Mom's Sunday Pot Roast

Total Time: 4 hrs 15 mins Preparation Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 4 hrs

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 lbs chuck roast
• 4 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 3 medium onions, peeled and quartered
• 6 medium carrots, peeled and quartered
• flour, for dredging
• bacon fat, for browning
• salt, for seasoning
• pepper, for seasoning
• 1 (10 1/2 ounce) can beef consomme
• water

Recipe

• 1 preheat oven to 325­°.
• 2 season flour with salt and pepper; dredge the meat in the seasoned flour.
• 3 heat bacon fat in a heavy skillet (cast iron is preferred). when hot, sear/brown meat on all sides.
• 4 transfer meat to a roaster or dutch oven. (mom always used her enameled roaster.).
• 5 mix consommé with one (soup) can of water, bring to a boil, and pour over the meat.
• 6 cover, place in preheated oven, and roast for two (2) hours, turning meat over after about an hour.
• 7 remove roaster from oven, add carrots and onions, cover, return roaster to oven for another hour. (additional water or broth may be added if necessary.).
• 8 remove roaster and add potatoes; cover and return to oven for another hour or until potatoes are done.
• 9 remove meat and vegetables to serving dishes, cover with foil to keep warm until ready to serve.
• 10 optional gravy:.
• 11 skim most fat from juices in pan (leave about 2 tbs) and add enough liquid (water or beef broth) to make two cups. mix 1/4 cup of cold water with 2 tablespoons of corn starch. bring juices to a boil and stir in the cornstarch mixture. cook for one minute, stirring constantly, until gravy is thickened.
• 12 variations:.
• 13 - add two ribs of celery, cut in 1.5 inch pieces when adding the carrots and onions.
• 14 - add 1 or 2 turnips, cut in eighths (roughly 1" pieces) when you add adding the potatoes.
• 15 - combine consommé with tomato juice instead of water. (mom would never have done this, but there were plenty of other families that couldn't imagine preparing their pot roast any other way.).
• 16 - add 2 cloves and a bay leaf when adding meat to the roaster pan.