Horseradish Pot Roast

Post-rehearsal-dinner recovery week. The check has cleared. The two helpers have been paid. The rented linens have been returned. The thank-you notes from Cassie and Ben’s parents have arrived in the mail. The apartment is the kind of quiet that follows a big project — the relief of the system having performed and the small empty space where the prep used to be.

The horseradish pot roast is Carol Bryant’s Sunday dinner from the years when Dustin and his brother were small. A three-pound chuck roast, seared in a Dutch oven, braised for three-and-a-half hours with beef stock, red wine, onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and a quarter-cup of prepared horseradish whisked into the braising liquid. The horseradish does not taste like horseradish in the finished gravy — the long braise mellows it — but it gives the gravy a low-key heat and a complexity that distinguishes it from a standard pot roast.

The technique question is when to add the horseradish. Carol’s recipe specifies adding it at the start of the braise, with the stock, before the lid goes on. Some online recipes I have seen recommend finishing the gravy with the horseradish at the end, after the pot roast comes out. The two approaches produce very different results — the early addition gives the integrated, mellowed character; the late addition gives a sharp horseradish-cream-style finish. Carol’s way is the way I prefer.

Sunday I made it. The pot roast was on the stove from one PM to four-thirty. Dustin came home from a short Saturday at the shop at six and the apartment smelled like Carol’s house in Memphis. Dustin had two plates with mashed potatoes and the herb-buttered carrots from the off-parole Sunday. The leftover pot roast covered Monday lunch and Tuesday dinner.

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 3 hours 30 minutes | Total Time: 3 hours 50 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients

3 to 3 1/2 lbs beef chuck roast
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, smashed
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine
4 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch pieces
3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes, quartered
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
Fresh parsley, chopped, for serving

Instructions

Preheat and season. Preheat your oven to 325°F. Pat the chuck roast dry with paper towels and season generously on all sides with salt and pepper.
Sear the roast. Heat the vegetable oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sear the roast for 4 to 5 minutes per side until a deep brown crust forms. Transfer the roast to a plate.
Build the base. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onion to the pot and cook, stirring occasionally, for 4 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and tomato paste and cook 1 minute more. Stir in the horseradish.
Deglaze. Pour in the red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Let it reduce by half, about 2 minutes. Add the beef broth and stir to combine.
Braise. Return the roast to the pot. Nestle in the thyme sprigs and bay leaf. Bring to a gentle simmer, then cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2 hours.
Add vegetables. Remove the pot from the oven. Add the carrots and potatoes around the roast, nestling them into the braising liquid. Cover and return to the oven for another 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork-tender and the vegetables are cooked through.
Finish and serve. Discard the thyme stems and bay leaf. Stir in the butter. Taste the braising liquid and adjust salt as needed. Shred or slice the roast and serve in shallow bowls with vegetables and plenty of the pan juices. Top with fresh parsley.

Nutrition (per serving)

Horseradish Pot Roast