Italian Pot Roast with Cheesy Polenta

Pot Roast is the ultimate comfort food and it also makes me feel so fancy and I can’t explain it. This pot roast is cooked in red wine so, it’s even better and even more fancy. Plus you get to drink the leftover wine as you cook it, so everyone wins. I serve mine over a bed of cheesy polenta but feel free to serve over whatever you prefer. It does have a lot of Italian seasonings so be sure to pair it with something of the same! This is a smaller roast, so if you need to feed more than a couple of people, feel free to use a 4lb piece of meat and just double everything! My dutch oven is only a 4 QT so this is the largest I can make at this time.

Note: I like to bring my meat to room temperature before I sear it, but this is totally optional. I believe that it cooks more evenly when it is not fresh out of the fridge, as the initial shock of the cold meat on the steaming hot pan can cause weird and uneven cooking.

Note 2: Prep all of your veggies before beginning.

what you need:

Pot Roast:

• 2 lb chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 3-5 inch pieces
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1/4 cup pancetta or bacon, diced
• 5 Garlic cloves
• 1 small white onion, diced
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 1 cup carrots, diced
• 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1/4 cup tomato paste
• 2 cups Red wine
• 1 cup beef broth/stock
• Parsley, chopped for serving
• Kosher Salt
• Ground Black Pepper
• Special equipment needed: dutch oven

Polenta:

• 1/2 cup cornmeal
• 2 tablespoons milk
• 2 cups beef broth, chicken broth, or water
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
• 1 tablespoon cream cheese
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

what you need to do:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• On a cutting board, generously salt and pepper your pieces of meat. Make sure to get all of the sides and edges, not just the large sides. Do not be afraid of this, COAT IT IN SEASONING.
• Now we sear the meat. Please see note above about bringing meat to room temp, this is totally optional but I believe it helps the meat cook evenly.
• Heat up your oil in your dutch oven on medium-high heat, and once you see the oil start to steam, add in your meat using tongs. It will steam and smoke and the oil will spatter, so be careful! Let each side cook for about 5 minutes. I like to use tongs and move the meat around and make sure to brown all of the edges and sides. I like mine to be super crispy so I sear for quite a bit to make sure all sides are browned.
• Remove the meat from the pot once browned and lower heat to low-medium (about a 4). Once the pan has cooled a bit, add in the pancetta and cook until crispy.
• Add in the onion, carrot, and celery, and mix well and then cover and cook about 5 minutes.
• Add in garlic, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and oregano. Stir and cook another 2 – 3 minutes.
• Add in the tomato paste and stir to thoroughly combine and cook it down. Stir continuously and cook an additional 2 minutes.
• Add in the red wine and beef broth, and stir to combine.
• Place the meat into the liquid (it will not be fully covered, it will look like an alligator chillin in a swamp) and place the thyme sprigs into the liquid and bring to a boil.
• Once liquid is boiling, place the lid on the pot and place in the oven.
• This will cook about 2 hours, but after first hour check and see what’s goin’ on! If the liquid is almost entirely gone, add in another 1/2 cup of beef broth. If it is still pretty liquidy, that is fine and normal.
• Turn each piece of meat over so that the exposed side is now under the liquid. Continue to cook another hour.
• After the two hours, test the tenderness by using two forks and try to shred the meat. If it shreds easily, it is done. If it does not, cook another 30 minutes.
• Remove from oven once it shreds easily and remove lid to let the steam out. Using tongs, look for the stems of the thyme and remove them.
• Remove each piece of meat and place on a cutting board, then, using two forks (or your fingers VERY CAREFULLY) shred the meat, discarding the pieces of fat that were not cooked down. Place the shredded meat back into the pot with the veggies and sauce and stir to combine.

Cheesy Polenta:

• Tip: I like to cook mine in the beef broth that I have left over from the roast, but you are welcome to use water or chicken stock if you prefer. This just gives it a little oomph and helps to use up leftover broth that I am not sure I would get to before the expiration.
• Bring the cornmeal and the brother/water to a boil in a medium sized saucepan. Once it begins to boil, lower to a simmer and let cook about 20 minutes, stopping to stir it every 5 minutes or so.
• Add in the salt, pepper, cream cheese, butter, and milk. Stir until the butter and cream cheese have melted in. Let simmer about 5 more minutes.
• Remove from heat and add in the parmesan and stir to combine.
• To plate, place a scoop of the polenta in the bottom of your bowl and then top with the shredded meat, sauce, and veggies!!