Beef Roast

One of my favorite cuts is undoubtedly the beef roast. It has a bad reputation as high maintenance, but I find it to be the exact opposite. With a little planning and prep, a roast is an easy, comforting, stick-to-your-ribs dinner. I tend to season with my heart rather than measuring, but here’s the quasi-recipe I use at my house!

  1. Thaw a roast in the fridge for at least 24-48 hours before using

  2. Pat the roast dry and season liberally with steak seasoning

  3. Sear the roast on both sides in a heavy pan on medium high heat to give it a nice brown crust and begin building big flavor

  4. Add to your crock-pot: 2-3 cups of broth (any type, I usually use chicken), ¼ cup dry red wine, 2-3 TBSP tomato paste

  5. Add the seared roast to the crock pot, along with any pan juices

  6. Around the roast, tuck 1 large diced onion and 2-3 cups of diced fresh mushrooms and season liberally with salt and pepper, two large cloves of garlic and thyme if you have it

  7. Cook in the crock pot 4 hours on high, 3 on low OR all day on low, the roast is done when it’s tender and falls apart easily

  8. When the roast is done, ladle the cooking liquids into a pan and bring to a simmer

  9. Put 1 heaping tablespoon of cornstarch into a jar with a lid, add ¾ cup milk, put the lid on and shake like there’s no tomorrow

  10. Whisk small splashes of cornstarch mixture into simmering cooking liquids until gravy forms, add more until desired thickness is reached

I like to serve beef roast over mashed potatoes, with a big scoop of the slow cooked mushrooms, onions and gravy on top. I usually serve this with bread and some steamed green vegetables or a salad.
**To make this recipe fast and convenient, prep the night before and store overnight in the fridge. In the morning simply turn on the crock pot and let ‘er rip.