Beer Braised Pot Roast. Perfectly tender, and packed with hearty flavor.

Beer Braised Pot Roast means a beef roast, slowly braising in a seasoned mixture of beer, beef stock, fresh herbs and vegetables. Fall apart tender, and packed with hearty flavor. I don’t know about you, but that’s something I’m very into.

This Beer Braised Pot Roast recipe finds its way on our dinner table regularly. It’s one that is easy to get going early in the day, and still be productive. Then the aromas start to fill your house, seducing you into a stomach growling hunger that brings everybody together for dinner. My son loves it. He eats everything, onions and all. So if a picky 1 1/5 year old approves, you can rest assured that it passes the flavor test. It uses one pot, and is almost impossible to mess up. Let’s talk about it.

What Kind of Meat to Use for Beer Braised Pot Roast

You’re going to be using a large piece of meat, but the good news is that the cheaper cuts actually work better here. They contain high amounts of collagen and connective tissue, which break down during the cooking process, and transform into a tender, fall apart roast. The two I recommend most are chuck and round.

• Chuck: Comes from the front part of the animal, consisting of parts of the shoulder, neck, and upper arm. These are tough cuts, but full of flavor, and when slow cooked, break down to become very tender. They tend to carry a good amount of fat, so if that’s something you’re not into, opt for the Round.
• Round: Cut from the rear or rump of the animal, the round comes from highly used muscles. This results tough cuts, and less marbling which means leaner meat. They also benefit from long, slow cooking, and can be incredibly tender when given proper time.

Browning the Beef

The classic fall apart tenderness comes from the long braise, but an important step in building the flavor is browning the beef. You’ll set your dutch oven over medium high heat, season the roast liberally with salt and pepper, and sear on all sides. Searing allows the outside of the roast to caramelize, and develop a much deeper flavor. This will smoke out your kitchen, so turn on your vent fan, or open some windows, but trust me, it’s worth it.

Beer Braising

Braising is a method of cooking that involves slowly cooking in a shallow liquid bath that steams inside a vessel and tenderizes food. You aren’t looking to completely submerge your roast, but instead are just providing enough liquid to allow the beef to stay moist as it breaks down. The best part is that all that braising liquid is condensed at the end into the most amazing gravy that gets poured on top.

Why beer?

Using beer in recipes is no new concept. We are using a stout here, specifically Lakewood Brewing’s Temptress Imperial Milk Stout. I love this deep, sweet, complex beer, and of corse bought a six pack when I only needed one for this recipe. The beer adds such a nice warm rich note to this recipe, and if you’re not a drinker, don’t worry, almost all of the alcohol cooks out during the braising process.

What else goes into the braising liquid?

We are building the flavor of the dish with the braising liquid. This beer definitely has a sweet profile, so we want to balance it out with salt and other seasonings to make a well rounded flavor. To do this we are using:

• Beer
• Beef stock
• Worcestershire
• Tomato Paste
• Chili flakes
• Ancho Chili Powder
• Smoked Paprika
• Salt & Pepper

Deglazing

One more important step that will help build flavor in the braising liquid is deglazing the pot. You’ll notice as you sear off the meat, that the bottom of your dutch oven will become charred, and brown with little bits stuck to the bottom. This is super concentrated flavor that you want to take advantage of, and deglazing will achieve that. Pouring the beer in the hot pan will cause it to sizzle and steam like crazy, and that actually helps lift the browning off the bottom allowing you to easily scrape it up with a wooden spoon.

Love Your Vegetables too

This beer braised pot roast is all about the beef, but let’s not forget the veg! We’re keeping it simple with carrots and onions. I love the rustic approach of large, hearty chunks. You’ll obviously want to remove the skins from the onions, but we’re going to keep the skins on the carrots. Carrot skins have so much flavor, and not to mention many vitamins and nutrients. The long cook breaks them down, and they will be very tender, just make sure to give them a good wash!

Don’t worry, we are still showing love for our veggies by giving them a sear before braising, just like the beef. You’re not trying to cook them all the way through, but are just looking for some nice caramelization and color to form.

Keeping it Fresh with Herbs

Herbs have a way of waking a dish up like nothing else. There are so many to choose from, but with this recipe we are sticking to two classics, thyme and rosemary. Removing the leaves from the stems and giving them a rough chop before they go into the pot to work their magic. Then at the end, we’ll reintroduce a sprinkle for garnish and to add that extra bit of freshness.

Let’s make this bad boy! Beer Braised Pot Roast Recipe:

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I hope this pot roast made your family as happy is it did mine! If you loved it, please give it a 5 star rating and let me know your thoughts in the comment form below! And if you’re looking for something sweet to follow up all this savoriness, try my blueberry lemon cobbler, or our roasted grape galette! You Can’t go wrong with either one!