Ol' Fashioned Pot Roast

I've tried MANY recipes for pot roast over the years, but so many of them want to add soup mixes and wine and crap that just doesn't embody the ol' fashioned pot roast that my grandma makes. (Hers is actually the BEST, but I can't replicate it--even if I follow her exact recipe, hers always tastes better. Maybe it is all the grandma love I'm tasting mixed in).

So, after a lot of trial and error, here is what I think is the best, simple, true pot roast. Try it out for yourself and see!

Boneless chuck roast, 2-3 pounds
2 Tbsp. olive oil
Garlic powder
Onion Powder
Salt
Fresh-cracked black pepper (buy one of those grinders in the spice aisle, if you don't have a grinder--I promise, it does make a difference!)

2 beef bullion cubes
5 medium carrots, peeled, and cut into 2-inch lengths (split, lengthwise, the fat end of the carrots so that all your pieces are approx. the same thickness)
6 red-skinned potatoes, peeled and halved lengthwise
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3 Tbsp. flour
1 can beef broth

Directions:

Heat a large skillet (preferably NOT a non-stick pan--you want the brown stuff to stick to the bottom) over medium-high heat. While skillet is heating, generously sprinkle all sides of the chuck roast with salt, fresh-cracked pepper, garlic and onion powder. Pat seasonings into the meat with your fingers.

Add oil and chuck roast to hot pan, searing chuck roast until a nice, brown crust forms on all sides, approx 2 minutes per side. Remove roast to a large crockpot or slow-cooker. Return skillet to heat and add 3 cups of water and 2 bullion cubes to the pan. Deglaze the pan, scraping up all the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Once the bullion cubes have fully dissolved, pour pan juices over the top of the pot roast. Arrange carrots and potatoes around the roast. Bruise the thyme sprigs in your hand and add them to the pot. Place lid on slow-cooker and set to low for 8 hours. (You can do this recipe in 6 hours on high, but your pot roast will be chewier--for the best texture, you really need 8 hours or more).

Once cooking time has passed, remove roast and potatoes to a platter and cover with foil, reserving the juices in the bottom of the crock. Pour juices into a fat separator and allow fat to rise.

To make gravy: Heat a small saucepan over low heat. Skim 3 Tbsp. of fat from the top of the juices in the fat separator and add to pan. Add flour to pan and stir. Allow roux to cook for 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Slowly add pan juices (but not the fat) to the roux, stirring constantly with a whisk until fully incorporated. Turn up the heat to medium and bring gravy a boil, allowing it to simmer for 5 minutes or until thickened.

Use the can of beef broth to adjust gravy thickness if necessary--each roast produces a slightly different amount of liquid, so use your judgment as you go. If gravy is too thick, slowly whisk in beef broth. If too thin, place 1 cup of broth and 2-3 Tbsp. of flour into a cocktail shaker or a jar with a lid, shake until completely incorporated, and then add SLOWLY to the gravy until the desired thickness.

Serve roast with potatoes, carrots and gravy. I love to mash my potatoes and carrots together with some butter and pour gravy over it all, but to each is own. Mmmm, makes me hungry just thinking about it!

HINT: If you don't have a fat separator, just pour your pan juices into a large, shallow plastic storage container, pop on the lid and place it in the freezer for about 10-15 min until the fat congeals. Skim fat from the top with a spoon. The container needs to be really wide and shallow to work quickly--if it is taking too long, try placing the container into another, large bowl or pan filled with ice-water, and then pop the whole thing in the freezer.