Granny (my maternal great grandmother) had to be without a doubt the best cook since the beginning of time. She was born in 1904, was one of 13 children who lived on a farm in the Hocking Hills of Ohio, and she learned to cook in an era where there was no fat free anything. These people were out from sun up to sun down working their butts off to keep their farm running, and I can guarantee you they never ate chef salads with light Italian dressing, or low carb, fat free bread with heart healthy "spread." These people ATE because they needed to.
Granny and Pop owned a small but profitable restaurant in Winchester during the Great Depression. Dinner was $0.25, and there was no 13 page menu on parchment paper with gilt lettering and a wine list with bottles starting at $50. This was good, home cooked, no frills food. What you had for dinner depended on the day of the week. I have absolutely no idea what day "pot roast" day was, but Granny made it often for us growing up. It's not really a recipe; it's sort of like mashed potatoes--you don't need exact measurements and specific instructions. You just...well, you just MAKE them.
If you're looking for a pot roast recipe that calls for any cut of meat other than chuck, and contains some type of wine or an herb that costs $15 an ounce, honey this ain't it!
P.S. I'm not posting a picture of this. I've never eaten a pot roast that was worth a damn that looked good. If you see a recipe and picture with a beautiful, evenly shaped, sliced, perfectly cooked roast with delicious, crispy, brightly colored vegetables strategically placed around the roast, then that's not a true pot roast--it's probably some type of roast that looks nice, but has the texture and flavor of shoe leather and saw dust, and I'm willing to bet that the vegetables are either mostly raw or made from plastic.
P.P.S. Almost forgot: Granny added turnips along with the carrots and potatoes, and I HATE turnips (almost as much as I hate beets.)
Granny's Pot Roast
1 (3 to 4 pound) boneless chuck roast
Flour
Salt
Pepper
Oil
Salt and pepper the roast well and dredge in flour. Heat the oil (a few tablespoons) in a dutch oven and sear the roast on all sides (don't forget the ends!) until it's brown and has a nice crust on it. Once it's browned, remove the roast and add two (14 ounce) cans of low sodium beef broth (Granny used homemade beef stock, but who has time for that?!) and scrape up the browned bits on the bottom. Add the roast back to the pan, quarter a large onion and add it, cover it with a tight fitting lid, and put it in a 350 degree oven for about three hours.
Once the time is up, add to the pot: 2 large carrots, cut into big chunks, and several potatoes, cut into quarters. Don't use the enormous Idaho bakers--they're tough and mealy. I prefer Yukon gold (if they're small, cut them in half; if they're large, quarter them) because they have a nice color, and you don't have to peel them. Anyway, add the carrots and potatoes to the pan, re-cover, and bake an additional 30 - 45 minutes (depending on how large you cut your potatoes).
When the potatoes and carrots stick tender, remove everything from the dutch oven to a serving platter. If you want to strain the liquid, great; if not, great. I prefer to leave the little bits of onion that fall through the slotted spoon in the gravy. I think it adds something. Mix about 1/2 c. of water with 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and slowly pour half of it into the cooking liquid. Put it on the burner on medium(ish) heat and let it start to simmer, stirring constantly. If after a minute or so it's not thickening up, add the rest of the cornstarch/water and let it simmer for another minute or two. If it STILL doesn't thicken to the consistency you like, then mix up another batch of cornstarch water, and add a tablespoon at a time until it's right.
Cut the roast (good luck with that. It'll be so tender you won't be able to cut it--it'll just fall apart) and serve with the vegetables.
Hey--I TOLD you these people knew how to eat!
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