• One 3 to 5 lb. oven roast
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 2 teaspoons each dried thyme, dill, rosemary, oregano, basil, parsley, cracked peppercorns
  • 3 teaspoons kosher salt (A good rule of thumb when making a roast, is to use 1 teaspoon of kosher salt per pound)
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
  • 2 cups Pacific beef broth
  • 1 cup good burgundy wine
  • 1 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire or A1 sauce
  • 2 yellow onions, sliced
  • 3 celery stalks, cut into approximately two to three inch pieces

What could be better on a crisp fall Sunday afternoon than a slow cooked herb crusted pot roast? There’s only only problem with this recipe. The amazing aromas make their way throughout your home and keep you hungry with anticipation for this wonderful meal. This is a price you must pay to eat well, right? It is certainly worth it!

This weekend my husband Michael, the love of my life, returned home from a business trip and our boys came home for my birthday and fall break. I went from being a new “open nester” home alone with my Isabel (my little cat and best buddy) to a home filled with sights and sounds of family again. I wanted to make something comforting for everyone; a welcome home meal of sorts. Pot Roast seemed like a good choice! Everyone loved our Sunday dinner and the boys stayed well into the evening hours to insure another helping of this amazing meal before they headed back to their university!

With tissue in hand, I waved goodbye as they rode out of neighborhood, watching as long as I could as they drove away. I knew their bellies and hearts were full and so were mine!

 

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the thyme, rosemary, oregano, dill, basil, parsley, cracked peppercorns, kosher salt and red pepper flakes in a large bowl.

Place onion slices and celery pieces in the bottom of the roasting pan. (Sliced carrots would also be a nice addition). Pour beef broth and wine over and sprinkle with garlic powder.

Rinse and dry the oven roast and rub the olive oil all around the meat. Press all sides of the roast into the herb mixture. Heat a cast iron skillet or non stick pan and brown your roast on sides over medium high heat.

Place roast in the pan on top of the onions and celery. Pour some of the wine and beef broth over the roast. Place the roasting lid on the pan. After the first hour, pour some of the liquid over the roast; cover and continue to cook. After about 2 1/2 hours turn your meat over; the meat will take approximately four hours to cook depending on the size of your roast. Cook until meat is tender.

Be sure to allow the roast five minutes to rest and slice across or against the grain. Sometimes people wonder what “cutting across or against the grain” means. Basically when you look at a piece of meat you see distinct lines or fibers that make meat difficult to chew. Cutting across or against these lines or fibers will help make the meat tender and easy to chew. If you were to slice your meat in the same direction as the lines you will have to work hard to eat it whereas if you cut in the opposite direction, your knife is doing the work for you helping to breakdown the fibers.

Enjoy with Garlic Mashed Potatoes and your favorite vegetable.