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!
Meat & Potatoes, The Ultimate Comfort Food
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 love roasts, try these other favorites!
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, 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
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. Preheat your oven, and preheat oil a heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven on the stovetop. Season the beef roast generously with salt and pepper, and then coat the outside with flour. Use your hands for this!
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. Searing takes about 6 to 7 minutes per side.
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.
When the second side is searing, add all your veggies to begin cooking around the roast.
As the second side is finishing cooking, add in all your other ingredients, except the wine and stock.
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.
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.
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.
A Note on 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.
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.
Storage
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:
- Rosemary Garlic Mashed Potatoes
- Cauliflower Puree
- Roasted Carrots and Brussel Sprouts
- Cheesy Honey Skillet Cornbread
- It's fancy enough for the holidays, served with this Pear and Blue Cheese Salad with Glazed Honey Walnuts!
Yes, but I do recommend searing it on the stovetop first. Searing the roast and the veggies in the hot pot gives you the dark caramel color and a lot of the flavor, which is impossible to accomplish in a crock pot alone. You could sear the roast and then transfer it to a crock pot to braise all day. Essentially, after the searing process on the stove top is complete, the pot and your oven ARE acting like a crock pot. With the oven set at a low 300°, you are free to "forget" the roast as you could with a crock pot and go about your day. If you are not going to be home all day, searing first and then transferring it to a crock pot is a great method!
More Comfort Food Favorites!
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Rich Molasses Braised Beef Roast
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Print Pin RateEquipment
- Dutch oven or heavy pot with lid
Ingredients
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 pound beef roast chuck roast or similar cut
- 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
- 12 grinds fresh black pepper
- 2 Tablespoons flour
- 1 onion chopped
- 2 carrots chopped
- 2 ribs celery chopped
- 1 apple chopped
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 Tablespoon dijon mustard
- 2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
- ¼ cup molasses
- 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
- ½ cup red wine
- 1 quart beef stock
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°. Chop vegetables and have all ingredients ready.
- On the stove top, preheat a large soup pot or Dutch oven over medium high heat and add oil. Season the roast generously on all sides with the salt and pepper, then coat it with flour. Use your hands for this! This forms a nice crust on the roast when you sear it and thickens the sauce as it cooks.
- Add the beef to the hot pot, letting it sear on one side to a dark brown color (about 6 to 7 minutes). Don't move the roast around or try to un-stick it from the pot. Let it sear! This develops the flavor! When fully browned, flip the beef with tongs to brown the other side (6 to 7 minutes). While the second side is browning, add the vegetables (not the garlic yet) to start sautéing around the beef.
- As the second side finishes browning, you can start adding all other ingredients including garlic, except the wine and beef stock.
- When the second side is browned and the vegetables are cooking, deglaze with the wine (add it!). Scrape up the flavor from the the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon so the beef is not stuck to the pot. Add the beef stock and stir everything together.
- Cover and transfer the entire pot to the oven. Cook for 7 to 8 hours, stirring and flipping the roast once or twice throughout the day. In the final 1 to 2 hours, check the amount of liquid you have in the pot. If it's still a lot, remove the cover to allow the sauce to thicken and reduce. If the pot is drying out, add a cup of water or beef stock. Keep an eye on it in these last 2 hours, ovens can vary!
- After 7 to 8 hours the meat will be extremely tender and can be shredded with tongs. Remove and discard any large fatty pieces. The liquid will have reduced leaving tender beef in a dark sauce. Use tongs to serve the beef in order to leave the rendered fat in the pot.
- Serve with potatoes or mashed cauliflower, over grilled bread, or on sandwich buns.
Theresa says
My friend made this and it was the best pot roast I have ever had.
Ann Rice says
Made again last night---just love it. So easy to let it cook all afternoon. I did find that with my oven it was ready to eat in 5 hours.
Mybigfat Bloodymary says
Made this for Easter. Best roast I've ever made! The kids loved it too. Thanks!
Mybigfat Bloodymary says
This looks amazing!