I have a Samsung ceramic cooktop. Unless my thermometer is faulty, the oven is calibrated perfectly.
Please don’t scold me if I’ve posed this question before. I just can’t seem to get it just right, tender, but not over cooked? or maybe it’s under cooked? Yes, I’m confused.
Please comment on this recipe. My two concerns are when it mentions “loosely” 'covering it, but when it goes into the oven, you can’t tell if it is vented. They or used a pizza pan, or suggested aluminum foil as an alternative.
Secondly, it calls for 350 degrees fro two hours. That sounds either too long or too high
Your link is broken. But it depends on the size of the roast and the amount of liquid. But 2 hours? Definitely not too long, IMO.
It’s a braised meat - you want it to fall apart. I see recipes out there calling for temps of 350° for upwards of 4 hours, and others at 300-325° for 2-3 hours.
For “loosely covered” - can the lid on your dutch oven be offset on one edge to allow some steam to escape?
Examples of other oven pot roast recipes for size of roast and timing and temp:
I wouldn’t go over 300, TBH. When I make the Mississippi pot roast, it’s seared, dressed, then braised in the oven for 8-10 hrs, depending on size. Melt in yo mouf tender.
From past inquiries, I was under the impression the low & slow was the way to go. Maybe I was going too low and too slow?? I’m will check out you recipe suggestions. What do you thinks about the link I re-posted?
I wasn’t planning on using a dutch oven, or adding vegetables. The recipe I referred to first sears on both sides in a cast iron pan, and is then transferred to the oven with the loose/vented covering.
I can’t watch the video at work with volume and there’s no written instructions.
But from the brief wording at the bottom of the video it says “Super basic yet super flavorful only three simple ingredients. Beef, salt, and water. Perfect for any low carb diet from keto to a very strict carnivore diet such as the BBBE OR LION CHALLENGE.” Looks like her total cooking time was 2 hours, 45 minutes at 350° when I dragged to the end of the video.
I’ll be honest - that sounds incredibly bland to me. I was able to discern that whatever this “challenge” was that only beef, butter, bacon, eggs and salt are allowed. Without any other seasonings, I doesn’t really float my boat, as I’m a seasonings girl for flavor.
My mistake #2. I thought she said 2 hours, but that was when she checked it, and then continued to around the 2 hours, 45 minute mark. Thanks for that.
FWIW, they adapted their plan from a recipe using beef, butter, bacon, eggs and salt. Theirs has only three ingredients…beef, salt, water
They are on low carb diet journey. I am not. I’m open to any suggestions when it comes to flavor, and the technique to cook it properly. That’s my main priority.
I think it was already answered upthread in a couple of places but I just want to reiterate: You can’t possibly go “too slow” for a chuck roast. If it’s not tender yet, close the oven and wait. I’ve gone as long as 48 hours (sous vide @ 130F so not quite the same, but the point stands).
Also, you definitely want moisture. Don’t just loosely cover the thing. Get a vessel with a tight fitting lid.
That’s my preferred pot roast, too – sliceable, not falling apart, but still very tender.
In your shoes I would follow something like this:
It has guidelines for different size roasts. Generally, you want to cook until a fork goes into the meat easily, but not so long that it is shredding and falling apart, unless that’s what you’re going for.
I would roast lower than 350°. 325°-330° in a dutch oven or other braiser type dish, tightly covering the pot with foil before putting on the lid. It doesn’t need to be entirely submerged in liquid, but about halfway up is good. Be sure to flip the meat pieces midway.
Agree with Adam as well. Turn the heat down, and completely cover the dish. I put mine in an enameled cast-iron pot with a lid and I leave the lid on the entire time.
My go-to chuck recipe for 15 years is this one from Martha Stewart, which I cook at 300 (not 350 like the recipe reads.) How long it takes depends on the size of the cut, but as with most things, but it’s important to let the meat cook gently in the liquid.
Finally, some gentle advice: the recipe at the link you provided seems like maybe a bit too amateur. There are many excellent sources of tested recipes by skilled professionals (both online and in cookbooks) that might better serve you in your journey to better home cooking.
While we’re sharing, my go-to is this one from Alton Brown … which he said in one of his books he received so much hate mail for, he had to change the recipe for the book. The linked one is the original, and I kind of get the hate from anyone who grew up with pot roast cooked grandma’s way; Brown’s recipe has a slightly out there combination of flavors: garlic, olives, raisins, balsamic vinegar, lots of cumin (among other things). Kind of a pan-Mediterranean vibe. My family didn’t do pot roast growing up, and I absolutely love it. Only problem with it is that the sauce-to-meat ratio is insanely high. Halving all of the sauce ingredients more or less nails it.
Sounds like an excellent recipe … my sincere advice: Start with a good chuck roast from a real butcher shop with a good reputation. I never buy meats from Supermarkets like Safeway.
Agreed with others, 350 is too high - you’ll probably end up with overcooked, dried out meat. I like 275 if I want to eat within 4ish hours, lower if I have more time to spare. But no matter the temp, the cooking time is going to depend on the size and shape/thickness of the roast, as well as the exact location on the cow from which the roast was cut. There are at least five muscles that can be part of a chuck roast and they all cook a little differently. I braised a chuck roast last week that looked quite uniform in thickness and marbling, but had a large ridge of fat/connective tissue running down the center (so obviously two different muscles). When I checked it at the 3ish hour mark, the meat on one side of that ridge was already fall apart tender, but the meat on the other side wasn’t even close - it needed another 30-45 mins.
I’ve noticed that several America’s Test Kitchen recipes have you completely separate the muscles along the seams and remove the thick fat or connective tissue. That helps prevent the sauce from getting too greasy, and likely speeds up cooking overall. However, as you point out, some muscles will cook faster than others. You can always pull out whatever is done and continue cooking the one(s) that needs more time.
Red wine helps with flavor; herbs and spices - you can use dried thyme, paprika, garlic cloves or garlic powder, onion powder, maple syrup, beef or mushroom stock…a quick Google for “pot roast recipes” will come up with all sorts of flavors.
As for posting links, you just go find a recipe and copy the URL and paste in a new post or a reply.
That recipe, with some adjustments, works for me at his time. I don’t have any tomato juice. I would love to the whole veg/balsamic thing another time, but for now I’m going to need advice with seasoning and the liquid replacement.
My roast is just under 3 lbs.
This is such a great place. Great responses! Great teachers! Lots of great!
