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Cooking and Serving Beef Pot Roast Taking It To A Whole New Level
Beef pot roast is a dish with roots in French cuisine, but it’s been popular in New Zealand households for decades, my mother taught me how to cook and serve beef pot roast.
There are many different ways to cook a beef pot roast, on the stove, in the oven, using a pressure cooker, instant pot, or a slow cooker. I’m going to show you how to cook beef pot roast on the stovetop, this is the way I’ve always done it.
Pot roasting is a technique that involves braising meat in a pot with herbs and liquid, like stock, wine, or even just water.
This method produces tenderization of the meat by breaking down the protein strands while the herbs and stock impart an intense flavor. The liquid that the beef is cooked in produces highly flavored stock that will become the sauce for the dish.
Best Cut Of Beef For Pot Roast
The most common cuts of beef used for pot roasting are chuck aka bolar, and brisket. Some people believe that chuck has the most flavor when cooked slowly in liquid. Others say that brisket will be more tender when cooked for a longer time period low and slow so it becomes fork-tender.
These two cuts of beef have their own benefits to offer depending on what you’re looking for in your pot roast recipe! Which one you use for your pot roast dish will depend on how much time you’re willing to spend in the kitchen.
The fat content in the brisket gives it a slightly better flavor however I always like a good piece of chuck roast, when cooked right, it can be amazing! Neither cut is better than the other; they just need to be cooked slightly differently.
How To Make Vegetable Stock?
Beef, chicken, and even vegetable stock are the base for many great sauces and are fundamental to all cooking.
There are many ways to add flavor and also help develop flavors when cooking. One of the best ways is by using vegetable offcuts such as brown onion skins, garlic peelings, stalks from fresh herbs, and mushroom skins to make vegetable stock.
Place all your vegetable offcuts into a pot, cover with water and simmer for 20 minutes drain off the stock and decards the vegetable offcuts. For added flavor, you can add bay leaves, star anise, or peppercorns.
Don’t use potato, sweet potato, or pumpkin offcuts or peelings as they will make your stock cloudy.
CHEFS TIP:
How Do You Cook Beef Pot Roast?
You will need a skillet with a lid, slow cooker, instant pot, pressure cooker, or casserole pot.
Season the beef with Himalayan pink salt. In a hot skillet add a drizzle of oil and aggressively sear the beef on all sides. The caramelization of the beef creates flavor for the beef and the homemade stock.
Add half the fresh herbs sage, rosemary, and thyme. Add the dried porcini mushrooms, garlic cloves, and whole peppercorns. Deglaze with the homemade stock. Scatter the other half of the fresh herbs over the top of the beef.
Bring to a simmer and scrape the bottom of the skillet, place on the lid and simmer for 2 ½ hours.
After 2 ½ hours of cook time, the beef should be tender, remove from the cooking liquid and wrap in aluminum foil and rest for 30 minutes.
CHEFS TIP:
How To Make Beef Pot Roast Gravy?
Beef pot roast gravy is simple to make, using the liquid that the beef was slow cooked in will give you an outstanding result.
The pot roasting liquid is like gold to a chef, essentially it’s flavorful beef stock. When you’ve removed the beef from the cooking liquid, you can reduce the meat stock slightly.
Then you’ll need to make a roux and slowly whisk in the meat stock to create a meaty-tasting gravy. So when you’ve finished cooking your pot roast, don’t throw out the cooking liquid!
How To Cook Crispy Roast Potatoes
Cooking crispy roast potatoes is not hard, there are just some steps you need to follow.
Step 1 cooking temperature preheat your oven to 200°C or 395°F
Step 2 right variety of potato, you’ll need to choose the right kind of potato. I always go for an Agria potato you can also use Maris Piper or Yukon Golds.
Step 3 dry the potatoes Peel and wash the potatoes, you will need to dry them well, this is an important step.
Step 4 using a cooking medium heat a cast-iron pan or your favorite oven-proof pan, add a drizzle of rice bran or vegetable oil, and a nob of salted butter.
Step 5 caramelization place in the potatoes, caramelize on the top and the bottom, and season with Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper add some fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme.
Place into the oven for about 25 minutes.
Larder Stables And Must Have Kitchen Tools
Essential Kitchen Tools – Must Haves
You can’t be at a professional level in the kitchen unless you own a variety of high-end tools. Genius kitchen gadgets are an essential part of any home cook’s or aspiring chef’s arsenal. From some of the best chef knives, and kitchen cookware, to wooden cutting boards. These will set you apart from others and get you ready with what you need to start making meals like a chef.
My Professional Recommendations
Many chefs, including myself, prefer sea salt like Maldon salt flakes or Himalayan pink salt. Both can be used for cooking and finishing. They have a refined flavor that brings out the natural taste of food.
How To Cook And Serve Beef Pot Roast
Ingredients
Vegetable Stock
- Vegetable offcuts and peelings - not potato, sweet potato, and pumpkin peelings
- Herb stalks
- 6 each peppercorns - black
- 2 ltrs Water
Pot Roast Beef
- 1 kg Beef bolar
- Himalayan pink salt
- drizzle Rice bran or vegetable oil
- sprigs Fresh thyme, rosemary, and sage
- 1 tbsp Porcini mushrooms - dried
- 6 each Garlic cloves
- 8-10 each Peppercorns - black
- 1 ltr Homemade stock - vegetable
Thyme Roasted Potatoes
- 4 each Potatoes agria - large
- 2 sprigs Fresh thyme
- Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper
Parsnip Puree
- 4 each Parsnips - peeled and sliced
- 150 mls Cream fresh
- Himalayan pink salt
Slow Roasted Garlic and Shallots
- 4 each Shallots - peeled
- 16 cloves Garlic - peeled
- Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper
- drizzle Rice bran or vegetable oil
Courgettes Parisian
- 1 each Zucchini aka Courgette
- Himalayan pink salt
- Olive oil - extra virgin
Pot Roast Jus
- Pot roast liquid aka pot roast stock
- Plain flour and butter to make a roux - equal amounts
Instructions
Starting Beef Pot Roast
- Remove the beef from the fridge 30 minutes before cooking.Heat a suitably sized pot or skillet that has a lid.Season the beef bolar with Himalayan pink salt and place it into the hot skillet and caramelize on all sides.Spread around half the fresh herbs, garlic, dried porcini mushrooms, and peppercorns.
- Deglaze the skillet with the homemade vegetable stock and scatter the other half of the fresh herbs over the top of the beef.Bring to the boil, turn the heat down on the stovetop to low, and place the lid onto the skillet.Simmer for 2 ½ hours.CHEFS TIP: For secondary beef cuts like bolar that need longer cooking times, work on 30 minutes per 250 grams (8.8 oz) plus 30 min over.After 2 ½ hours of cook time, the beef should be tender, remove from the cooking liquid wrap in aluminum foil and rest for 30 minutes.
Thyme Roasted Potatoes
- Peel and cut the potatoes into thick-cut rectangles.
- Preheat the oven to 200°C or 395°FHeat a cast iron pan or your favorite oven-proof pan, add a drizzle of rice bran or vegetable oil, and a nob of salted butter.Place in the potatoes, lightly caramelize on the top and the bottom, season with Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper add the fresh thyme.Place into the oven for about 25 minutes.
Slow Roasted Garlic and Shallots
- Place the peeled garlic and shallots onto aluminum foil, drizzle over a little rice bran oil.Season with Himalayan pink salt and freshly ground black pepper wrap up the foil and place into the oven for 30 minutes or until they are both tender.
Parsnip Puree
- Place the peeled and sliced parsnip into a pot the fresh cream and Himalayan pink salt.Bring to a simmer and cover the pot with a lid and let simmer for 10-15 minutes.When the parsnip to soft and pulpy, with a stick blender, blend to a smooth paste and pass through a sieve.Keep in a warm place until needed.
Courgettes Parisian
- Cut the zucchini into circular shapes with a Parisian cutter.Place them into a pot of salted boiling water for 3-4 minutes.This should be done just before serving.
Pot Roast Jus
- When you’ve removed the beef from the cooking liquid, you can reduce the meat stock slightly.Then you’ll need to make a roux and slowly whisk in the meat stock to create a meaty-tasting gravy.So when you’ve finished cooking your pot roast, don’t throw out the cooking liquid!
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION
Serving Size: 150g Pot roasted beef, potatoes, parsnip puree, garlic, shallots, and jus.
Calories 923 | Total Fat 70 g | Carbohydrates 39.3 g | Fiber 5.6 g | Protein 35 g | Iron 4 mg
How To Serve Beef Pot Roast
Most of us have had the experience of cooking a beef pot roast, but not all of us know how to serve it. There are many options-from serving it with green and root vegetables or on top of garlic mashed potatoes. I’ve put a chef’s twist on how to serve beef pot roast.
Pot Roast Beef Comforting Family Meal
So, there you have it a pot roast beef recipe that is hearty and comforting for the whole family. This dish is easy to cook at home with little to no effort, and it’s sure to please even the pickiest eaters.
Plus, if you have any leftovers, they make great sandwiches or salads the next day. So why not give pot roast beef a try this weekend?
Tried your recipe yummy dish the fresh herbs add some great flavor. Your serving design looks beautiful, mine didn’t look the same but it everyone enjoyed it. Thanks
Thanks I’m happy you enjoyed the recipe