Kalamata Pot Roast

Several years ago I picked up one of those pamphlet cookbooks from the checkout stand at the grocery store and found a recipe for a roast that I thought would make a great Mother's day meal.  When our two oldest boys asked me what they could make me for dinner I suggested this roast.  

I wondered what it was going to be like after turning two teen-aged boys loose in the kitchen, but after the first 15 minutes, the house started to smell wonderful and I found myself looking forward to a delicious meal...I was not disappointed!  This roast with a couple of amazing tweaks by the boys was full of flavor and so tender there was no need to cut it with a knife!  

A year or so after that Mother's Day, my husband Kent and our friend Randy Macari, entered a cooking contest and prepared this roast in a Dutch oven (often called a camp oven,) using charcoal briquettes.  They executed it perfectly and won the two thousand dollar award! 

You can make this in a slow cooker, in a cast iron pot, or in grandma's good old Dutch oven.  I have enamel cast iron pots that go in the oven that bake evenly and seal in the moisture.  Either way is great!

3-4 pound boneless beef chuck roast
2-3 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 Cup brown sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

1 large garlic clove, chopped

1/2 Cup Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

1/2 Cup Kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

1/2 Cup beef broth

1 jar (10 oz.) small whole onions or 1/2 cup fresh or frozen

Brown roast on all sides. Place in a slow cooker or cast iron pot.  Sprinkle seasonings on top of roast in order listed, carefully pour beef broth on top of the roast (mostly around) so as not to wash off all the seasonings. Cover and cook 6-8 hours in the slow cooker or 

at 300 degrees in the oven for 4 hours.

I heated the oil in the pot that I wanted to cook my roast in and browned it on all sides

Add brown sugar and spread out evenly on roast

Add Oregano, Basil, Italian Seasonings, Salt and Pepper

Add Garlic, Sun dried tomatoes and Kalamata Olives

Carefully pour the beef broth over the top of roast and add onions  

Cover the pot and bake at 300 degrees for 4 hours or until very tender.

Now take that thing out of the oven, plate it up and dive in!  You can strain the juices and make a yummy gravy or just pour the juice over the roast!  Enjoy this sweet and savory roast and I can promise there won't be too many left overs if any after feeding your family!

© Nancy Rappleye 2017