How to Cook a Tender Beef Roast and Veggies

Delicious Beef Roast and Veggies – Even with a cheap chuck roast

Now that fall is truly here, I love me some good old vegetables cooked with a juicy beef roast. (“I love me” is maybe a funny country expression to some readers. Urban dictionary online tells me it’s a slang expression for “I really love”.)  

My husband is not fond of the stewed vegetables part. He loves the beef and the broth which he laces over the slices of beef, and while he loves potatoes and carrots and even cabbage (as cole slaw), he’ll take a pass on the veggies that have cooked several hours in the steamed environment of beef roasting (whether in a crockpot or in the oven).

So for his veggies, I also add a mess of green beans to the menu. I mash some potatoes, and voila, an easier dinner is hard to imagine. (Okay, slicing the beef and mashing the potatoes in close succession near serving time gets a little hairy in terms of keeping everything hot and juicy.) Sometimes I make beef gravy, which adds to the last minute fuss.

Do you need a recipe for throwing this together? Not really, but for the maybe newbies out there, here’s a start. And if you have family members who prefer to keep the vegetables separate from the beef, you can do as I did and layer several layers of cabbage leaves on top of the roast (boat fashion) and place there your potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions, as desired.

I used a carefully selected chuck roast—the best of several on display at the supermarket where I shop, and slightly hiding toward the back. It was on sale for $3.49 and it turned out to be delicious! This recipe should feed a family or group of 4, double for more. For two of us, it allows delightful leftovers for a meal or two.

Beef Roast and Veggies

3-4 pound roast
5-8 outer cabbage leaves
4 potatoes peeled and cut into smaller hunks (2 or 3 hunks from each potato)
4-5 whole carrots
(I did not use celery or onion with this roast but they add delightful savory flavors and texture)
1 teaspoon salt
½ to 1 teaspoon pepper or to taste

Brown roast on all sides in a hot skillet with about 1 tablespoon of Crisco or other shortening. To brown on all sides, use a large tongs to hold it up and carefully allow each edge to sear a bit. Just a minute or two is enough. (The roast can be frozen, partially frozen or thawed. Adjust cooking times and temperature accordingly.)

Put roast in crock pot. Add salt and pepper to the top of the roast. Then add maybe 1 cup water to the remains of your browning of the roast in the still hot skillet—the beginnings of a nice broth. Let it cook just a bit (not more than a minute). Pour this watery broth over the roast. (The roast’s own juices will cook out and add extra flavor and broth.)

Pile up the cabbage leaves (boat style), add carrots, potatoes, and any other veggies or seasoning you wish to add on top of the cabbage.  

Put the lid on tight and cook for 4-6 hours on low.

When time to serve, skim off the layer of veggies into a separate bowl and serve that way. Carve roast (it will likely be very moist and easy to cut). Do not cook too long on high as this will burn or cook the bottom of the roast too fast.

Bon appetit! Or as my father-in-law used to say (born in Alabama and lived most of his life in Virginia) “Take bread and eat!”

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How do you enjoy roast beef? Or not?

What family differences do you have in relation to favorite meals or foods?

For some of the best of Mennonite cooking historically, check out this lovely volume! Available here.