Serves approximately 6:
1.5–1.8 kg beef pot roast,
800 g small potatoes,
5 large carrots
, 1 large onion,
2 tbsp olive oil,
500 ml beef broth,
1/2 packet ranch seasoning,
1 packet Italian dressing seasoning,
1 packet brown gravy mix,
salt
, black pepper,
some fresh parsley for serving
If you can’t find small potatoes, simply use regular waxy potatoes and halve or quarter them. The pieces shouldn’t be too small, however, as they will cook for several hours along with the meat.
preparation
First, preheat the oven to 165 °C using top/bottom heat.
Remove the meat from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before cooking. Then pat it dry with kitchen paper and season it on all sides with a little salt and freshly ground pepper.
Heat the olive oil in a large roasting pan or heavy skillet. Once the oil is hot, add the beef roast and sear it vigorously for about three to four minutes on each side. This step is really worth it. Searing gives the meat its beautiful dark surface, and the resulting roasted flavors will significantly enhance the taste of the sauce. The original recipe also calls for searing the roast until golden brown on all sides.
Then briefly remove the seared roast.
Meanwhile, peel the carrots and cut them into relatively large pieces. Wash small potatoes thoroughly and halve them. Larger potatoes can be quartered. Peel the onion and roughly chop it.
Briefly add the vegetables to the roasting pan and sauté for a few minutes in the existing browning. They don’t need to become soft at this stage; the goal is simply to give them some color and additional flavor.
Now spread the potatoes, carrots and onions in a large casserole dish or roasting pan and place the seared meat in the middle.
Combine beef broth, ranch seasoning, Italian seasoning, and brown gravy mix. Slowly pour the liquid over the meat and then over the vegetables. The seasonings already contain a fair amount of salt, so I wouldn’t add much more at this stage.
Cover the dish well with a lid or aluminum foil. This is important because we don’t want to dry out the roast, but rather braise it slowly.
Now everything goes into the preheated oven for about 3 to 4 hours. It’s precisely this long cooking time at a low temperature that ensures a classic pot roast becomes wonderfully tender. The original recipe also calls for cooking at 165°C and the roast for three to four hours.
After about two and a half hours, you can check it for the first time. If there is very little liquid left, add some warm beef broth.
The roast is ready when a fork can be inserted without much resistance and the meat falls apart easily when cut or pulled apart.
For a slightly more robust surface, the cover can be removed during the last 20–30 minutes. This will give the potatoes and carrots in particular some extra color.
Then remove the roast from the oven and let it rest for about ten minutes. Only then should you slice it or pull it apart into large pieces with two forks.
Finally, pour some of the dark sauce from the mold over the meat and sprinkle with freshly chopped parsley.
This is how the pot roast turns out especially good.
The most important thing with this dish is patience. If the meat still seems a little firm after three hours, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s overcooked. With a braised cut, the opposite can be true. Give it some more time and check again.
It’s also worth cutting generous pieces of vegetables. Small cubes of carrots or thin slices of potato would quickly fall apart during the long cooking time. Larger pieces, on the other hand, remain nice and juicy and look much more appetizing on the plate.
For those who prefer a lot of gravy, add approximately 100–150 ml of extra beef broth. If the gravy is too thin at the end, remove the meat and vegetables and thicken the liquid with a little cornstarch dissolved in cold water.
I prefer to serve this pot roast directly from the large dish. It looks wonderfully rustic, and everyone can help themselves to the meat, potatoes, and carrots. A simple green salad or some bread to soak up the remaining gravy goes perfectly with it.
And that’s exactly why I like recipes like this so much: you don’t need complicated ingredients or special cooking skills. A good piece of beef, potatoes, carrots, a rich sauce, and enough time in the oven are all you need.
When the meat has become so tender that it almost falls apart when you cut into it, and the potatoes are swimming in the rich, dark gravy, there’s usually not much left. Incidentally, the pot roast tastes even better the next day because the meat and vegetables absorb even more of the flavorful sauce overnight.
