Dad's Pot Roast

It's a simple recipe which basically cooks itself into a tender juicy pot roast with beautiful flavours . . . fork tender it is.   Absolutely delicious.  I got the recipe from off a packet of dry onion soup mix back in the 1970's and have tweaked it through the years to make it my own.   An improvement on the original, which was really very good to begin with I think.

I cook the beef on a bed of carrots, onions and swede, which help to flavour the resulting gravy . . . and give you the added bonus of deliciously cooked vegetables to serve up with your meat.  Sometimes I mash some of them into the gravy for added flavour.

I like meals like this . . . they cook themselves.  They're economical.   They're delicious and they're easy to do.  I like to serve some peas and mashed potatoes on the side, which pleases my meat and potatoes loving husband to no end!  Using this gravy mix added a slightly different flavour to the finished dish, which we both quite enjoyed and which may come a regular thing from now on!

*Dad's Pot Roast*
Serves 8

Printable Recipe  

This is a recipe I have been using for years and years.  It always turns out fork tender. It is a delicious way to prepare a cheaper cut of meat!

1 (2 to 3 pound) rolled brisket of beef roast

8 medium carrots, peeled and quartered

1 small swede, peeled and cut into chunks

2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 package of dry onion soup mix

1 bay leaf, broken

apple juice

500ml of beef stock (2 cups)

225ml of boiling water

1 envelope of gravy mix

Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 8.

Place the onions, carrots and swede in the bottom of a roasting casserole that has a tight lid.  Nestle the brisket amongst them.  Sprinkle the dry onion soup mix over all, along with the pepper, and thyme.  Add the beef stock and enough apple juice so that the liquid comes halfway up the sides of the roast.  Cover tightly.

Roast in the preheated oven for 1/2 hour, then reduce the temperature to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Continue to roast without disturbing for about an hour and a half.   At the end of that time, flip the roast over carefully.  Recover and roast for another hour and a half. (Check periodically to make sure it is not going dry.   Don't worry if the liquid is reducing somewhat.  That's ok.  You just don't want it to go dry.)  Flip the roast for a final time and cook for a further hour to hour and a half until the roast is very tender.  Remove the roast and vegetables from the pan, leaving any cooking juices in the pan, and discarding the bay leaf. Tent with foil to rest and help to keep it warm for about 20 minutes.  Add the boiling water and then whisk in the gravy mix.  Cook on top of the stove to thicken.  Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.  Serve the roast cut into slices along with a portion of the vegetables for each person.  We like to have mashed potatoes with this.

Alternately - if you can't get any gravy mix you may shake together 3 TBS of flour in a jar with 125ml (1/2 cup) of cold water in a jar until smooth and whisk it into the hot pan juices and boiling water.  Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture bubbles and thickens.   Taste and adjust seasoning as required.