Slow-Cooked Pot Roast - Craig Lithgow

POT ROAST: 2 T butter
5 lbs. rump roast or chuck roast
1 large onion, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 bay leaf
1 large glove garlic, chopped
20 whole peppercorns
1/2 tsp. thyme
1/2 tsp. parsley
3-4 cups beef stock/broth
1 tsp. salt
2 large carrots, sliced

GRAVY: 2 cups beef stock/broth
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
salt & pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Melt the butter in a large oven-safe pot.(Dutch oven) and sear all sides of the roast in the melted butter for 2-3 minutes per side, or until all sides are browned. Remove the meat from the pot. Add the onion, celery, bay leaf, garlic, peppercorns, thyme and parsley and sauté for 5 minutes until the onion starts to brown. Put the roast back in the pot with the vegetables. Add beef stock and ½ tsp salt. Cook the meat in the oven, covered, for 4 hours or until the meat is tender enough to tear apart. Baste the meat with the broth every half hour so that it doesn’t dry out. When the roast is tender, remove it from the pot and strain the stock into a medium bowl. Discard the vegetables and spices, but keep the stock. Using two forks, shred the roast into bite-size chunks. Put the meat back into the pot and pour the stock over it. Add the remaining ½ tsp. salt and the carrots. Put the pot back in the oven and cook for 40-50 minutes. This will make the meat even more tender. Just before serving, make gravy by straining the stock from the pot roast and combining it with an additional 2 cups of beef stock. Sprinkle the flour into a medium saucepan and stir in the liquid. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until thick. Remove from the heat. Season to taste.