This iconic crockpot pot roast recipe is in a league of its own. You’ll be hard-pressed to find an easier pot roast recipe with more flavor, depth, and color. The contrast of the carrots, potatoes, and beets makes this pot roast recipe stand out.
Remove roast from fridge, unwrap, and pat the roasts surface with a paper towel to remove any moisture.
Let the meat sit for 30-60 minutes to bring to room temperature. Pat again with a paper towel to ensure the roast is dry and ready for seasoning.
Generously season the entire roast with salt and pepper. Don’t hold back, use a liberal amount of salt and pepper.
Cooking Instructions
Pre-heat a cast iron skillet on high with safflower or canola oil (note 1)
Brown roast on all sides and transfer to a crockpot.
Cover with beef consommé, beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, onion, carrots, potatoes, garlic, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, red beets, red wine and salt and pepper if necessary.
Cover with lid and cook 4-6 hours on high. If your roast is on the smaller side, it will take less time for it to cook. If your roast is on the larger side, it will take more time for it to cook. Roast is done when it is very tender.
Using a slotted spoon, remove the meat to a shallow bowl and set aside. Remove carrots, potatoes, onions, beets and place into a serving dish. Set aside.
Skim fat and measure out 2 cups of hot cooking liquid (note 2) and reserve.
In a large bowl, combine butter and flour together until a smooth paste forms. Pour the hot cooking liquid into the butter-flour mixture and stir to thicken. Pour into the slow cooker, stir to create a gravy, and cover and cook for another 20 minutes or so.
While gravy is cooking, shred the roast, removing any excess fat.
Add the meat and vegetables to the gravy and serve. Or serve separately with gravy on the side.
Recipe Notes
Cooking oils have varying smoke points. Safflower (510 °F) or canola (428 °F) oil are two of the highest and are fantastic for searing and browning meat at high-temperatures. If you do not have either of these, you can use olive oil (350 °F) as a backup, however reduce the heat to medium-high to avoid burning the oil.
Skimming fat is easy with a fat separator like Oxo’s 4 cup fat separator. Otherwise try sucking the fat off with a turkey baster.
Optional ingredients like red beets and red wine add flavor and depth. Plus I love the color contrast between the orange carrots, yellow potatoes, and red beets. And the red wine ties everything together perfectly.
To thicken the gravy further, you can mix 1 tablespoon of cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water and pour it into the gravy to instantly thicken up.
When chopping the vegetables, make sure to cut them into large pieces to come out tender in one piece and not mushy after hours of cooking.