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Balsamic Pot Roast

Ingredients

  • 3-4 pound boneless chuck roast
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
  • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon dried parsley
  • 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 cup beef stock/broth
  • 2-3 medium sweet onions peeled and cut into thick slices
  • 1-2 cups carrots I used very fat baby carrots, but if you can only find very small/skinny baby carrots, I would suggest peeling and cutting regular carrots into large pieces. The larger pieces or fatter carrots will help prevent your carrots from overcooking.
  • 1/4 cup water
  • 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
  • 1/2 cup tomato sauce

Instructions

  • In a saucepan, bring the beef stock to a simmer; allow to simmer until it has reduced to 1/2 cup. Set aside.
  • Place onions and carrots in the bottom of the slow cooker.
  • Trim as much fat as possible from the roast and trim it as necessary to fit in the slow cooker.
  • In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, garlic powder, parsley, cayenne and thyme. Rub each side of the roast well with the seasoning mixture. Meanwhile, heat a heavy pan with a tablespoon of oil over high heat. Brown the roast well on both sides. When thoroughly browned, remove from the pan and place in the slow cooker on top of the vegetables.
  • Pour the 1/4 cup of water into the pan to deglaze it. Add this to the beef broth, along with the balsamic vinegar and tomato sauce. Pour mixture over the beef and vegetables in the slow cooker.
  • Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender.
  • Remove the meat and vegetables from the slow cooker and cover with foil to keep warm. Pour the liquid into a saucepan (if desired, use a fat separator to remove some of the fat before doing so); bring to a simmer and reduce by 1/3. Serve the sauce with meat and vegetables.
  • If desired, you can thicken the sauce with a slurry of cornstarch and water to make a gravy.

Notes

I made this recipe using a small roast (about 1 1/2 lb) since it was just the two of us, so if you think that looks like a small amount of meat and vegetables in the pictures, that is because it is. I kept the rest of the ingredient amounts the same, though, and would have had plenty of sauce/gravy for a much bigger roast.
Adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen