WHAT IS POT ROAST? Pot roast is a big, tough beef cut (usually a cheap cut perfect for slow cooking), seared, covered and cooked slow with herbs and veggies in a flavourful broth until fall apart tender. A good pot roast can be made with any cut of beef roast: chuck roast, round roast, or briskets.

The muscles clustered around the steer's shoulder, chest, belly, and hip include familiar cuts such as the chuck, brisket, and round. Surprisingly, the tough connective tissues in these cuts make them choice options for a pot roast.

The cuts of meat that are used to cook Pot Roast is very filling, which is a positive for a large family. Pot roast consist of cut of meat such as chuck roast, which are tough cuts of meat but easy to braise. This means they can make their own juices.

Origins. According to the food writer James Beard, French immigrants to New England brought their cooking method called à l'étouffée for tenderizing meats. Later immigrants from Germany to Pennsylvania and the Mid West cooked sauerbraten and marinated roasts, larded and slow-cooked for taste and tenderness.

“Pot roast,” as a term for browned meat cooked with vegetables in a covered pot, began appearing in cookbooks in the late 19th century, but this method of slow cooking in liquid, known as braising, is centuries older.

Pot roasting is one of the combination cooking methods which involves both dry- and moist-heat cooking. Meat is often first browned before it is slowly cooked in a liquid. With just a few added vegetables, these one pot wonders require very little effort from the cook.

Beef Chuck Roast Other cuts that are either the same (under a different name) or come from the same area are the chuck eye, blade roast, shoulder roast, shoulder steak, arm steak, arm roast, cross-rib roast, or seven-bone roast. Some butchers also sell the chuck generically labeled as “pot roast.”

This led to the development of the classic American pot roast, which is typically made with a beef chuck roast that is braised in a flavorful liquid with vegetables, such as carrots and onions. Pot roast became a popular dish during the Depression era, when meats were scarce and people had to use cheaper cuts of meat.

“Pot roast,” as a term for browned meat cooked with vegetables in a covered pot, began appearing in cookbooks in the late 19th century, but this method of slow cooking in liquid, known as braising, is centuries older.

Pot roast is an American dish usually based on a tougher cut of beef that is seared in a pan and simmered in stock or its own juices. In America, the dish is also known as Yankee pot roast, referring to the fact that it's most often prepared in New England.

The best cuts of meat for pot roast

• Chuck roasts. Chuck roasts are the #1 choice for pot roasts.
• Brisket. The brisket is the primal located in the lower breast area of the steer.
• Beef rump roast.
• Sear before roasting.
• Brown your vegetables.
• Use fresh herbs.
• Time your vegetables.
• Best pot roast (chuck roast)