Apple Cider Pot Roast with Brown Sugar

Serves 8 in about 4 hours. The pot starts with jumbo sweet onions, then flour.

Ingredients

• 3-5 pound chuck roast
• 1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt. divided
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 stick butter, divided
• 2 jumbo sweet onions, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 4 large sprigs thyme (or 1 teaspoon dried)
• 1 ½ teaspoons dried sage
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary (or 2 teaspoons dried & crushed)
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1 6-inch cinnamon stick (or a couple small pinches cinnamon powder)
• 5 whole cloves (optionl)
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 1 ½ cups apple cider, divided
• 1 apple
• 1 pound baby potatoes, optional
• 1 pound baby carrots, optional
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons of the divided butter
• ¼ cup of the divided apple cider
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar, or to taste

Method

1. Heat oven to 300°F. Salt and Pepper both sides of the roast. Warm a Dutch oven over a lively medium heat, then add the olive oil and the roast. Brown the meat for about 5 minutes per side, or until it gets some good color. Then transfer the roast to a plate and keep it nearby.
2. Stir in 6 Tablespoons of the butter to the pot and add the chopped onion. Sauté the onion, while stirring now and then, until it starts to soften.
3. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, thyme, sage, rosemary, bay leaf, cloves (if using), and cinnamon stick. Mix well and sauté about 1 instant.
4. Tip in the tomato paste and cook it, while stirring often, about 2 minutes.
5. Tip in 1 ¼ cups of the apple cider and all of the chicken broth.
6. Stir in the chopped apple. Stir.
7. Return the browned roast to the pot and nestle it down in the sauce.
8. Tip in any veggies you are using and fit them in around the roast the best you can.
9. Put a lid on and cook in a 300°F oven for about 3-4 hours, depending on how large your roast is. I do a 4.5 pound roast about 4 hours. You want it to be fork tender.
10. Lift out the pot roast and the potatoes, carrots (if used), to a serving platter. keep it nearby while you make the gravy.
11. Spoon off of the top some of the excess fat that is on the sauce.
12. Lift out the herb stems, bay leaf, cloves, and cinnamon stick and discard.
13. Stir together the remaining 2 Tablespoons of butter and the Flour. You might need to microwave the butter a few seconds to soften it. Then stir well with a fork until smooth.
14. Put the pot on the stove over a gentle medium heat. Tip in the remaining ¼ cup apple cider and bring the sauce to a simmer.
15. Beat in the butter-flour mixture using the fork, until dissolved.
16. Once the gravy has thickened, turn off the heat and stir in the brown sugar and the salt as needed. Start with half the amount and see if that is good. Tip in as much or as little as you prefer.
17. You can shred the meat or break it apart in chunks to serve. Plate the roast and vegetables with the gravy on the side or pour some over the top and have the extra at the table.

More beef ideas are in the beef collection.