In all honesty, I’m not a big fan of winter time food. It’s generally heavy and not very “fresh” per say. However, I am a fan of comfort food, and pot roast is DEFINITELY comfort food. There really is nothing better than a savory roast over mashed potatoes while it is dark and cold outside. Add in a hallmark Christmas movie and BAM. Ya got me.

This recipe is one that has been coming together over the course of the fall. This was my third attempt at it and I’ve figured out that two things make or break it: the cut of meat and the marination time. For this pot roast you’ll want a pretty well-marbled beef roast cut. For the marination, allow at least 5-6 hours. It’s better if it can go overnight though.

Marination: place beef in a glass dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle 2 tsp onion salt, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp thyme, and 1 tsp rosemary over beef. Cover with 1/2-3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar, about a 3-1 ratio. Cover with plastic wrap and place in fridge.

1. Once the meat is ready to be cooked, slice up an onion and dice 3 cloves of garlic. Have them ready to go and set to the side.
2. In a cast iron skillet, drizzle olive oil (about 1 tablespoon, but use your own judgement.) Heat the pan up really hot. You want to get a sear on the beef without starting the internal cooking process.
3. Once the pan is hot, sear both sides and then set aside. Drizzle a little more olive oil in pan if necessary and sauté the onion and garlic.
4. Once they start to become soft, add in the leftover marination juices.
5. Separate the onion and garlic down the middle, remove the pan from heat, and put into a 375 degree oven for about 1 hour, depending on how well done you want the beef.

If you want the beef a little less done, cut cooking time. Do not cover the beef at any point during the cooking process. Leaving it uncovered encourages the smoky flavor the Worcestershire sauce has already introduced during the marination process.

Wine pairing: medium-bodied red such as a Grenache. You can even do a Pinot Noir on the lighter end and depending on your tastes, a Sangiovese.

Ingredient List:

2 lbs beef roast, well marbled

1/2-3/4 cup Worcestershire sauce and balsamic vinegar blend, 3-1 ratio

2 tsp onion salt

1 tsp salt

1 tsp rosemary

1 tsp thyme

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1/2 white onion, chopped

3 cloves garlic, diced

Happy roasting!