One of the Best Ways to Cook Beef – Slow-Cooked Pot Roast

I started making beef pot roast many years ago when I had my own café. I used to serve it piled high on a ciabatta roll, with lashings of homemade tomato relish. It was so popular and sold out every single day! If you’re a fan of comfort food classics, you might also enjoy my Meatloaf Pot Roast Recipe—a retro dish baked with vegetables in a rich, flavourful sauce. This beef pot roast is equally delicious served with potatoes and steamed vegetables. It’s excellent to make ahead and just reheat portions when it’s time to eat.

Slow-Cooked Beef Pot Roast – Tender & Flavourful

Prep Time: 1 hour hr

Cook Time: 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

This slow-cooked beef pot roast is fall-apart tender, packed with rich, savoury flavours, and made with simple ingredients. It’s a comforting, classic meal perfect for Sunday dinners or meal prepping. Serve it with mashed potatoes, steamed veggies, or on a crusty roll with homemade tomato relish for a delicious twist!

Print Recipe

Ingredients

 

• 1.5 – 2.5kg chuck roast or round, brisket, rump – but chuck is my favourite
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil
• 3 stalks of celery
• 2 large carrots
• 2 large onions
• 4 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary leaves
• 2 cups 500ml beef stock
• 2 cups 500ml chicken stock
• 1 whole star anise
• ½ cup red wine 125ml

Instructions

 

• Place a heavy-based pot over medium-low heat to warm up for a few minutes.
• Season the beef roast generously with salt and pepper.
• Once the pot is thoroughly heated, add a thin film of olive oil and place the meat in the pot to begin the browning process over medium-low heat.
• While the meat is browning, chop the celery, carrots, and onions into small pieces. Also, mince the garlic.
• Turn the meat over to brown all over. This process should take about 40-45 minutes in total, ensuring maximum flavour extraction.
• Remove the beef and discard half of the fat from the pot, leaving a thin film. If you find your oil is too burnt, just discard all the oil, wipe the pot, and then cover the base with a thin film of fresh oil.
• Add the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and cook until softened, over a low heat for approximately 15 minutes, the moisture from the vegetables will deglaze the pan.
• Once the vegetables have softened, add the minced garlic and sugar. Sauté for a minute until the garlic is fragrant.
• Add the dried thyme leaves and dried rosemary leaves.
• Pour in the beef and chicken stock, increase the heat, and bring to a boil. Add the whole star anise.
• Return the meat to the pot. If the liquid level is below halfway up the side of the meat, add water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the meat.
• Place the pot in a preheated oven at 150°C fan forced/300°F for 3 ½ hours, turning the meat over halfway through.
• After cooking, remove the meat to a serving tray and tent with aluminium foil.
• To make the sauce, let the liquid settle, then skim off as much fat as possible. Alternatively, refrigerate the liquid to easily remove the fat the next day.
• Return the pot to the stove and simmer the liquid until it's reduced by half, or there's about 2 cups of liquid remaining, removing the star anise pod.
• Once reduced, add red wine and continue to boil for about 10 -15 minutes.
• Taste the sauce for seasoning, adding salt and pepper if necessary.
• Optional: Strain the sauce through a sieve, pushing and stirring vigorously until only a little bit of vegetable puree is left in the sieve. Discard that small amount.
• Place the meat on a serving tray, remove any string, and ladle over the sauce.
• Optionally, you can reheat the pot gently on the stove when you're ready to serve.

Video

Notes

Storage Tips:

• Refrigerate: Store leftovers in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
• Freeze: Freeze in portions with sauce for up to 3 months.
• Reheat: Gently reheat in a pot over low heat or microwave until warmed through.