When you can’t wait 8 hours for the traditional Slow Cooker Mississippi Pot Roast and you want all the fixings to caramelize the oven is your best bet. My family loves my Pot Roast and this brings the old recipe to extraordinary.

Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

3 Pound chuck roast
2 Pounds carrots-peeled and cut to fit dutch oven or roaster
3 Pounds russets-peeled and quartered
1 Yellow onion-quartered (optional)
2 Cloves garlic-slivered (optional)
1 Tablespoon cooking oil
1 Cube butter
8 Whole Pepperoncini peppers
1 Packet au jus
1 Packet ranch dressing
Fresh ground pepper

Have all ingredients ready before beginning.

In a dutch oven (or lidded roasting pan) large enough to accommodate all ingredients with a snug fit brown the exterior of the meat in the cooking oil over medium high burner. Sear the meat on both sides and set aside.

Turn heat down if needed. Scrape the bottom of the dutch oven to loosen drippings and add 2 T of the butter. Add the carrots, potatoes, and onion (if using). Brown the vegetables lightly. This can be done in batches if necessary. Add the garlic (if using) in the last minutes to avoid scorching.

Remove dutch oven from heat. Place all vegetables into the dutch oven if browned in batches. Sprinkle 1/2 each of the packets over the vegetables. Add Ground pepper to desired taste.

Move the vegetables (level) to allow meat to set evenly over them in the dutch oven. Sprinkle the meat with the remaining packet(s) ingredients. Add ground pepper over meat as desired.

Add the peppers.

Cut up the remaining butter and layer over meat.

Cover with a tight fitting lid and place into a preheated oven. The cooking process will take 2 1/2 to 3 hours depending on your oven.

When done remove ingredients to a warm serving plate. Juices can be used as a gravy. If concerned about the fat content use a fat separator.

Thickening can be used if you like. (I didn’t need thickening.) I prefer flour to cornstarch. Add two tablespoons of flour to a pint jar filled with cool water. Shake vigorously to remove lumps. Heat juices over medium heat in your dutch oven. Add just a bit of this at a time to your bubbling juices. Whisk to keep smooth. You may not use all the mixture. Oh no, too thick. Just add a little water to the gravy mixture you have created. Keep whisking to avoid lumpy. Oh no, still too thin. Continue heating gravy to reduce. Be sure to add salt and pepper to taste.