Slow Cooker Pot Roast

A Classic Old-Fashioned Pot Roast

Reprinted with Permission.  From Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook.  By Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann.  Copyright 2005.  Harvard Common Press.

• Servings: 4 to 6.

This recipe is from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook (by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann.  Included among its 301 recipes for modern slow cooking, this pot roast stands out for its simple combination of ingredients but satisfying classic taste.

The authors write:  "Take the time to dice the vegetables finely (1/4 to 1/2 inch on a side), brown the meat well, and bring the water to a full boil before adding it to the crockery insert.  Each of these steps plays a part in the dish's final goodness.  Look for a thick pot roast.  If it is too big to lay flat in your cooker, cut in in half and stack the pieces one atop the other.  If you cook the pot roast for the full amount of time, it may be too tender to slice.  Just serve it in luscious chunks -- they will be fork tender -- with broad egg noodles, corkscrew pasta, or mashed potatoes to soak up the juices."

Because I love lots of vegetables with my pot roast, I amended the recipe by adding 2 cups of carrots cut into 1-inch pieces, and 2 cups of Yukon Gold potatoes cut into one-to-two-inch pieces.  I just added these on top of the meat and slow cooked as the recipe instructs.

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil, or more as needed
• 1/2 cup finely diced carrot
• 1/2 cup finely diced celery, including some leaves
• 1/2 cup finely diced turnip
• 1/2 cup finely diced onion
• One 3-pound boneless chuck roast, trimmed of as much fat as possible and blotted dry
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 3/4 cup water

Directions

1. In a large, heavy skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrot, celery, turnip, and onion and cook, stirring a few times, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to the slow cooker.
2. Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pot roast and brown well on the first side. This will take 2 or 3 minutes if the pan is really hot, a bit longer if not. If the meat is very lean or your pan does not have a nonstick finish, add a bit more oil before turning with tongs to allow the second side to brown. Season it with the salt and pepper and place in the cooker on top of the vegetables. Pour the wine into the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits stuck to the pan. When the wine has reduced to a syrupy consistency, in 1 or 2 minutes, pour it over the meat. Add the water to the skillet and allow to come to a full boil. Pour over the meat, cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours.
3. To serve, transfer the meat to a cutting board, scraping any clinging vegetable bits back into the cooker. Pour the vegetables and liquid through a mesh strainer set over a bow. Use the back of a spoon to press hard on the vegetables, extracting as much liquid as possible; discard the vegetables. Allow this liquid, or gravy, to settle for a few moments so that the fat rises to the surface. Skim off as much of it as possible from the gravy.
4. Slice the pot roast against the grain. Serve with the gravy.