Rich Molasses Braised Beef Roast

This Rich Molasses Braised Beef Roast takes Grandma's Simple Beef Pot Roast and kicks it up a notch!  That fall apart tender beef roast takes on deliciously intense sweet and savory flavor! Loaded with extra veggies, apple, garlic, and herbs, plus sweet dark molasses and red wine to take on that fancy restaurant short rib taste.  It's braised in the oven all day, giving you that melt-in-your-mouth texture, sure to become a comfort food favorite!

My mom sent me off to college with her hand-written Simply Perfect Beef Roast recipe.  It is the braised chuck roast I remember my grandma making as a kid, and it was the starting point for this recipe.

I've made it countless times, and over the years just kept adding a little bit of this, a little bit of that, until this new version was born!

The original recipe, just a beef chuck roast, an onion, and beef stock takes on some amazing layers of flavor here! I think my Grandma would have approved!

If you Dutch Oven Roasts, try this One Pot Maple Pork Roast and these Italian Beef Sandwiches with Giardiniera!

Ingredients

The ingredient list is a bit lengthy, but those flavors mingle all day in the oven for some tremendous flavor!

• Beef Roast - I usually get a beef chuck roast, but any similar cut of beef will work. You are taking a tough and inexpensive cut of meat, braising it all day, which means cooking it at a low temperature in a liquid to make that tough cut extremely tender. It's fall-apart goodness and mouthwatering delicious!

• Salt, Pepper and Flour - You want to season the beef well, it's a large piece of meat! After it is salt and peppered, rub the meat everywhere with the flour. This serves two purposes. First, it gives the meat a nice dark crust as you sear it, locking in that flavor before the all-day braise. It also thickens the liquid as it cooks, giving you a rich dark sauce in the end.

• The Veggies - I go with the standard mirepoix veggies, onion, celery and carrot for a base layer of flavor. I also add an apple for a balance of natural sweetness. Plus lots of garlic!

• The Flavorings - The flavor for this braised chuck roast comes from a bit of sharp dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and dried herbs. These give you the savory!

• Molasses - The savory gets balanced by the deep dark richness of sweet molasses. Braised all day, this is a truly heavenly combination!

• The Braising Liquid - First the red wine is used to deglaze the pan. Deglazing means adding liquid to the hot dry pot, letting it sizzle away and then using a wooden spoon to scrape up all those bits of flavor and keep them in your sauce. Then the beef stock covers the meat so it can braise away and tenderize, cooking "low and slow" in the oven all day to perfection!

Instructions

Step 1 - Start the roast in the morning, all day in the oven gives it that tender texture and intensifies the flavors of the deep rich sauce. 

Braised beef roasts are great because they are prepped in just 30 minutes in the morning, and dinner is ready!

Before you begin, chop your veggies and ready your other ingredients.

Step 2 - Preheat the oven, and preheat a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven on the stovetop with olive oil.

Season the beef roast generously with salt and pepper, and then coat the outside with flour.  Use your hands for this!

Step 3 - Add the roast to the hot pot to sear.  The coating of flour will help the roast get a nice dark crust as it sears, and then will later help thicken the sauce. 

Don't move the roast around or try to un-stick it from the pot.  Let it sear!  This develops the flavor.

Step 4 - When the first side is a dark caramel brown color, the roast will kind of release itself from the pot and you can flip it easily with tongs. 

You can peek at it with tongs to see when it's ready.  Flip it to sear the other side, again not moving it around. 

Searing takes about 6 to 7 minutes per side.

Step 5 - When the second side is searing, add all your veggies to begin cooking around the roast. 

Step 6 - As the second side is finishing cooking, add in all your other ingredients, except the wine and stock.

Step 7 - When the second side is nice and dark in color, deglaze the pan with the red wine. Release the roast from the bottom of the pan with tongs or a wooden spoon and scrape up all that flavor from the bottom. 

Add the beef stock, stirring everything together.

Step 8 - Your prep work is done, cover and transfer the roast to the oven!  Now you can forget about it and let the oven do the work. 

Once or twice throughout the day, take it out and flip the meat and give it a stir.  Be careful! Those handles will be hot!

As you near the end of the cooking time you will be able to break it apart and shred it with tongs.  Discard any fatty pieces. 

Step 9 - After 7 or 8 hours in the oven your house will smell amazing!  In the final 1 or 2 hours, check on the roast and decide if you need to speed things up or slow them down.

All ovens are different, and the size of the beef roast can affect exactly how long it needs to cook.

If you still have plenty of liquid, remove the cover during the last hour or so to allow the sauce to thicken and reduce.  To speed it up, remove the cover sooner.

If you are running out of liquid, add another cup of water or beef stock.

Recipe Tips

• The Fat - Remember that an oven braised pot roast has some natural fat on it!  This is a good thing and good for the cooking process!  Some of the fat will render into liquid fat as it cooks. Any large pieces can be removed with tongs. 

• Serving Tip - The best way to serve the meat is by pulling it out of the pot with tongs, leaving the fat in the pot.  Your meat will still be covered in sauce and flavor, you will just leave the fat in the pot and discard it at the end.

• Leftover beef roast can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. When refrigerated, the fat in the liquid will form a white layer on the top. You can easily scrape this off and discard it with a spoon when it's cold.

• Beef can be reheated in the microwave or in a saucepan on the stovetop. Add a little water if needed. Extra shredded beef can also be frozen for up to 6 months.

What to Serve with Shredded Beef Roast

A beef roast is a great meal to feed a crowd served on little white sandwich buns, or have plenty for leftovers all week! 

It also goes great with a starchy side dish like cauliflower puree or Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes. It's also delicious with Mashed Sweet Potatoes or Mashed Butternut Squash.

It's fancy enough for the holidays, served with Broccoli Au Gratin, Roasted Carrots and Brussel Sprouts, Green Bean Au Gratin or this Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Glazed Honey Walnuts!

If you made this recipe, I'd love to hear how you liked it!  Leave a star rating by clicking the stars in the recipe card, or leave a comment below!

Follow Sungrown Kitchen on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for loads of garden recipes!  Join my Email List for new recipes delivered straight to your inbox!