Chuck roast-what can I do with it?

[liz]

I bought a chuck roast that was on sale and it has been sitting in my fridge staring at me reproachfully. I need to cook it today because I am afraid it will spoil. It is 4.30 lbs. Any ideas for a recipe? We just had beef stew and BBQ this past week, so I would like to avoid those, if possible. TIA!

[etaylor75]

We love to make roast beef - I use this recipe and it turns out great every time.....

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/roast_beef/

I use the same cooking method to use the beef to slice for french dip sandwiches.

Erin

[lizzywednesday]

You could also do pot roast. There are a ton of recipes available online, but my SIL makes hers in the CrockPot with a can of cream of mushroom soup (or cream of celery if mushrooms aren't your thing), a packet of onion soup mix, potatoes, carrots and celery. (Leave for 8 hours on low.)

[DebbieJ]

OMG chuck roasts make the BEST pot roasts!

Search on Allrecipes.com for Marie's Slow Cooker Pot Roast. It's the best! I just made it two days ago. I don't put the veggies in at the beginning--I put them in about 4 hours before we're going to eat and they turn out perfect.

[MMMommy]

You could also do pot roast. There are a ton of recipes available online, but my SIL makes hers in the CrockPot with a can of cream of mushroom soup (or cream of celery if mushrooms aren't your thing), a packet of onion soup mix, potatoes, carrots and celery. (Leave for 8 hours on low.)

This! I salt and pepper the chuck roast, then brown it in a pan. Place it in the crockpot. I mix two cans of cream of mushroom with two packets of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (1 can mushroom soup to 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup mix ratio) and dump it over the roast. Some people use just one can/1 packet, but I like lots of sauce. It is delicious over rice. I did it on slow for several hours, and then bumped it up to high, then back to low. All day cooking.

[liz]

Oh man, I don't even have one can of cream of mushroom etc in my pantry....I will look up the other recipes to see if I have all the ingredients. But keep those suggestions coming! Thanks, Liz

[DebbieJ]

If you have a packet of onion soup mix just add that with 1c water or even some regular onions you can chop up and throw in with beef or chicken broth, you can throw it in the crockpot and do it. but DO IT NOW--it benefits from a LONG cooking time.

[ThreeofUs]

Brown the meat on all sides, with salt and pepper to taste, and if you're into it throw some onion/garlic in the oil beforehand.

Toss browned meat into a crock pot or french oven with yummy liquid up to almost the top of the meat - this can be wine, onion soup, whatever - with veggies. Any veggies, but roots like onions, carrots, potatoes, and strong flavors like celery work very well.

Cook on low (either in the crock pot or oven) for many (6-8) hours.

Adjust salt/pepper and enjoy!

[liz]

If you have a packet of onion soup mix just add that with 1c water or even some regular onions you can chop up and throw in with beef or chicken broth, you can throw it in the crockpot and do it. but DO IT NOW--it benefits from a LONG cooking time.

Well, I have been so busy this morning I don't think I can use the slow cooker (it won't be ready in time). How long do you think it would take in a enameled cast iron pot (similar to a le creuset)? Your recipe and the recipe from ThreeofUs sounds really good.

[ohiomom1121]

This is a wonderful Oven pot roast recipe: http://www.donogh.com/cooking/casserol/potroast.shtml

And here's another favorite of mine (nice because I always seem to have all the ingredients too!)
Roast in Beer Gravy
3-4 pound roast
salt and pepper to taste
1 pkg. dry onion soup
1/4 c. ketchup
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 clove minced garlic
1 can beer (any kind)

Line baking pan with foil. Mix all ingredients together. Pour mixture over meat. Seal foil tightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 3 hours. Can also make in the crock pot. YUM

[ThreeofUs]

How long do you think it would take in a enameled cast iron pot (similar to a le creuset)? Your recipe and the recipe from ThreeofUs sounds really good.

Chuck roasts are horrible if not cooked long and slow. Stringy, fatty, tough - that's why they're so good for slow cookers.

That said, you could get away with a 325 oven, a dutch oven (le creuset and similar), for 4ish hours. Do you have enough time now? eek.

You know, though, roasts like this taste fantastic the second day. Why not substitute hot dogs or something easy, lol, for today, cook the roast long and slow, and have it tomorrow?

[DebbieJ]

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/01/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/

[liz]

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/01/2008_the_year_of_the_pot_roast/

Oh, DebbiJ, thank you for the link! Talk about step by step instructions-love it! I had done all of these steps (yay!) before reading your response, but the website helped me with adjusting the time/temp. I have been so disappointed with all my roast beef in the past because they werer so tough. I finally sprung for an enameled cast iron dutch oven and have had great success with other dishes, but I was wary of making the dreaded pot roast. The only thing I didn't do was add the carrots, but the website said don't lift the cover off the pot (similar to a slow cooker), so I guess I will cook them separately?

Thank you all for the recipes. I will post after the taste test.

[DrSally]

I love chuck roast for pot roast. If you have a dutch oven, I brown it in there first with some olive oil. Remove from pot, sautee onions, garlic carrot. Use a little red wine or red wine vinegar to deglaze the pan. Add roast back in with veggie mixture. Then, I throw in some baby portabella mushrooms, canned tomatoes and some tomato paste. I bake in the oven covered at 250 for several hours. It comes out really moist.

[liz]

Well, the roast came out perfect! I pretty much followed the recipe from the pioneer woman website, but added onion soup mix/water (2 cups). I am glad I didn't add the carrots. I found I prefer the veggies to taste like veggies and not the sauce from the roast. I put the roast in for 4 hours in the enamelled cast iron pot -it was soooo tender. Thanks to everyone for their responses.

[MaiseyDog]

This! I salt and pepper the chuck roast, then brown it in a pan. Place it in the crockpot. I mix two cans of cream of mushroom with two packets of Lipton Onion Soup Mix (1 can mushroom soup to 1 packet Lipton Onion Soup mix ratio) and dump it over the roast. Some people use just one can/1 packet, but I like lots of sauce. It is delicious over rice. I did it on slow for several hours, and then bumped it up to high, then back to low. All day cooking.

This is the roast recpipe I grew up on and I now make it for my family. It is great. I do have to be careful and watch DD1 because one night I went into the kitchen to get something and came back to find DD1 drinking the gravy.

[boolady]

Sounds like your pot roast turned out great. If you're ever in the mood to try a different preparation, this is awesome. I just make roasted or mashed potatoes and a vegetable with it. It's now DH and my favorite way to have pot roast.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/stracoto-with-porcini-mushrooms-recipe/index.html

[fivi2]

Sounds like your pot roast turned out great. If you're ever in the mood to try a different preparation, this is awesome. I just make roasted or mashed potatoes and a vegetable with it. It's now DH and my favorite way to have pot roast.


http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/stracoto-with-porcini-mushrooms-recipe/index.html

I made this tonight! It was great! It was my first time cooking red meat (recovering vegetarian) but dh eats a lot of pot roast and said it was good (of course he had better say that ;) )

We liked it a lot and one dd even ate it up! Thanks for the recipe!

[boolady]

I made this tonight! It was great! It was my first time cooking red meat (recovering vegetarian) but dh eats a lot of pot roast and said it was good (of course he had better say that ;) )

We liked it a lot and one dd even ate it up! Thanks for the recipe!

You're welcome. It really is so tender and tasty. I'm so glad you liked it.