Recipe Background
Granny's Pot Roast fills your home with comforting aromas, offering tender beef and flavorful veggies, enhanced by a perfect sear.
Granny's Pot Roast brings warmth and cozy nostalgia with every bite. This dish fills the home with the deep, inviting aromas of thyme and garlic, mingling with the robust scent of roasting beef. As the slow cooker does its magic, anticipation builds for that first tender slice. Sharing this meal feels like wrapping your family in a comforting embrace.
The roast itself is the epitome of savory satisfaction. Each forkful melts in the mouth, balanced by the hearty textures of carrots and potatoes that absorb the flavorful juices. Adding a quick sear to the beef before slow cooking—until edges brown and deepen—locks in the juices, ensuring every bite is rich and moist. This small technique makes all the difference.
Hosting friends or family around a table with this pot roast turns an ordinary day into something special. The dense, earthy taste of mushrooms complements the sweetness of the carrots, all accentuating the beef's luscious profile. A final sprinkle of fresh chives brings a slight bite, refreshing the palate. Pouring the velvety gravy over the plated dish adds an extra layer of indulgence, making each serving as comforting as the last.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons kosher salt plus more, to taste
- 2 teaspoons fresh cracked black pepper plus more, to taste
- 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 1 (3-pound) beef chuck or rump roast
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 5 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 large onion peeled and quartered
- 1 bay leaf
- 3/4 cup red wine
- 3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- 3 large cloves garlic smashed and peeled
- 1 (8-ounce) package cremini mushrooms halved
- 6 carrots peeled and halved
- 1 1/2 pounds baby potatoes halved
- 2 cups beef stock
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch optional
- 3 tablespoons water optional
- chives optional, to taste, chopped, for garnish
Directions
- In a small bowl, add 2 teaspoons of the salt, 2 teaspoons of the black pepper, and the garlic powder and whisk to combine.
- Rub the seasoning mixture over the beef on all sides.
- In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, add the oil and heat until it is shimmering.
- Add the beef to the hot oil and sear it on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.
- Transfer the beef to a slow cooker.
- Nestle the thyme, the onions, and the bay leaf around the beef in the slow cooker.
- Reduce the stovetop heat to medium.
- In the same skillet used to sear the beef, add the wine, the Worcestershire sauce, and the garlic cloves and cook, while scraping the bottom of the pan to release the browned bits, until just some of the wine is cooked off, about 1-2 minutes.
- Turn off the stovetop heat.
- Add the mushrooms, the carrots, and the potatoes to the slow cooker, nestling them around the beef.
- Pour the wine mixture and the beef stock over the beef and the vegetables in the slow cooker.
- Cover the slow cooker and cook until the beef is very tender, about 8-10 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
- Optionally, in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, add about 2 cups of the cooking liquid from the slow cooker and bring it to a boil.
- In a small bowl, add the cornstarch and the water and whisk to combine into a slurry.
- Add the slurry to the boiling cooking liquid and cook, while stirring, until it thickens into a gravy, about 1 minute.
- Transfer the gravy from the heat.
- Taste the beef and the gravy for seasoning and add the extra salt and the extra black pepper, as needed.
- Plate the beef with the vegetables and drizzle the gravy.
- Garnish with the chives and serve.
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