Coyote's Oven Pot Roast

Summary

Yield6
Source

Coyote

Prep Time2 1/2 hours
Recipe KeywordsEntrees

Description

There are a million similar pot roast recipes, but this is the one that I have refined over the years to my own satisfaction. Part of the secret to this recipe's success is laying the bed of onions underneath, to help tenderize the meat. When I cook this, and many other meat dishes, instead of using table salt, I prefer to use soy sauce to add both saltiness and flavor.

Ingredients

  • 3 lb Chuck Roast
  • 2 Large Sweet Onions
  • 5 clv Garlic
  • 1/2 lb Baby Carrots
  • 1/2 lb Baby Potatoes
  • 2 T Worcestershire Sauce
  • 2 T Soy Sauce
  • 1 t onion powder
  • 1 t Thyme
  • 2 t black pepper
  • 1/2 c Wine
  • 1 c water
  • 3 T Virgin Olive Oil
  • 2 T Cornstarch

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut one onion in half, and slice that half into 1/8 in slices. Chop the rest of the onions into large chunks.

Crush garlic with garlic crusher or mince finely. Cut baby potatoes in half, unless they are very small.

Place the onion slices in a layer in the bottom of a large baking dish, and lay the chuck roast on top of the onions. The dish should be deep enough for the whole roast to fit down inside it.

Arrange onion chunks, carrots, and potatoes surrounding roast.

Mix water, soy sauce, wine, worcestershire sauce and olive oil over roast and vegetables.

Spread crushed fresh garlic over the top of the roast.

Sprinkle onion powder, thyme, and black pepper over roast and vegetables. If desired, sprinkle garlic powder over vegetables for extra garlicky flavor.

Cover roast with aluminum foil, and cook for two hours. Check occasionally to make sure that liquid remains in baking pad, adding small amounts or water or wine if necessary. Err on the side of caution with wine.

After two hours, or when roast is cooked through, remove foil and brown for an additional ten minutes.

Gravy
If gravy is desired, remove roast and vegetables to platter, and drain off juices and drippings into a saucepan. Set burner heat to medium.

In a mixing cup, put two tablespoons corn starch, and add just enough cold water, stirring with a fork or mini-whisk, to make a smooth mixture akin to think pancake batter.

Bring juices to a simmer, and slowly add cornstarch and water mixture, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens as desired. If necessary, add more cornstarch and water mixture. Remove from heat when desired thickness is achieved.

Substitutions
Use one small onion, or part of one large onion, to line the bottom of the roast pan as described above, but instead of surrounding with cut onion pieces, use fresh, peeled shallots instead.

Instead of soy sauce, sprinkle meat with salt, to taste. I prefer to salt many dishes with soy sauce, which also adds a savory flavor.

Instead of olive oil, you may wish to try another fragrant, flavorful oil such as walnut oil, or a small dollop of melted bacon grease.

Some people prefer to thicken the gravy with flour instead of cornstarch.

Notes

Ideally, you will have placed enough vegetables around the roast that this can be a one-pot meal. But it is also delicious served with mashed potatoes and gravy, or with wild rice drizzled with gravy.