Melt-in-the-mouth red wine pot roast recipe

This is a rich, hearty and warm red wine pot roast that you will keep coming back to throughout the year. 

This recipe won’t result in chewy meat. It is cooked in a sauce of beef broth, red wine and a generous helping of butter.

Red wine pot roast recipe 

Ingredients

• 1.8kg of chuck roast (beef chuck)
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1 tsp ground pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced to ½
• 2 stalks celery, diced to ½
• 1 large yellow onion, diced to ½
• 4 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 2-3 cups of dry red wine, divided
• 1 cup of beef broth, divided
• ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar
• 1 spring fresh rosemary
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tbsp butter, cold

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 300°F (148.8 °C). Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels or a cotton kitchen towel. Truss the roast with kitchen twine, then season all over with salt and pepper. Press to adhere the seasoning to the roast.
2. Heat a 6-quart dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the olive oil and heat until it shimmers. Place the roast in the dutch oven and sear until a good crust forms on all sides, 4-5 minutes per side. You may need to use a pair of tongs to hold up the roast on the shorter edges. Transfer the seared roast to a plate.
3. Add the carrots, celery, and onion to the dutch oven and sauté, stirring occasionally, until soft, 6-7 minutes. Add the garlic, stir into the mirepoix, and sauté another minute or two until fragrant.
4. Add 1 cup of red wine to the pan to deglaze. Stir, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan, until the wine stops bubbling. Pour in the beef broth and the balsamic vinegar and give everything a good stir.
5. Using tongs, place the roast back into the dutch oven and nestle into the vegetables and braising liquid. Then, add enough additional red wine so that half of the roast is submerged in braising liquid (I used an additional 1.5 cups; you may need more or less depending on the size of your roast). Place the fresh thyme, fresh rosemary, and bay leaves in the liquid.
6. Increase the burner heat to high and bring the liquid to a simmer. Turn off the burner, cover the pot, and transfer to the oven. Roast for 3.5-5 hours, depending on the size of the roast (see notes). Starting testing for doneness around the 3-hour mark if the roast is closer to 3 pounds, and the 4-hour mark is closer to 4 pounds. The roast is ready when you can insert a fork into the flesh and it shreds without resistance. 
7. Remove the pot from the oven. Remove the pot roast from the dutch oven with a pair of tongs and set it aside on a platter.
8. Place a mesh strainer over a bowl, and pour the braising liquid and vegetables through the strainer. With the back of a wooden spoon, gently press on the vegetables and extract as much liquid (and flavour) as possible from them. Discard the braising vegetables.
9. Skim off the fat, which will have settled to the top of the liquid. To do so, lay a paper towel over the liquid until it just touches the surface. The paper towel will absorb the layer of fat on top of the jus. Discard the paper towel once it’s saturated and repeat as needed until the fat is skimmed. 
10. Add the skimmed braising liquid to a clean pot and heat over medium high heat. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat to maintain a slow simmer, and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat, then add the 2 tablespoons of cold butter and whisk until emulsified. 
11. Cut the trussing twine with scissors, remove it from the pot roast and discard the twine. Shred the pot roast into large chunks using 2 forks. Dress with the red wine jus and serve as desired. We love this over buttery mashed potatoes. 

Notes

Cooking times

This recipe works for a 3-5 pound pot roast, but the cooking times will vary. At 300°F (148.8 °C) in a covered Dutch oven, cook the red wine pot roast for 3-5 hours depending on the size of your meat.

This recipe can be found on oursaltykitch.com.