Tender Braised Beef Roast and Caramelized Onion Soup
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When I am craving something nutrient dense and delicious, I always lean toward braising beef. There’s something about some slow cooked, home grown red meat that soothes my soul. This slow braised beef chuck roast with the bone in is packed with flavor and protein that does the body good. Whenever I make this, I am so excited for the leftovers the next day immediately after I eat it, it’s probably a little weird but you’ll understand once you make this.
Cook the meat slow in the oven until the meat falls apart and all the fat and connective tissue melts like butter, leaving behind nutrients your body will be able to use easily and delicious pot roast that melts in your mouth. Then caramelize some sliced onions from the garden slowly in cast iron with butter to make a delicious dinner that will leave the entire family happy and full as ticks. This recipe is a play on that classic french onion pot roast dinner with carrots, red potatoes, and onions…. you know what I’m talking about. But it forgoes the root veggies and instead elevates the caramelized onion soup. It’s basically beefy french onion soup, which is what I’m going to call it anyway, making it more hearty and satisfying! Serve over some toasted crusty bread made with fresh milled flour and top with cheese and you’ve got yourself a meal. The best part is the leftovers… if there are any. I swear it’s even better the next day!
I prefer not to use my slow cooker for this meal because for best results there’s something about braising it in a dutch oven that makes this such a tender and flavorful roast that cannot be duplicated in a slow cooker. By all means, if that works for you, use one and I’ll give you instructions on how slow cooking it in the recipe below. Simple ingredients create the most flavorful meals! Beef is commonly cooked with red wine, something I never have, so I prefer to use balsamic vinegar… it tastes better in my opinion anyway!
Braising Beef
Braising is a cooking style in French cuisines that utilizes both dry heat and moist heat when cooking. First, you fry the meat at a high temperature to sear all sides, then cover the meat in a liquid and cook at a low and gentle simmer for several hours to produce very tender meat. I have found in my time of cooking that adding a little touch of an acid when braising produces the most buttery meat ever. Some cuts of meat really want to dry out when cooked and braising helps seal in that moisture and keep it there. For any cuts of meat, especially those that are easy to ruin by drying out or not cooking low and slow enough, consider braising. Once you start, you’ll want to braise everything. It’s a wonderful skill to have in the kitchen and an easy one to learn. When braising beef, after searing, add liquid to the dutch oven, cover tightly, and the meat will need to be baked at 325 degrees F for 1 hour per 1 pound of roast.
Equipment
- Large Dutch Oven
- Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
- Chuck roast or round roast, bone-in if it has one
- Balsamic Vinegar
- Worcestershire Sauce
- Beef Broth
- Garlic
- Bay Leaves
- Salt
- Black Pepper
- Sweet Onions
- Butter
Let’s get started!
Step 1: Prep the Roast
Preheat oven to 325F.
Preheat your enameled dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a little bit of tallow to the bottom.
Using a 3-4 pound chuck or round roast from beef or venison or whatever protein you enjoy or have, dry off with paper towels and season with salt and pepper and sear on all sides til brown and crispy looking.
Remove from heat and lay the roast down in the dutch oven.
Add in:
- 1 quart home canned beef broth
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 3 bay leaves
Add lid onto the dutch oven and place in the preheated oven. Cook the roast for 1 hour per pound of meat.
Step 2: Caramelize Onions
When about 30 minutes of cooking time remains for the roast, start caramelizing the onions.
Slice 3 pounds of onions thinly.
To a cast iron skillet preheated over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons butter.
Once the butter is melted, add the onions all at once. Place a lid on the skillet and allow the onions to cook for about 5 minutes to steam and get soft.
Remove the lid and continue to cook the onions until caramelized. Add in 1/2 tsp dried thyme, 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, and 1 tsp dried parsley to meld with the onions while they caramelize. Feel free to add in any dried or fresh herbs you enjoy!
Toward the end of cooking the onions, add in 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
Step 3: Shred the Beef
Once the beef roast is done cooking and is fork tender, pick out each bay leaf and shred the beef. Remove the bones and any excess fat pieces. Keep the shredded beef in the dutch oven.
To the shredded beef, add:
- 1 quart beef broth
- Caramelized onions
- Salt & pepper, to taste
Stir to combine and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen those brown bits… those are so flavorful! Taste and season as needed.
Step 4: Assemble the Soup
To a soup bowl, add some toasted sourdough bread or french bread to the bowl if desired.
Ladle over the beef and onion soup.
Top with cheese of choice (we love swiss, havarti, or gruyere cheese). Allow to melt. If you have oven safe bowls, feel free to broil for a minute to get the cheese brown and bubbly. It’s delicious!
Enjoy this easy recipe!
Notes:
To make this as a slow cooker meal, season and sear the beef roast then add to a slow cooker. Add the ingredients for braising in step 1 and set the crock pot on low for 6-8 hours or longer depending on the size of your roast. Shred the beef and continue with the recipe. Caramelize the onions per the recipe and mix together!
You can also use home canned french onion soup, home canned beef roast, and make this recipe super fast and easy! Simply dump the home canned beef roast in a dutch oven and bake uncovered at 425F until the edges of the beef appear crispy and heated through. Remove from the oven and add 1 quart of home canned french onion soup. Cover and place back in the oven until heated through, baking about 20 minutes. Serve!
To change up the leftovers and stretch them into another meal, make some homemade egg noodles and serve the pot roast over top the noodles. SO GOOD! Mashed potatoes are another option that are delicious smothered with this flavorful pot roast french onion soup.
Enjoy!
Equipment
- Large Dutch Oven
- cast iron skillet
Ingredients
- 3-4 lb Chuck roast or round roast bone-in if it has one
- 1 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar
- 1 Tbs Worcestershire Sauce
- 2 quarts Beef Broth divided
- 3 Bay Leaves
- Salt to taste
- Black Pepper to taste
- 3 pounds Sweet Onions sliced thin
- 3 cloves Garlic minced
- 3 Tbs Butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F.
- Preheat your enameled dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add a little bit of tallow to the bottom of the pan.
- Dry chuck roast off with a paper towel, season all sides with salt and pepper, and then sear on all sides until browned.
- Remove dutch oven from heat. Add in 1 Tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 Tbs worcestershire, 1 quart beef broth, and 2 bay leaves. Place lid on dutch oven and place in preheated oven.
- Bake for 1 hour per pound of roast.
- When about 30 minutes of cooking time remains for the roast, start caramelizing the onions.
- To a cast iron skillet preheated over medium heat, add 3 tablespoons butter. Once the butter is melted, add in the thinly sliced onions.
- Place a lid on the skillet and allow the onions to cook for about 5 minutes to steam and get soft. Remove the lid and continue to cook the onions until caramelized.
- Toward the end of cooking the onions, add in 3 cloves of minced garlic and cook until fragrant.
- Once the beef roast is done cooking and is fork tender, pick out each bay leaf and shred the beef. Remove the bones and any excess fat pieces. Keep the shredded beef in the dutch oven.
- To the shredded beef, add 1 quart of beef broth, the caramelized onions, and season with salt and pepper to taste. Stir to combine and scrape the bottom of the pot to loosen those brown bits.
- To serve: To a soup bowl, add some toasted sourdough bread or french bread to the bowl if desired. Ladle over the beef and onion soup. Top with cheese of choice; allow to melt. If you have oven safe bowls, feel free to broil for a minute to get the cheese brown and bubbly. It's delicious!
