Recently I made this tasty chuck roast in the crockpot. It has a mustard, maple syrup and vinegar sauce to flavor it. It is based on this recipe.
Pot Roast with Maple Syrup and Mustard Sauce
This recipe is based on this recipe from the Kitchn.
Ingredients
- 3-4 pound beef chuck roast or arm roast - whatever will fit in the crockpot
- 2 tbsp oil, butter or available fat
- 3 large onions, peeled and sliced into half moons
- Or other veggies to equal about 3 cups - could include onions, mushrooms, celery, garlic
- 2 cups chicken broth or available broth
- 1 tbsp mustard - whichever variety is available
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vinegar - whichever variety is available
- 1 tsp paprika
- Salt and/or pepper, opt.
Instructions
- Set a large Dutch oven or heavy skillet over medium-high to high heat. Sear both sides of roast until golden-brown, about 10 minutes per side. Transfer the roast to a 6-quart crockpot.
- Reduce heat to medium. Add the onions and/or other vegetables and cook until starting to soften, about 5 minutes. Pour in a few tablespoons of chicken broth and bring to a boil, scraping up any of the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Pour the onions and pan juices into the bowl of the slow cooker.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the remaining chicken broth, mustard, maple syrup, vinegar, paprika, salt, and pepper until combined. Pour the liquid mixture over the roast. Cover and cook on the LOW setting until the meat falls apart and is meltingly tender, about 8 hours. If you only have 6 hours, you can do this 3 hours on high and 3 hours on low and it will still turn out fine. If you only have 2 hours, see Dutch oven directions below.
- Transfer the roast to a serving bowl or platter and let it rest for 5-10 minutes. Cut the roast into chunks or shred the meat and add back to the liquid. Serve over rice, potatoes, or bread.
Notes
Other variations:
- Bacon - Before searing the meat, replace the fat with 4-5 slices of diced bacon. Cook it until some fat starts rendering and it begins to turn golden-brown. Push the bacon to the sides and add the beef and sear it.
- Gravy - Pour the cooking liquid into large saucepan and bring to a boil. Cook until the gravy is reduced to desired thickness. OR Once the sauce boils add flour dissolved in water (1/2 cup water with 1/4 flour dissolved in it) and stir until it is thickened. Return gravy to crockpot and add chopped meat.
- Dutch oven - (Not tested yet, but I like the idea!) Prepare the meat for the pot roast in the bottom of a Dutch oven, then place all the ingredients on top of the seared roast. Cover and bring to boil. Then either simmer over very low heat OR cook in a 325°F oven until the pot roast is tender. Cooking time will be reduced, so begin checking the roast after about 2 hours.
Enjoy!