Comfort food is sometimes a great pot roast with rich gravy. This roast recipe produces a delicious amount of drippings which easily become a perfectly wonderful gravy. A cheaper cut of meat, chuck roast, is tenderized to the point it can be pulled apart with forks.

As you probably know, a chuck roast requires a bit of moisture to become tender. Often, such roast is relegated to the crock pot, but in just a couple of hours this roast becomes fork tender in an iron vessel. So —Pull out your Dutch oven.

For this roast you need just a few ingredients. It’s getting better and better, right?

A chuck roast- mine was about 3 lbs

2 Tablespoons of dry ranch seasoning

Worcestershire sauce – about three Tablespoons

6 -8 oz of red wine (I use an inexpensive Cabernet Sauvignon I keep for cooking.)

1 cup of water or enough water to come to the top of the roast.

For the gravy:

2 Tablespoons all purpose flour

1/4 cup water.

I cooked my roast in a dutch oven with a fitted lid, but you could use a deep skillet with a lid. The lid is important to retain the moisture while cooking. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the roast in the dutch oven and sprinkle the ranch seasoning on top. Pour the wine over the top of the roast. Sprinkle Worcestershire sauce across the top of the roast. Add enough water to bring the liquid even with the top of the roast.

Cover the roast and allow to cook for one hour. Remove the lid and turn the roast over. Recover and cook for another hour. There should still be liquid in the pan up the side of the roast about one inch. If not, add additional water so that the roast will continue to have moisture with which to cook. Cover and cook 30 more minutes. Check to see if the roast is fork tender. If it is not tender continue cooking checking at 15 minute increments until the roast pulls apart easily with a fork.

Place the dutch oven on the stove top. Remove the roast and set aside. Turn heat on stove top to medium so that the liquid simmers. Taste the liquid in the pan to determine if it needs to cook down some. It should be flavorful, but just thin. If it is not flavorful, allow it to simmer and reduce until it reaches the flavor desired. Mine did not require additional salt, but add salt and pepper to your taste.

Add two tablespoons of flour to 1/4 cup filtered water and stir to make a slurry. While the sauce in the pan is simmering, drizzle the slurry into the sauce, whisking continually until the sauce thickens and the lumps disappear. Turn off the heat.

Shred the roast and return it to the gravy. Stir gently to incorporate gravy and beef. Serve over rice if desired.

It’s delicious. Hope you enjoy it.

Buon Appetito!

Your Iron Maiden,

Kim Orsini

Black Skillet Cooking