Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy

A hearty comfort meal the whole family can enjoy, this Pot Roast is an easy crowd-pleaser on a cold winter night.

Originally Posted: Jan. 19, 2022

Total Time: 4 hours

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Intro

This recipe for Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy is a family favorite; my mom has been making it this way for at least 40 years, changing and improving upon it over time. Perfect for when you find chuck roast or similar roast cuts on sale.

This version came from my mom and I combining some pot roast braising techniques I’ve experimented with over the years with her (already very tasty) tried and true method. The main additions were red wine and beef broth.

I’ve also included multiple methods for cooking this pot roast. To start, there’s a basic Oven-Braising method using a skillet to sear and a baking dish to braise (so far, this produces our favorite results). There’s a Dutch Oven method that is almost identical, but cuts down on how many cooking implements you need to use. For ease of cooking on a weeknight, I’ve also included a Slow Cooker version and an Instant Pot version.

Note: You can easily use a can of premade cream of mushroom soup instead of making your own, but ever since my mom learned how easy it was to make her own, she’s never gone back. Either way, you add a packet of powdered onion soup mix to it.

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Brief History of the Braising Technique

Braising has long been a cooking technique used to tenderize and break down tougher, cheaper cuts of meat. At its most basic, braising is a combination cooking technique where you sear the outside of meat at high temperatures and then simmer it low and slow for several hours in an amount of liquid. This slow cooking breaks down connective tissues in the meats such as collagen into softer compounds like gelatin.

Famous examples of braising include coq au vin, beef bourguignon, osso bucco, braised oxtail, and Asian-style braised pork belly.

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Ingredients

For Meat

• 4 lb. – 7.5 lb. Chuck Roast or similar cut (the amount depends on how many people you’re cooking for, and I’d suggest ½ – 2/3 lb. minimum per person).
• Cooking Oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 1 cup Red Wine
• 1 cup Beef Broth

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For Cream of Mushroom Gravy

• 12oz. Shiitake Mushrooms, sliced
• 12 oz. Mini Portabella Mushrooms, slices
• Small Shallot, minced (can substitute 6 – 8 sliced Green Onions)
• ½ cup Butter
• 7-½ Tbsp. Flour
• Salt & Pepper, to taste
• 1-½ cups Broth mixture from the meat (or your choice of broth)
• 1-½ cup Milk
• 2 cubes Chicken Bouillon
• 1 packet Lipton Powdered Onion Soup Mix

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Equipment

Oven-Braised Method

• Skillet
• Baking Pan with walls
• Secondary Baking Pan (optional, we used an oven-safe Pyrex one for the final 30 minutes and for serving)
• Pot, for mushroom soup (if making from scratch; could just use the skillet if it’s big enough)

Dutch Oven Method

Note: Same as Oven-Braised method, except you’re using a single Dutch Oven in place of the skillet and baking pan above.

• Large Dutch Oven
• Pot, for mushroom soup

Slow Cooker Method

• Skillet
• Slow Cooker
• Pot, for mushroom soup (if making from scratch; could just use the skillet if it’s big enough)

Instant Pot Method

• Instant Pot (8 quart model)
• Pot for mushroom soup (if making from scratch)
• Glass Lid for Instant Pot (optional, but nice to have for the finishing touches)

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Written Instructions

Oven Cooking Methods

Basic Oven-Braised Method

Total Time: 4 hours

Prepping Meat

Preheat oven to 325°F (163°C).

Sprinkle your meat generously with salt and pepper. With big cuts of meat, it’s a good idea to use more salt than you think you’ll need; it’s going to penetrate the meat through osmosis. Preheat a skillet to a good searing heat (400°F+/204°C+) and sear your meat on all sides to brown it, using tongs or forks to flip it around to get all the sides.

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Braising

Set meat aside, then add 1 cup of red wine to deglaze the pan: use a stiff spatula or wooden spoon to stir the bits of meat stuck to the pan into the wine. This mixture is called fond, and it’s full of flavor. Pour fond over the meat in the baking pan, then add 1 cup of beef broth. Cover baking pan with foil and place in oven. We’re going to keep it in there until the meat is fork-tender and easily shred-able, which in our case took between 3.5 and 4 hours.

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Cream of Mushroom Gravy

For most of this recipe’s ~40 years of existence, my mom just added a can of premade cream of mushroom soup and a packet of powdered onion soup mix to the pot roast after it’d been shredded. However, beginning a few years ago she began making her own from scratch, and she hasn’t looked back. You can use either method, depending on how much time and energy you have.

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About 3 hours into the oven time, begin prepping your mushrooms. Take the stems off the shiitake mushrooms and then slice those and the “mini bella” mushrooms. Melt ½ cup of butter in a pot or large skillet, then add minced shallot (or sliced green onions) and sliced mushrooms. Sautee for a few minutes until veggies start to sweat and brown, then add 7-½ Tbsp. of flour and stir so that everything’s coated.

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Take pot roast out of oven and take 1-½ cups of the braising liquid; add this to the mushrooms followed by 1-½ cups of milk, then put the pot roast back in the oven. Add salt & pepper to taste, then a packet of Lipton’s powdered onion soup mix. Allow the mixture to cook down to a gravy consistency.

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Final Steps

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At the 3.5 hour mark, take pot roast out of the oven; it should be fork-tender at this point. Slice/shred it up, and then transfer to another oven-safe baking dish (or drain the braising liquid from your first baking dish). Optional: Reserve the braising liquid/pan drippings for other uses such as risotto, soups, Yorkshire pudding, whatever pan drippings are good in.

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Add the mushroom soup gravy, mix everything around a little, then stick it back in the oven to cook for 20 – 30 minutes longer. Serve with your choice of sides, such as mashed potatoes and vegetables.

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Dutch Oven Method

Total Time: 4 hours

This is the same as the Oven-Braised Method above, except you can do the searing and braising all in one Dutch Oven. You’ll want to use a Dutch oven that can fit all the meat and other ingredients, such as this enameled 7.25qt model (or an even larger one).

For a more advanced version of the Dutch Oven method: If you have a bare (un-enameled) seasoned cast iron Dutch oven, this recipe could be done outdoors over the fire if you have the experience cooking that way. There are some great books out there about getting your coals to the proper temperature as well as coal placement. I haven’t done this over-the-fire method myself yet, so I won’t speak to it at length, but it’s on my bucket list.

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Alternate Cooking Methods

Slow Cooker Method

Total Time: 4 – 8 hours

Sprinkle your meat generously with salt and pepper. Preheat a skillet to a good searing heat (400°F+/204°C+) and sear your meat on all sides to brown it, using tongs or forks to flip it around to get all the sides. Set meat aside, then add 1 cup of red wine to deglaze and scrape off the fond. If you’re going to start your slow cooker in the morning and then need to leave, you can sear the meat the night before and then refrigerate the meat and the deglazing liquid for the morning.

Add meat, deglazing liquid, and 1 cup broth to Slow Cooker. Set to HIGH for 4 hours, or LOW for 8 hours, and cook until fork tender.

In the final hour or so, cook the homemade cream of mushroom gravy, or have a can of premade cream of mushroom soup ready. In the final 30 minutes, take meat out of slow cooker and remove the braising liquid (and reserve it for other use if you want to). Shred/slice the meat, then add it back to the slow cooker with the mushroom soup and a packet of powdered onion soup on the WARM setting. Allow to cook for 30 more minutes, then serve.

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Instant Pot Method

Total Time: 1.5 hours

Sprinkle your meat generously with salt and pepper. Set 8qt Instant Pot to “Sauté” setting and sear your meat on all sides to brown it, using tongs or forks to flip it around to get all the sides. Set meat aside, then add 1 cup of red wine to deglaze and scrape off the fond. Add meat back in, and add 1 cup of broth.

Lock the lid on the Instant Pot, then switch over to the “Pressure Cook” setting, and set your timer for 1 hour. Cook the homemade cream of mushroom gravy, or have a can of premade cream of mushroom soup and a packet of onion soup mix ready.

Natural release for 10 minutes, then quick-release. Set the meat aside to shred/slice, then transfer to a serving dish (reserve braising liquid for other uses if you want to). Add mushroom gravy mixture and serve.

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Other Things to Try

Braised Sides

Rather than making separate side dishes, you could add things like potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions directly to the braising fluid along with your meat. You just want to make sure you have room for it all. This can be done with any of the cooking methods mentioned above.

One of the first Instant Pot recipes I ever cooked involved add Yukon Gold potatoes and baby carrots directly in there with the meat. I experimented with adding a variety of liquids to my braising mixture, including red wine or whatever beer I was drinking. I think I’ve even added miso paste a few times. The end result is some very flavorful veggies.

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Listed Instructions

Oven/Dutch Oven Version

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Slow Cooker Version

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Instant Pot Version

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