Pot Roast

If you don't like your different food items to touch each other, please don't look at the subsequent photos. :)

When Monica from Lick the Bowl Good and I decided to meet up for the first time, we went to Mimi's Cafe. The first I ever ate at this restaurant, I was happy with what I ordered so I never went again until my meeting with Monica. She gave me some suggestions on what to order, and one of her suggestions included pot roast with mashed potatoes. I don't normally order or even eat pot roast, but I was in the mood for a comforting, "home-cooked" type of meal and veggies.

Well, that pot roast was AMAZING! It was so tender and succulent, and the mashed potatoes and veggies were perfectly seasoned. The dish was so good that I kept thinking about it for days. I then decided to try making it myself for the first time.

After unsuccessfully looking for a copycat recipe for the Mimi's Pot Roast, I decided on the recipe found on Pioneer Woman's site because she didn't use a crockpot. I cooked the meat for half the time she suggested because my oven overheats (I have to cook half the time for every recipe I use), and the meat wasn't ready (see photo below).
So, I ending up cooking the meat for one more hour, and it came out just as tender as it looks on Ree's site. I served this pot roast with leftover colcannon, carrots, and onions. Although it was tender and flavorful, it didn't taste like the pot roast at Mimi's. Maybe it was because I didn't use fresh thyme and rosemary, and I used all broth instead of wine. I don't know, but I guess I'll have to keep on trying. For the next time, I'm going to use a crockpot and a different recipe. Nevertheless, this pot roast came at a close second place.

*UPDATE* After eating it a second and third time, the flavors have melded, and the pot roast tastes amazing. I think the only missing is the gravy. I used the juices from the broth as my gravy, but a real, thickened gravy would make this even better than the pot roast I had at the restaurant. So, please make gravy out of the leftover beef broth by making a small roux (about 2 Tbsp flour + 2 Tbsp butter) and adding the juices to the roux. I wish I had done that.

Pot Roast
adapted by Pioneer Woman

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 Tbsp butter
1 whole Chuck Roast (mine was 2.5 lbs)
2 whole Onions (I used 1/2 onion chopped in long, semi-circled cuts)
6 whole Carrots (I had only 2 carrots and chopped them in smaller pieces)
Salt To Taste (Try using Lawry's Seasoning salt)
Pepper To Taste
3 cups To 4 Cups Beef Stock (can substitute one cup of broth for red wine if you want)
3 sprigs Fresh Thyme, or more to taste (I didn't have)
3 sprigs Fresh Rosemary, or more to taste (I used dried, about 2-3 Tbsp)

Generously salt and pepper your chuck roast. Heat a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Then add 2 to 3 tablespoons of olive oil and butter.

Cut two onions in half and cut 6 to 8 carrots into 2-inch slices. When the oil in the pot is very hot (but not smoking), add in the halved or chopped onions, browning them on one side and then the other. Remove the onions to a plate. Throw the carrots into the same very hot pan and toss them around a bit until slightly browned, about a minute or so.

If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pan. Place the meat in the pan, and sear it for about a minute or two on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate. With the burner still on high, use either red wine or beef broth (about 1 cup) to deglaze the pan, scraping the bottom with a whisk to get all of that flavor up. When the bottom of the pan is sufficiently deglazed, place the roast back into the pan and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway (about 2 to 3 cups). Add in the onion and the carrots, as well as 3 or 4 sprigs of fresh rosemary and about 3 sprigs of fresh thyme.

Put the lid on, then roast in a 275F oven for 3 hours (for a 3-pound roast). For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours.