French Onion Pot Roast
It was always such a treat when pot roast was on the menu in my childhood. My mom would grab her trusty enameled tin roasting pan and nestle the roast down in the pan with a cup full of water, a bag of baby carrots and whole baby potatoes. The final flourish was a packet of french onion dip seasoning (remember those?) sprinkled over top before tucking it in the oven for at least 4 hours. The result was fall apart tender savory goodness that I wished would never end! I wanted to recreate those flavors without the packet of hidden valley and I succeeded! The roast is majorly savory, the veggies the perfect vehicle to soak up all the herby, oniony goodness. It’s still such a treat and it’s so simple to make that it almost feels like mom made it for me!
Ingredients:
makes 8 servings
3 pound chuck roast
¼ cup flour
generous pinches of salt and fresh ground pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
(I use this 365 brand)
1 teaspoon grainy mustard like this one
6 whole stems of fresh thyme
a handful of chopped fresh parsley
3 cups bone broth (beef or chicken work equally well!)
1 pound baby red potatoes, halved
4 carrots, peeled and cut in wedges
Directions:
Heat an oven safe large pot or dutch oven over medium heat on your stove. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Take your roast and sprinkle the flour over all sides with generous pinches of salt and pepper. Use your fingers to gently press it into the meat. When your pan is hot, pour the olive oil in and brown the roast on all sides. You don’t want to burn the bottom of the pot so take your time here. It may take about 15 minutes of hands off time to properly brown all sides without burning the flour and oil! You can use that time to slice to onions, potatoes, and carrots. When it’s nicely browned, remove the roast from the pan and set it on a plate. Add the sliced onions to the pan and slowly cook them. You don’t want to caramelize them all the way, but get some softness and color going. Pour the red wine vinegar, worcestershire sauce and mustard in. Give it a good scrape and stir until it’s all mixed. Pour the broth in and sprinkle the herbs throughout. Place the roast back in the pan (with all the juices!) and put the lid on. Cook in the oven at 325 for about 3 hours. At this point remove it from the oven and flip the roast over. Nestle the cut potatoes and carrots around the edges of the roast and put the lid on again. Roast for another 45 minutes. Serve with thick slices of buttered bread and prepare to be in heaven!
