Company Pot Roast

I have a couple of “go-to” dishes that I like to make when we invite friends over for dinner. Those dishes have a couple of things in common. (1) They look and taste good (2) they can be made ahead of time, and (3) they are restaurant-quality dishes with a homemade feel.

Though it changes time to time, I usually make crab cakes as appetizer and my mom’s beef stew with bulgur as entrée served with a big green salad. For dessert, I go for, my favorite, French Calvados apple cake served with homemade vanilla ice cream.

Over the years I served this menu to my guests, I have never met anyone who was not WOW’ed by it.

This Company Pot Roast dish is my new favorite and it seems like it will replace my mom’s beef stew. In my opinion, it is truly the perfect pot roast recipe you can find on the internet. The best part of it is that, as in all recipes by Ina Garten, it is foolproof. Believe me, I have made several pot roasts in my life and I do not remember one that turned out as good as this one in my first try.

Staying true to its name, Company Pot Roast, it is perfect when you need to feed a crowd. It is made with chuck roast, a fairly inexpensive thick cut of beef. As in most pot roast dishes, it takes several hours to roast in the oven, but for this one, the end result is totally worth it.

How To Make Dutch Oven Pot Roast

Ina Garten’s Pot Roast Recipe has 4 folds.

First, you tie the chuck roast. It is important to tie the roast before searing to ensure that it keeps its shape during cooking. Tying prevents it from spreading out and also losing its flavorful juices. If you do not know how to tie a roast, no need to worry. This quick video will show you how to tie the meat.

Second, you sear the meat, sauté the vegetables, and place everything in your Dutch oven to let the oven do its magic. Once it is tied, all you have to do is to sear it, cook the vegetables, and roast them all together in the oven to roast for 3 hours. At the end of 3 hours, you have a wonderful cut of meat to serve over rice or bulgur pilaf.

Here I want to mention, the below recipe was made in a 5 1/2 quart Dutch Oven. I used 3 1/2 pounds of chuck roast. It yielded 4-6 servings. If you are planning to serve a larger crowd and have a bigger dutch oven, feel free to use larger meat.

Third, you let the rest meat and reduce some of its juices to use as sauce: In addition to a soft and flavorful cut of pot roast, this recipe yields a lot of vegetable sauce. Once you take out the meat out of the pan, you can do one of two things with the sauce:

Option 1: Strain it and place the juices into a saucepan and reduce until it thickens, about 15-20 minutes. You can use the leftover veggies to serve on the side, blend them to make soup or to use in omelets.

Option 2: You can blend the sauce using an immersion blender, cook it a little bit to reduce it and then serve as a sauce to drizzle over the meat.

I prefer the first option as it is more visually appealing and the reduced sauce is incredible when drizzled over the meat, but it is totally up to you.

That evening, my husband had no idea that I was making this dish. As he walked into the house and inhaled the amazing smell of the meat roasting for the last 3 hours, he said that he doesn’t know what I am making but he sure knows we are going to have a feast for dinner.

He was right- I cannot imagine a better dish to impress my family and friends. Try it, I promise this is the best recipe for pot roast and it will not disappoint.

If You Liked This Recipe for Pot Roast, You Might Also Like:

• Turkish Meatballs
• Meatballs and Potato Bake
• Baked Ziti with Meat Sauce
• Slow Cooker Beef Brisket Tacos
• Traditional Spaghetti Bolognese
• Vegetable Beef Soup Recipe
• Thai Beef Salad
• Flank Steak Tacos

Serving For A Crowd? Here Are A Few More Recipes To Help You:

• Chicken Chili Recipe
• Tomatillo Soup
• Turkey Bean Chili
• Salmon Soup with Coconut Milk
• Slow Cooker Butternut Squash
• Quinoa Stew

Company Pot Roast

By Aysegul Sanford

Yields: 6 servings

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 3 hrs 30 mins

Total Time: 4 hrs

This Company Pot Roast is an old Ina Garten recipe that I use often especially when I am entertaining a crowd. It does require a little bit of advance prepping, but I think it is SOOO worth it.In my version, I served it over my bulgur pilaf, but you can serve it with any other grain or vegetable side dish you like.

4.5 from 2 votes

Print Recipe

Ingredients

• ▢ 3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
• ▢ Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons olive oil
• ▢ 4 stalks carrots – chopped into small cubes (approx. 2 cups)
• ▢ 2 medium onions, chopped 2 cups
• ▢ 4 stalks celery, chopped 2 cups
• ▢ 3 medium leeks 2 cups, white and green parts chopped
• ▢ 5 garlic cloves peeled and minced
• ▢ 2 cups red wine I used Chianti
• ▢ 2 tablespoons of brandy optional, if you have it at home
• ▢ 1 can crushed tomatoes (28-ounces)
• ▢ 1- cup low-sodium chicken stock I used my homemade chicken stock
• ▢ 3 branches of thyme

Instructions

• Pre-heat the oven to 325 F degrees.
• Tie the meat (refer to the blog post on how to tie). Season it with 1 tablespoon of salt and 11/2 teaspoons of freshly ground black pepper. Dredge the whole meat in flour ensuring that all parts are covered with flour. Shake the excess flour.
• Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large Dutch oven. Cook the meat for 4-5 minutes on one side, and then cook the other side, again, 4-5 minutes. Place it on a large plate, cover with aluminum foil, and set aside. Do not wash the Dutch oven.
• Place chopped carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon of salt, and 2 teaspoons of black pepper in the Dutch oven. Cook until all vegetables soften, 12-15 minutes, stirring often. You do not want the vegetables to turn brown.
• Stir in the wine, brandy (if using), tomatoes, and chicken stock. Tie the thyme with kitchen string and place it in the pan.
• Transfer the meat into the Dutch oven, bring it to a boil, and let it come to a simmer, 12-15 minutes. Put the lid on and place it in the oven.
• Roast for 2 hours and then turn the heat down to 250 F Degrees. Let it simmer at that low temperature for an hour.
• Remove the pot roast onto a cutting board. Discard the thyme bundle. Using a large spoon, skim off the fat on top of the juices as much as possible.
• Place 2 cups of the sauce into a food processor (or blender) and process until pureed. Transfer it back in the Dutch oven.
• Place the Dutch oven on stovetop, and in low heat, bring it to a simmer.
• Remove the strings from the roast and slice the meat.
• When ready to serve, place 2 (or more) slices of meat on a dinner plate and spoon the vegetable sauce over it.

Nutrition

Calories: 697kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 54g | Fat: 36g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 183mg | Sodium: 264mg | Potassium: 1296mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 6864IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 7mg

Course: Main Dishes

Cuisine: American

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This recipe is adapted with changes from Barefoot Contessa’s Company Pot Roast recipe from her Back to Basics Cookbook.