Smoky Goodness Pot Roast with Gravy

I really like 7-bone chuck for pot roast. And chili. And beef stew. Its a versatile cut, as long as you have some time (or a pressure cooker). Turns out, I have both. And Safeway had 7-bone chuck on sale. I wanted a smokey pot roast. But I also wanted gravy. Roasted carrots & potatoes. A beverage. Turned out I wanted a lot. And it was already 4-pm. Better get a move on, Jerry.

6.5 lb 7-bone chuck roast with mustard and Beef Roast seasonings

I like to start a lot of my low and slow bbq meats with a coating of mustard and spices. The mustard might tenderize, but it definitely holds the spices in place. It also disappears by the time you serve it. I do this a lot with ribs and brisket. The spice rub I was using was Penzey’s (www.penzys.com) Beef Roast seasoning blend. I like it a lot on pot roasts and beef stew.

Pot roast ready to go on the Big Green Egg

Normally with a pot roast, I would sear each side in a hot pan. Get some carmelization going. This time, I was trading that in for a little infused smoky goodness. My Big Green Egg was set up for indirect cooking. There is a ceramic plate directly over most of the fire. Directly underneath the grate is a disposable water pan (to better control the temperature and catch the fat drippings). I was cooking with wood charcoal with a mix of apple, pecan, and hickory woods to add some smoke. I was holding the temperature at close to 300°. The Big Green Eggs do this really well.

2 hours of smoke roasting later, the roast emerges

Two hours later, it was ready for the next step. If I had several hours more available, I would have continued to cook it on the Big Green Egg. I probably would have put it in a foil covered aluminum pan with some beef stock, onions & tomatoes. Pot roast loves to braise. And I love to have gravy. If I went this route, I would have liked probably 2-3 more hours minimum. It was a big thick roast, after all. But I didn’t have that kind of time.

The miracle of the pressure cooker saved me once again.  I whipped out that culinary bad boy, sauteed some onions and celery. Added some beef stock, fire roasted tomatoes, and some white wine. Cut my pot roast into manageable chunks and into the pressure cooker it went for a little sauna treatment. Locked in at high pressure, the roast took about 30 minutes to finish in the pressure cooker. I let the pressure come down on its own and the meat was just perfect.

The meat went into a serving container, and it was time to focus on some gravy. I thickened up the cooking liquid with an immersion blender. It wasn’t thick or “gravy” enough for me, so I added some cornstarch/water and some Knorr Brown Gravy mix (don’t judge me, it is really tasty mixed in with other liquids).

Smoky pot roast and gravy

I had oven roasted some carrots and little potatoes. Pot roast loves gravy, but it has a long time friendship with carrots and potatoes. These guys were roasted at about 400°, with me shaking the pans every 15 minutes until they were done (about 45 minutes). This was going to be a meat and potatoes kind of meal. Vice Que-ster Paul approves.

Pot roast with supporting characters

All right, it was after 8pm by the time I go this plated. But still totally worth it. The meat and gravy was good. The carrots stole the show. They were really good. And then they were really gone.

Plated smoky pot roast

I had my friend and fellow Que-ster, Paul, over that night. We had a bottle of Stella Artois with dinner.

Paul "Clean Plate" Carufel will fight anyone that gets between him and pot roast

So that is my story about BBQ pot roast. The meat had a nice red smoke ring and flavor. Went really well with potatoes, carrots, and gravy. Crazy good.

Oh yeah, my beverage while smoking the meat was a Rittenhouse Rye on the rocks with some Fee Brothers Old Fashioned Bitters and an orange peel. I already used crazy good. This simple cocktail was mad good. I really like how the orange peel infused itself into the rye. Almost sweetening it. I already like lemon peel as a garnish for a Manhattan, but I’ll be trying orange peel there, too (heresy). Till next time! Cheers! Jerry

Cheers from Paul (and me, too)!