Braise

Pot Roast With 40 Cloves of Garlic

Name: Pot Roast With 40 Cloves of Garlic
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 4 h 30 min
Total time: 5 h
Yield: Serves 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons canola (or other neutral) oil; 3 pounds boneless beef chuck, patted as dry as possible; 1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste; 2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped; 1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped; 40 peeled garlic cloves; 4 cups vegetable broth

by: Emma Laperruque

October 1, 2018

36 Ratings

Photo by Jenny Huang

Prep time 30 minutes
Cook time 4 hours 30 minutes
Serves 6

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Author Notes

The garlickiest pot roast that ever was, inspired by the Provençal classic, Chicken With 40 Cloves of Garlic. We love serving this atop buttery egg noodles, but boiled potatoes or steamed rice are just-as-good companions. For bonus points, top with fresh herbs, like parsley or dill, and maybe a dollop of yogurt or sour cream. Feel free to play around with the liquid: I like how the vegetable broth and garlic vibe with each other, but you could do beef broth or chicken broth or either of those cut with some wine. —Emma Laperruque

Test Kitchen Notes

This is one of our Big Little Recipes. Read more here: 5-ingredient Pot Roast (Featuring 40 Cloves of Garlic). —The Editors

Test Kitchen-Approved

What You'll Need

Watch This Recipe

Pot Roast With 40 Cloves of Garlic

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola (or other neutral) oil
3 pounds boneless beef chuck, patted as dry as possible
1 ¹/₂ tablespoons kosher salt, plus more to taste
2 medium onions, peeled and roughly chopped
1 ¹/₂ pounds carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
40 peeled garlic cloves
4 cups vegetable broth

Directions

Heat the oven to 325°F.
Set a large Dutch oven on the stove over high heat. While it’s getting good and hot, season the beef all over with salt. When the pan is hot, add the oil. Sear the beef all over—figure 4 minutes per side—until the outside is deeply browned and crusty. Transfer the beef to a plate.
Add the onions and carrots to the pan. Toss in the rendered beef fat and season with a pinch of salt. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic, another pinch of salt, and toss. Cook for another 5 minutes.
Nestle the seared beef on top of the vegetables, then pour the broth around the perimeter. It should rise about halfway up the meat. Bring the liquid to a simmer, then cover the pot and get in the oven.
Roast for 3 1/2 to 4 hours, flipping the meat halfway through. You can start checking the meat at 3 hours—exactly how tender or toothsome you like it is totally personal.
Before serving, remove any butcher’s twine (if it was there, holding the meat together) and use 2 forks to tear and pull the meat into big hunks and shreds. Season with more salt to taste.
Serve with something starchy. This keeps perfectly in the fridge for leftovers all week. I also love freezing portions for pat-on-the-back weeknight dinners down the road.

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Lisa J. Case
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Nancy Ai

Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

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48 Reviews

brushjl October 19, 2024

Fantastic! Yes, a bit.watery, so I left the lid off for second hour. Also.used half water, half red wine.

robin L. November 28, 2023

Does "rendering" mean straining the oil after searing the meat?

Shannon J. September 11, 2022

Made this for the first-time last night and it is amazing. The best and most tender pot roast if have ever had. Will make this recipe for now on. I did add a cup of red wine.

pinky February 2, 2022

nice

Nancy W. October 14, 2021

Great basic stew. The garlic adds a delicious mellow flavor as does the vegetable broth.

NXL October 10, 2020

This is very tasty, but more like a stew when all said and done. I took the lid off for the final two hours and that cooked the broth down some. Strained off the fat from the broth. My husband loved it ❤

Lrosen12 September 17, 2020

Looks fabulous. Just wondering why it is made with Veggie broth rather than beef. Thanks!

Susan S. May 18, 2020

Can you substitute a pork sirloin roast, about the same size? Thanks!

Emma L. May 19, 2020

Hi Susan! I actually haven't worked with that cut much, so it's hard for me to say for sure. As written, this recipe would translate well to something like boneless pork shoulder—but I'm not sure if pork sirloin would overcook in that amount of time (3 to 4 hours).

Susan S. May 20, 2020

Thanks! You are probably right. I never have cooked with this cut of meat (all I could get!), but I will find a recipe that uses it specifically. And another time I will try to get a boneless beef chuck and make this recipe!

Granny S. October 29, 2021

SUSAN S. Personally, I wouldn't worry if the Beef chuck roast was boneless or not. My mother cooked bone-in chuck roast all the time just like this, BUT not that much broth. The bone actually gave it more flavor. And she used water, but this was back in the 1960's.... I make mine with 4 cloves of garlic, halved, onions, carrots and sometimes I put potatoes (quartered) in it too and cook it all together. It's a very comforting & filling meal. Leftovers are even better.

gates November 20, 2019

This was so, so good. We used an instant pot and got excellent results. This meal literally made my whole week.

Emma L. November 20, 2019

Aw yay! Thank you.

Mindy K. April 3, 2019

Loved this so much! I too used beef broth and added a few springs of rosemary and thyme. It was incredible! One of my favorite dishes ever.

Emma L. April 4, 2019

Thanks so much, Mindy!

KathB January 20, 2019

Our family received an Instant Pot as a gift this holiday season, we have made some really great meals....from recipes intended for the Instapot. My daughter asked me to make this recipe for Sunday Dinner....my pleasure darling!

Lesson learned, don’t try to adapt any recipe for your new Instant Pot. The garlic and onions disappeared as did most of the carrots (I cut them real chunky). Good news is the final result was still delicious, texture a bit mushy.

A.G. December 6, 2018

Great recipe. I added a tablespoon of tomato paste with the carrots and onion and used beef broth instead of vegetable broth. Served over buttered noodles and with French bread. Everyone loved smearing the roasted garlic over the french bread. Delicious!

Emma L. December 6, 2018

Heck yes to buttered noodles and garlicky French bread!

Lisa J. November 7, 2018

This was soooo good! Followed the recipe exactly for the first time. Next time, I may substitute the veggie broth with beef broth. Also may add a tablespoon or two of tomato paste in with the sauteing carrots/onions/garlic. It's a keeper.

Emma L. November 7, 2018

Thanks, Lisa! So happy you enjoyed it.

deanna1001 November 4, 2018

This looks delicious and easy. I think I'll try it in a crockpot for an even easier time. After browning everything goes into the crockpot on low for 8-10 hours. I might use a bit less stock.

Emma L. November 4, 2018

Thanks! If you do try it in the slow cooker, would love to hear how it goes.

Nancy A. October 31, 2018

Hi~ I really want to make this because I love garlic but I'm a pescatarian. Would substituting the beef for my diet compromise a lot of the taste?

Emma L. October 31, 2018

Hi Nancy! What would you want to substitute in the beef's place? My first thought is this recipe for slow-roasted salmon (or other fish): https://food52.com/recipes/37487-sally-schneider-s-slow-roasted-salmon-or-other-fish. You could adapt that to include similar ingredients from this recipe, like onion, carrot, and garlic. I think your best bet is starting with a solid fish recipe, then substituting/adding ingredients that you're excited about (like garlic), versus starting with a meat recipe, then substituting the fish.

Nancy A. October 31, 2018

Oh I see! Thanks so much! I'll definitely try that :D

Mindy H. October 28, 2018

Ok, silly question, how large is the Dutch oven? I have 5.5 qt round.

Emma L. October 28, 2018

Never a silly question! A 5.5-quart Dutch oven should work well.

Caitlin M. October 21, 2018

Hi- Made this for dinner tonight and loved it. I was thinking of adapting for an upcoming dinner party...would short ribs work with this method?

Emma L. October 22, 2018

Thanks, Caitlin! So glad you enjoyed. Adapting to short ribs is a fun (and promising!) idea, though not one I've tried myself. The biggest factor you'd have to be mindful of is time, but that just means: Check earlier and more often. (The amount of liquid might vary, too, depending on how much meat and how it's cut.) I'm usually wary about trying something new for company, but the good news here is: You can make the dish days in advance, refrigerate, and gently heat up the day of the party. The flavors will get even better as they sit—and this way, there's less pressure right before people come over.

Michillinda October 16, 2018

My Dutch oven is a #22, would all of this fit in it?

Emma L. October 16, 2018

Hey there! That might be too tight... You could halve the recipe or divide into multiple pots to be safe?

Maryanne October 13, 2018

Please address the beef fat in the instructions but not the ingredients!

Emma L. October 14, 2018

Hi Maryanne! Please see my reply to mygr8kids24 below. No need to buy any additional beef fat—it's just the rendered fat from searing the beef in step 2.

mygr8kids24 October 12, 2018

Recipe states add beef fat, yet not in ingredients. Trim from meat??

Emma L. October 14, 2018

Hi, apologies for any confusion! That refers to the rendered fat from searing the beef in step 2. Will adjust to "rendered beef fat" for clarity.