ISO Chuck Roast Advice

[Robin]

Hello favorite cooking forum! It's been awhile since I've been here.

Here's my issue. I bought two large chuck roasts but hubby said he doesn't ever like them. He didn't give a reason. Just said yuck.. So, the way I'd normally cook them is to sauté them in mushrooms and onions on a medium heat. And serve with a veggie and mashed taters.

I need ideas on how to fix them differently. Perhaps their too dry with the medium heat??

 

[Katie H]

Hi, Robin. Nice to see you back.

One of the ways we've cooked a chuck roast in our family is to do it in the oven sealed in foil. Here's how:

Tear off a large piece of heavy-duty foil. Place the roast in the center, spread one can of, undiluted, cream of mushroom soup over the meat and, then, sprinkle 1/2 to 1 full envelope of dry onion soup mix over the soup. (If I'm in a "I want more mushrooms" mood, I'll add a small can, drained, of mushroom stems and pieces.) Seal the foil tightly and put the whole works in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan. I usually pour about 1/4-inch of water in my baking pan and try to maintain that throughout the cooking time. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for a couple of hours.

The meat always turns out tender, moist and flavorful. Plus, the mushroom soup and meat juices make awesome gravy, so be sure to make a big bowl of mashed potatoes to go with.

Chuck roast has been prepared like this in my family since I was a little girl and there's never been anyone who didn't like it.

 

[Robin]

Thanks Katie. I think I have everything besides the onion soup. But I'll be sure to get some and try this Monday. Thanks!

 

[Barb L.]

Chuck roast are the only kind I buy, I season then sear mine (in my dutch oven) add broth or water up to the middle of the roast. Throw some onions in and let her go in 350' oven 2-3 hr.s till fork tender . I do it this way with potatoes, carrots, or for beef n noodles (w/ mushrooms added). Yum ! (or add bbq sauce ater chopping up, for sandwiches.

 

[GrillingFool]

We sear it in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes.
Then some chopped garlic and sliced onion are laid on top,
a beer is poured into the pan (nice Black & Tan is good), it
gets covered and back into the oven. 275 degrees for a couple
of hours.
Makes it fall apart tasty and delicious!

 

[*amy*]

How about Beef Bourguignon served over broad egg noodles or pappardelle.

Here are two different prep methods:

Beef Bourguignon Baby

Crock-Pot.com

Edited to add: In place of beef broth, I used to use french onion soup.

 

[keltin]

Hi, Robin. Nice to see you back.

One of the ways we've cooked a chuck roast in our family is to do it in the oven sealed in foil. Here's how:

Tear off a large piece of heavy-duty foil. Place the roast in the center, spread one can of, undiluted, cream of mushroom soup over the meat and, then, sprinkle 1/2 to 1 full envelope of dry onion soup mix over the soup. (If I'm in a "I want more mushrooms" mood, I'll add a small can, drained, of mushroom stems and pieces.) Seal the foil tightly and put the whole works in a shallow baking dish or roasting pan. I usually pour about 1/4-inch of water in my baking pan and try to maintain that throughout the cooking time. Bake in a preheated 350-degree oven for a couple of hours.

The meat always turns out tender, moist and flavorful. Plus, the mushroom soup and meat juices make awesome gravy, so be sure to make a big bowl of mashed potatoes to go with.

Chuck roast has been prepared like this in my family since I was a little girl and there's never been anyone who didn't like it.

This roast sounds great! I need a new roast recipe, and this sounds like a winner. I’ll be making this tonight! A couple of questions though. You say to cook it 2 hours at 350? Also, why the water bath? Does it make a difference?

At two hours cooking time, I imagine this is a roast that you slice as opposed to shred? I used to make a beef roast in the crock pot with onions, carrots, potatoes, and fresh mushrooms all covered with two 14.5 oz cans of Beef Consume for 6-8 hours. That roast would shred, but sometimes became a little dry, so you have to watch your cooking times. Then again, you can reduce the remaining liquid for a terrific gravy so you don’t really notice the meat being a little dry. I never seared my roast before putting it in the crock-pot, so perhaps that would make a difference. I’ll have to try that recipe again one day.

I tried using just beef broth once since Consume can be hard to find in some stores, but the beef broth made a tough roast. Not sure what the secret is to the Consume....perhaps the gelatin content?

 

[Katie H]

Yes, it is a roast that is sliced rather than shredded. Although, you can cook it longer if you wish to have it shred. As for the water bath, I started doing that many years ago when my foil somehow was breached and the juices ran into the pan. I discovered that just a little bit of water around the packet helped the whole thing to cook better. It could just be my imagination, though.

It is a delicious roast and the smell will drive you crazy as it cooks.

Also, originally, I used a whole envelope of onion soup mix, but it's quite salty so I now use less.

 

[keltin]

Thanks! Ok, I’m going to use the CoM soup, ½ a pack of the onion soup mix and will also add the mushroom as well. I’ll also try the water bath. To be honest, nearly all the large cuts of meats and ribs I do are done to the point of shredding (I use my smoker a lot!), so I’m really looking forward to a roast I can slice - my carving knife hasn't come out of the block in a long time and will welcome the use! I can’t wait to dig in to this one!

 

[jennyema]

If you are looking for a "roast you can slice" you might think of buying a cut that is suitable for dry roasting, like a rib roast or a sirloin roast, rather than one most suitable for braising or moist cooking.

 

[keltin]

If you are looking for a "roast you can slice" you might think of buying a cut that is suitable for dry roasting, like a rib roast or a sirloin roast, rather than one most suitable for braising or moist cooking.

I’m actually thinking of getting a rib roast soon, but I plan on doing this to it! That brings a tear to my eye.

We recently went to a local meat market and bought one of their meat “packages” that comes with all kinds of cuts of meat, and I’ve got a couple of Chuck Roasts that I need to cook, so I’m looking forward to this recipe tonight.

 

[bowlingshirt]

My wife cooks chuck roast in a crock pot with some potatoes and veggies. One of my favorites.

 

[keltin]

Yes, it is a roast that is sliced rather than shredded. Although, you can cook it longer if you wish to have it shred. As for the water bath, I started doing that many years ago when my foil somehow was breached and the juices ran into the pan. I discovered that just a little bit of water around the packet helped the whole thing to cook better. It could just be my imagination, though.

It is a delicious roast and the smell will drive you crazy as it cooks.

Also, originally, I used a whole envelope of onion soup mix, but it's quite salty so I now use less.

Hi Katie, just wanted to let you know I made the chuck roast last night per your recipe, and it is amazing! So tender and juicy with a nice gravy to boot. We love it. I have now forever added this recipe to my standard repertoire. Thanks again!

 

[Constance]

I haven't read the whole thread, so forgive me if I'm being redundant, but I'd make them into Italian Beef. Nobody doesn't like Italian Beef.

I do mine in the crock-pot, with a package of dry Italian dressing mix and a beer. Just dump it all in. Double that for 2 roasts.
You can do the same thing in a 250-300F oven, using a roasting pan and lid, or even on the stove-top, using a good heavy Dutch oven. The low cooking temp is what makes the meat fall apart.
We take ours out once the meat is tender, let it stand a bit, then slice it against the grain and return it to the pot. that way, the meat is not stringy.

We serve ours with buns, mustard (for me) and pepperoncini.

 

[Katie H]

Hi Katie, just wanted to let you know I made the chuck roast last night per your recipe, and it is amazing! So tender and juicy with a nice gravy to boot. We love it. I have now forever added this recipe to my standard repertoire. Thanks again!

Glad you liked it, keltin. As I said, I've never met anyone who didn't like it. It disappears in our house.

 

[Robin]

Hi Katie I just wanted to say that we tried the recipe tonight and hubby loved it! He didn't even realize it was the chuck roast till I told him.

 

[Katie H]

Great, Robin. Told you it was a winner. When our 5 children (4 sons = food vacuums, and 1 daughter) were at home, it was one of their favorites. Of course, I had to make a cauldron of mashed potatoes so they could drench them with the yummy gravy.

 

[Robin]

Great, Robin. Told you it was a winner. When our 5 children (4 sons = food vacuums, and 1 daughter) were at home, it was one of their favorites. Of course, I had to make a cauldron of mashed potatoes so they could drench them with the yummy gravy.

Yeah that's one thing I didn't get to do. I thought I had more instant taters and I didn't realize it was getting so late to make them from scratch. So I didn't get to fix the taters. Instead we have veggies and rice.

 

[Turando]

Hi Katie

Might be a silly question but the foil is made like a parcel with the meat and mushroom soup etc inside it so it all stays inside? It doesn't actually go straight into the roasting pan right?

Also how do you make the gravy after the meat is done? Is the water gone from the pan by then?

Sorry for the silly questions - I'm really new to roasts so just want to clarify

Thanks!

 

[Katie H]

Hi Katie

Might be a silly question but the foil is made like a parcel with the meat and mushroom soup etc inside it so it all stays inside? It doesn't actually go straight into the roasting pan right?

Also how do you make the gravy after the meat is done? Is the water gone from the pan by then?

Sorry for the silly questions - I'm really new to roasts so just want to clarify

Thanks!

Not a silly question at all, Turando. Everything is sealed tightly in the foil packet and the whole packet is placed in a roasting pan with the bit of water in the roasting pan. The food cooks in the tightly sealed packet and results in tender meat with a wonderful gravy that is a result of the meat juices melding with the cream of mushroom soup and onion soup mix. Trust me, it comes out great with no need to make gravy after it's all been cooked. It's one of the easiest ways of creating roast beef and gravy that I've ever found. It's been prepared in this manner in my family for over 60 years and everyone has made it with no mishaps.