Easy Pot Roast
- 3 – 4 lb grass fed boneless chuck roast
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- Salt, pepper, italian seasoning to taste
- 1 large yellow onion, chopped or sliced
- 4-8 cloves of garlic, peeled
- 1-2 cups of red wine (zinfandel works well) or beef broth
- Several carrots & parsnips, peeled and cut lengthwise
- chopped yams, Yukon gold potatoes, or celery root
For this batch, I used parsnips (left), celery root (center) and carrots.
Use a thick-bottomed pot, such as a dutch oven or creuset, just large enough to hold roast and vegetables. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil on medium high heat (hot enough to sear the meat). Mix together salt, pepper, garlic powder and italian seasoning (I used a mortar and pestle to grind it finely). Sprinkle and rub all over the meat. Then brown roast in pot, all over, several minutes on each side. Don’t move the roast while a side is browning, or it won’t brown well.
If you’re using a crock pot, layer the bottom of the crock with the onion and garlic cloves, then put the browned meat on top of onion and garlic. Add 1 cup red wine and bay leaf, then set crock pot to low for 4-5 hours. Add root vegetables and additional red wine or broth and turn to high, then cook an additional 30 minutes – 1 hour.
If you’re doing stove top, when roast is browned, lift up the meat with tongs and add garlic and chopped onion to the bottom of the pan. Let the roast sit on top of the onions. Add 1 cup of red wine, a bay leaf and some worcestershire if you have it. I sometimes add tamari too to enhance flavor. Cover. Bring to simmer and then adjust the heat down to the lowest heat possible to maintain a low simmer when covered. After nearly 3 hours, arrange the root vegetables around the roast and add the additional broth or wine. Bring to a simmer, then turn down and simmer an additional 30 minutes – an hour (depending on how crisp you want them). Let the meat rest a bit, then slice and serve! You can dish it straight out of the pot, or arrange beautifully on a platter.
I also sauteed some mushrooms I had on hand to accompany it. Delicious! I’m using my favorite non stick, non toxic green pan here.
Enjoy.
Mary Vance is a Certified Nutrition Consultant and author specializing in digestive health. She combines a science-based approach with natural therapies to rebalance the body. In addition to her 1:1 coaching, she offers courses to help you heal your gut and improve your health. Mary lives in San Francisco and Lake Tahoe in Northern California. Read more about her coaching practice here and her background here.
