Roast beef dinner with potatoes and carrots.

Old Fashioned Pot Roast

02/10/2024 | By Cowboy Kent Rollins

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Howdy, folks! This recipe is a special one, because it's a traditional Sunday dinner. I'm sure many of us have gathered with family on Sunday evenings and enjoyed a delicious roast. Depending on where we're from, we may use different types of meat to roast, or use different spices, but the feeling of coming together over a meal and nourishing our bodies and souls is one that most everyone can identify with.

Chuck Roast

I prefer a chuck roast, because this cut of meat has the best marbling of fat. This will give the roast more flavor. Season well all over with Original Seasoning (don't forget the sides of the roast!). If you don't have Original Seasoning, season well with Garlic powder, sea salt, and coarse ground pepper.

Add Unbridled Flavor to Your Sunday Dinner

If you're cooking this roast in a crock pot, pre-heat the crockpot on high and fill it with beef broth. We want the broth to be nice and hot before we end up putting the roast in the oven.

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Level Up Sunday Roast with Smoke!

To add flavor, start by smoking the Chuck Roast. Smoke the seasoned chuck roast at 250 degrees for about 45 minutes. This is going to give the roast a smoke bath and warm it up a little before we start roasting in the Dutch oven or slow cooker.

Tip: If you can't smoke the meat, add just a drop of liquid smoke to the beef broth when it's time to cook.

Optional Searing Method:

If you'd like to sear the roast instead of smoke, dust the roast all over with a light coat of flour after seasoning. Pre-heat an oiled cast iron skillet over medium-high, searing the entire outside of the roast for 2-3 minutes per side, including the edges.

The Sunday Roast Pot

Start by slicing a white onion in half. Place, cut side down, in the bottom of the oiled Dutch oven or crock pot. This onion will act as a bumper, keeping the roast from burning on the bottom of the pot. It'll add flavor, too!\

Add the beef broth and some Worcestershire sauce. The beef broth should just be touching the bottom of the roast. The onion will lift the roast mostly out of the broth so that the seasoning won't come off. The broth will provide steam that will keep the roast moist and delicious, and we'll use that later to make some gravy.

Slice up about four pounds of potatoes. Russets do well with roasts. You can slice them anyway you like, but make sure they're 3/4"-1" thick if they're going to be cooking in there for a long time. You can peel them if you like, but the skins, as everyone's grandma says, are the best part!

Place the potatoes and sliced onions throughout the Dutch oven. We'll add carrots later, as they don't take as long to cook as the 'taters and roast.

Add four bay leaves to the pot. You can remove them after, because they're not really edible, but they provide great flavor. Or, you can make a rule that whoever gets the most bay leaves on their plate has to do the dishes.

Season the potatoes and onions with Original Seasoning and add a few pats of butter to the top - this will make the gravy richer.


Cooking with Hot Coals

If you're cooking in a Dutch oven outside, keep some coals hot in your stove or grill. You'll need to change the coals out one or two times, because this is a long cook - just about 2 hours.

In the house, cook covered at 375 for about three hours. Crock pot, cook on high for two hours, and low for 4 hours. Add the carrots about 1/3 of the way through the cooking time. Inside, about 45 minutes in.

2 Ingredient Biscuits

We're making 2 ingredient biscuits with whipping cream and self-rising flour. The printable recipe is below - tips and tricks right here: 2 Ingredient Biscuits

Make Gravy With the Drippings

To make the gravy, remove the roast and vegetables from the pot. Add a can of evaporated milk, and cook to a boil. Add cold water mixed with cornstarch and stir until thickened. This will make an excellent gravy, perfect for soppin' up with some 2 ingredient biscuits!

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Print Recipe Pin

2 Ingredient Biscuits - Cowboy Kent Rollins

Servings 8 to 10 2 1/2 inch biscuits
Prep Time 5 Minutes
Total Time 25 Minutes
Author Cowboy Kent Rollins

Ingredients

  • 2 cups self-rising flour

  • 1 ½ cups heavy cream

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Butter a cast iron skillet or baking dish. We also prefer to use bacon grease for better crush and flavor.
  2. Sift the flour into a medium bowl. Stir in the heavy cream, until combined.
  3. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface. Flour your hands, and knead the dough a few times. The outside of the dough shouldn’t be sticky, but the inside should still have some moisture.
  4. Roll the dough out to about ½-inch thick. Using a biscuit cutter, cut the biscuits out and place in the skillet or dish. Brush with a little additional whipping cream.

  5. Bake for about 12 to 15 minutes, or until a light golden brown. Brush a little melted better on top (optional) and serve.

Notes

  • You can make the dough ahead of time, cut the biscuits out and freeze. Bake them frozen, but your bake time may increase.

Print Recipe Pin

Old Fashioned Pot Roast - Cowboy Kent Rollins

Servings 6
Author Cowboy Kent Rollins

Ingredients

  • 3 to 4 lb. chuck roast

  • Kent’s Original Seasoning

    or your favorite all-purpose seasoning
  • 2 white onions

    divided
  • 2, 32 ounce boxes beef broth

    divided
  • 3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

  • 4 lbs. russet potatoes

    cut into spears
  • 4 bay leaves

  • 1 stick butter

  • 1 ½ lbs. whole carrots

    peeled and cut into large pieces in half
  • 1, 12 ounce can evaporated milk

  • 3 tablespoons cornstarch

  • 1 cup water

Instructions

  1. Remove the roast from the fridge at least 1 hour before cooking. Preheat the smoker to 250 degrees F. Generously season all sides of the roast with the Original seasoning, or substitute.
  2. Place the roast on the smoker and add 1 chunk of cherry wood. Cook for about 1 hour, or until the internal temperature is between 110 and 120 degrees F.

  3. In a deep Dutch oven or large casserole pan, peel and cut one of the onions in half and place in the bottom of the pan. Add 1 box of the beef broth and the worcestershire sauce. Place the roast on top of the onions, placed on the bottom of the pan.

  4. Add the onions, potatoes and bay leaves around the roast. Cut the stick of butter into tablespoons and place on top of the roast and veggies. Cover, and bake Place the potatoes, onions

  5. Cook in a preheated oven to 375 degrees F. for 1 hour, then add the carrots. Continue to cook for about 2 to 2 ½ hours, or until the roast and veggies are fork tender. Be sure that there is enough broth for cooking, and add more if needed.
  6. Remove the veggies and roast from the Dutch oven or pan and place on a large serving tray. Cover and keep warm.
  7. Return to the Dutch oven/pan, add the remaining 1 box of beef broth and bring to a simmer.
  8. Stir in the evaporated milk.
  9. In a small bowl combine the cornstarch and water. Stir the cornstarch mixture into the broth. Continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens to a gravy consistency. Serve warm with the pot roast and veggies.

Notes

  • Crock Pot Tip:

    Add the broth to the crockpot and preheat on high before adding the meat. 

    Cook on high for about 4 hours, turn down to low and cook an additional 2 hours or until fork tender.  

    To give more flavor to you chuck roast, mix together 3 teaspoons of liquid smoke with ½ cup of water. Rub the mixture into the roast before cooking.

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