A chuck roast is a fairly inexpensive cut of meat, but you have to cook it low and slow. You can buy one and cut it in half. Stash half in the freezer for another time and cook half now.
There are several ways to cook a chuck roast, but I prefer a crockpot. It’s pretty simple and has a basic formula:
- Add meat and any veggies
- Dump in a liquid
- Cook low for 7-8 hours or High for 3-4 hours
Here are the ways I’ve cooked a chuck roast:
Traditional Roast
For a traditional chuck roast, you simply add big chunks of carrots and potatoes to the crockpot pot, followed by the roast (whole) and 1 cup of beef broth.
Variations
- Add dry onion soup mix
- Add cream of mushroom soup
- Add different root veggies
- Add onions
Pepperoncini
This has to be one of the easiest dinners to make. We serve it in hoagie rolls with either Italian or Ranch dressing and some chips. Ready? Dump an entire jar, juice and all, of sliced pepperoncini into the crockpot over the roast (whole).
Variations
- Some people add a dry packet of ranch dressing mix and call it Mississippi Pot Roast
- I’m pretty sure you could try this with chicken, too
Barbacoa
This is the Chipotle copycat recipe. I love it. The ingredients below are for a full roast. If you cut yours in half, cut the sauce in half, too.
- 3 chipotles in adobo sauce
- 5 heaping teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 cup beef broth
- 2/3 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1/4 cup lime juice
- 2 tablespoons cumin
- 2 tablespoons oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon cloves (trust me!)
- salt and pepper
I blitz this all in the blender and then dump it on top of the meat.
If you remember, make salsa the day before. It tastes so much better then 2nd day. I’ve got all my salsa recipes uploaded here.
Korean Beef
This recipe takes chuck roast in a whole other direction. It’s good, not fantastic. But good + easy makes it a winner in my book 😉
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1/4 cup soy sauce
- 1/4 cup teriyaki
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon ginger (from squeeze tube)
- 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
This time you need to cut the chuck roast into 1-inch chunks before dumping the sauce on top. I trim any big chunks of fat that are ‘hard.’ You don’t have to remove it all, though.
Also, when it’s done cooking, mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with water and add to the crockpot. Cook for an extra 30 minutes and it will help the sauce thicken. Serve over rice with diced green onions and crushed peanuts.
Stew
I don’t have a good stew recipe yet. I will add it when I find one.
Why Is My Chuck Roast Still Tough After 8 Hours?
Sometimes you open the crockpot expecting there to be fall apart, fork-tender meat — and it is still tough. It happens. This is not an exact science. Close the lid and let it cook. If you need to add more liquid, go ahead. It’ll be fantastic if you are patient 🙂