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Grandma Margaret's Sunday Pot Roast

Posted by Jenny on November 18, 2008 · recipe from Grandma Margaret · filed under Mains

Grandma made this nearly every Sunday — the smell of it meant the week was really over.

  • Serves6
  • Prep20 min
  • Cook3 hr
  • Oven325°F

What you’ll need

  • 3 lb chuck roast
  • 2 tbsp oil
  • Salt & pepper
  • 1 large onion, quartered
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 4 carrots, in big chunks
  • 4 potatoes, halved
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 2 sprigs thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
  • 1 bay leaf

How to make it

  1. Heat oven to 325°F. Pat the roast dry and season well with salt and pepper.
  2. Heat oil in a Dutch oven and sear the roast on all sides until deep brown. Remove.
  3. Add onion and garlic; cook 2 minutes.
  4. Return the roast. Add broth, Worcestershire, thyme, and bay leaf.
  5. Cover and braise in the oven for 2 hours.
  6. Add carrots and potatoes around the roast. Cover and cook 1 more hour until fork-tender.
  7. Rest 15 minutes, then spoon the pan juices over the top.
Margaret's way Don't rush the sear — that brown crust is where the flavor lives. She made gravy from the drippings too, but never wrote that part down.

Jenny’s notes

Sunday dinner was never quite the same after Grandma stopped making this, so I'm glad it's finally written down. When I'm at work I cheat with the slow cooker on low for eight hours — not quite the same, but close.

— J.