My Mom made an ok pot roast, but it was never a meal I looked forward to or asked her to make. In fact, if I called home and heard pot roast was for dinner I’d stay at school late for a Del Taco run with the Walnut High School Cayuse Yearbook crew.
She’d grab a 7 bone (blade cut) roast at the grocery store, heat some vegetable oil in a skillet, coat each side of the meat in flour, salt & pepper, then brown it over high heat. After that she’d fill the pan up about halfway with water, reduce the heat to medium-ish, put the lid on and let it braise for about 2 hours. When it came time to serve it there would be boxed mashed potatoes (my Mom didn’t do peel/boil/mash), and peas or corn. My Dad used to smother it in ketchup. Not sure what that said about her pot roast, but in my eyes, if you’re hiding the meat under ketchup it’s a waste of the 2 hours she took to cook it.
I never want to see a meal I have taken the time and effort to prepare covered in ketchup (unless it’s meat loaf or a hamburger…), so I’ve changed Mom’s prep a bit and come up with a pot roast that doesn’t make my husband suggest we eat out instead.
Drool Worthy Pot Roast
- 3 to 3 1/2 pounds Boneless Chuck Roast (Because they will trim the excessive fat, I prefer to get it from the butcher case instead of grabbing a pre-packaged roast from the meat aisle)
- 1 can (14.5 oz) Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes (Tonight I used Hunt’s)
- 6 Carrots peeled, and cut in half
- 8-10 Small Red or White Potatoes
- 1 large Onion, peeled and sliced thinly
- 2 TBLS Olive Oil
- 3 Bay Leaves
- Any Garlic/Onion Spice Blend you prefer (I used Dangold Gourmet Collection Garlic & Onion Spice Blend)
- Freshly Ground Black Pepper
- 1 Cup Beef Broth
- 1 TBLS Corn Starch dissolved in cold water (about 3 TBLS)
- 3/4 Cup Bold Red Wine (Like a dark blend or Zinfandel – tonight I used Gnarly Head Authentic Black)
- 3 TBLS Vanilla Extract
- 2 TBLS Worcestershire Sauce
- 3-4 TBLS Prepared Horseradish
- Set the pressure cooker to the Brown setting.
- Add the Olive Oil and brown the Roast for about 5 minutes per side.
- Remove the meat to a large bowl.
- Add the onions and cook until translucent (about 5 minutes).
- Add the Beef Broth, Vanilla, Wine, Worcestershire Sauce, Tomatoes, and the dry seasonings to the pressure cooker pan and stir until the mixture starts to bubble.
- Add the Bay Leaf and Carrots to the pan.
- Return the Roast and all of the juices to the pan.
- Spread the Horseradish on the exposed side of the Roast.
- Close the pressure cooker, lock and set to the highest setting (248° on mine)
- Once the pressure cooker reaches the cooking temperature, cook for 1 hour.
- When cooking is complete unplug the pressure cooker and allow it to come back to normal pressure (about 10 minutes).
- Open the pressure cooker, remove the Roast, Carrots, Potatoes, and Bay leaves.
- Turn the pressure cooker back on to the Brown setting.
- Stir in the corn starch mixture until it begins to boil and thicken.
- Cut the Roast into chunks and serve in a bowl with the carrots and potatoes (smash them with a fork) covered in the gravy. If you have some French bread to dip in the sauce, serve that too!
I 
didn’t have any potatoes on hand, so we ate ours with some steamed Brussels Sprouts and a can of Bush’s Bourbon and Brown Sugar Grillin’ Beans. The roast came out tender, moist and flavorful and my husband really enjoyed sopping up the gravy/sauce with the chunks of French bread!
Are you on Facebook? You might be interested in the things I may not devote an entire blog post to: recipes, food facts, nutritional information, photos and other things that make my mouth water. I may not write a blog post every day, but there are daily updates to my This Girl Loves To Eat community at: https://www.facebook.com/ThisGirlLovesHerFood
This Girl Loves to Eat! 