Easy as Pot Roast

Pot roast is my number one favorite meal of all time.  For basically my entire childhood, my Mom, Nana or Aunt Susie (or sometimes, all three!) would make me a pot roast dinner for my birthday, complete with mashed potatoes, carrots, and a ton of beef gravy.  For me, the smell of a roast slow cooking in the kitchen is unlike anything else in the world.  It's no surprise then, that every time chuck roast, beef shoulder, or round roast goes on sale at the grocery store, I simply have to buy at least one.  I usually bring it home and pop it in the freezer, for those inevitable times when this ultimate comfort food is in order.  I generally don't each much red meat (don't each much meat in general), but pot roast is the tantamount reason I will never, ever become a real vegetarian.

There are two secrets for a really good pot roast; slow and low.  It doesn't matter how you season it, you can use pretty much any herbs and flavoring agents you like, but if you cook it too fast, or on too high of heat, it will come out chewy and dry.  This can still be remedied by extra gravy to some degree, but it is totally avoidable.  The recipe below will make 4-5 dinner servings, or dinner for two plus 3-4 lunch portions.  It doesn't much matter what cut of beef you select, as you'll basically be cooking the crap out of it and even the toughest cut will get tender.

Extremely Easy Slow Cooker Pot Roast

    1 medium chuck roast, beef shoulder, or round roast (about 3 -3 and 1/2 pounds)
    1-2 tbsp. olive oil
    1 large onion, coarsely chopped
    3-5 cloves of garlic, minced or fine chopped
    1/8 cup dry minced onion
    16-25 oz. beef broth
    shot or two of red wine
    salt and pepper

Rinse the roast well and pat it completely dry with paper towels.  Lightly salt and pepper all sides.  Over medium-high heat, brown each side of the roast briefly in olive oil (you can use tongs and a big fork for leverage, but don't stick it in too far of you'll drain a bunch of juices).  Once all sides are evenly browned, transfer to your slow cooker.  In the same pan you used to brown the roast, saute the onions and garlic for 3-5 minutes (you might need to add a bit more olive oil, and make sure you give the onions at least 1 minute before adding the garlic or else it will burn).  You don't have to fully cook the onions, they just have the get brown.  Toss the onions into the crock pot with your roast.  Add 1/8 cup minced onions and mix by turning the roast and flipping it.  Add the red wine and enough beef broth to reach half-way up the roast.  Cook on low for 8-10 hours.  You can use the high setting, but you'll still need to keep it in for at least 6 hours to get it tender, and low will get you better results.

This recipe is easily adaptable for cooking in the oven or stovetop, but the crock pot version is just so simple and so tasty.  The extremely slow cooking ensures that when done, the meat will just shred up on its own.  You shouldn't have to slice it, it should just fall apart.  The liquid in the pot is a decent gravy on its own if you're short on time.  Serve with mashed potatoes and a seasonal steamed vegetable.  Perhaps another day I'll post my amazing recipe for mashed potatoes.  Seriously, they are unrivaled.