lbs chuck roast, cut into 2 inch wide pieces and fat trimmed
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 cup mini carrots, each cut in half
• 1 cup gold potatoes, cubed
• 2 cups sweet potatoes, cubed
• 5 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt
• Pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika
• 1 chicken bouillon cube
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1-28 can of tomato sauce
• 3 cups beef broth
• 3 springs fresh thyme

what you need to do:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
• Have all of your veggies prepped. Combine the celery, carrots, and onions but leave all of the other separated.
• Cut your meat into chunks and season GENEROUSLY with salt and pepper. Drown the meat in seasoning, making sure to get all the sides.
• In your dutch oven or oven safe pot, heat 4 tablespoons of oil on high heat. Once the pot is smoking, add in pieces of meat and cook for 3 minutes on the larger sides and then turn and cook on the smaller sides for about 1 minute each. This is to cook off the fat on the meat and give it a nice sear so it is tender. I like mine extra crispy so I cook for a bit longer on each side.
• Remove the meat from the heat and let rest on a cutting board or plate.
• Lower your heat to medium-low, and add another tablespoon of oil. Add in the onions, carrots, and celery. Stir to combine and cook for about 5 minutes.
• Add in 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper, and the paprika, cayenne, garlic. Stir and cook another 2 – 3 minutes, until the garlic is super fragrant.
• Next, add the tomato paste and stir to combine, cooking another 2 – 3 minutes, letting the paste soften.
• Pour in the tomato sauce and 2 cups of beef broth, and chicken bouillon cube stirring well to combine.
• Using tongs gently place the chunks of meat back into the pot.
• Add the sweet potatoes and the thyme springs, cover the pot, and place in the oven for an hour and a half.
• After the hour and a half, lower the oven temperature to 300 degrees, add in the gold potatoes, and stir. Place lid back on the pot and put back in the oven for another hour. (Depending on the size of your pot, if you cannot fit all of the potatoes, you can always boil them in water separately and then add them in for serving)
• Test the done-ness of the meat by taking two forks and shredding the meat. If it easily shreds and basically falls apart, it is done! If it does not, stick it back into the oven and check every 30 minutes or so until it is tender.
• My personal preference with pot roast, is to remove the meat, shred it and remove any fat that did not render off, and then place it back into the stew for another 15 minutes or so to let it soak in more juices and flavor. You can totally serve it in the chunks but that is up to you!
• Make sure to also remove the thyme stems from the stew and discard.
• Serve by scooping out plenty of meat, veggies, and stew liquids into your bowl!
• Leftover tip: boil some noodles and serve with warmed up leftovers for a nice and filling ragu!