Meltingly Tender Red Wine Braised Beef (Stovetop, Oven, Slow Cooker, Instant Pot)
Braised beef is one of my favorite things to make for dinner in the fall and winter. It's cozy, comforting, and practically guarantees an impressive result – all with very minimal effort required. This particular recipe is a slightly more budget-friendly version of my popular Damn Good Red Wine Braised Short Ribs, replacing pricier beef short ribs with a hearty chuck roast instead. After an hours-long simmer with aromatic veggies, fresh herbs, and red wine, the humble beef chuck transforms into a succulent, fall-apart tender roast that practically melts in your mouth – it's kind of like the best pot roast you'll ever have! I've included lots of braising tips and tricks in the blog post, above, and some alternate cooking methods are detailed in the Recipe Notes, below. ♡ Happy cooking!
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoonsolive oil
- 3 poundsbeef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
- 3 largecarrots, peeled as desired & diced into chunky 1-inch pieces
- 2stalks celery, finely sliced
- 1 largeyellow onion, peeled & diced into 1-inch pieces
- 8 clovesgarlic, finely chopped or grated
- 2 cupsdry red wine (see recipe notes, below)
- 2 cupsbeef stock
- 2 tablespoonstomato paste
- 2 tablespoonsworcestershire sauce
- 1 tablespoondijon mustard
- 2bay leaves
- 3 sprigsfresh rosemary
- 10 sprigsfresh thyme
- optional: flour slurry (2 tablespoons all-purpose flour whisked with ½ cup beef stock)
Directions
- 1
About 30 minutes – 1 hour before you’d like to begin cooking, pull the beef chuck roast from the refrigerator & allow it to come up to room temperature. Just before cooking, use a paper towel to pat all sides of the roast as dry as possible. Season liberally with kosher salt and ground black pepper – a good rule of thumb is 1 teaspoon kosher salt per pound of meat.
- 2
Add the olive oil to a large, heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven (at least 5-qt capacity) over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot & simmering, carefully add the chuck roast. Cook 4-5 minutes per side, until deeply browned. Don’t forget to brown the skinnier edges! Once seared, transfer to a plate & set aside.
- 3
Add the carrots, celery, onion, and garlic to the pot used to sear the chuck roast. Season with ½ teaspoon kosher salt and ground black pepper as desired. Stir to combine. Cook 2-3 minutes, just until fragrant.
- 4
Pour in the red wine, using a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits that may have formed at the bottom of the pot. Cook 1-2 minutes, then add the seared beef chuck roast back into the skillet, nestling it into the vegetables. Add in the beef stock, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, Dijon mustard, bay leaves, fresh rosemary and thyme. Stir to combine well. Bring the pot up to a boil, then reduce heat to maintain a very gentle simmer. Cover and braise, stirring occasionally, for 3 – 3 ½ hours, or until the beef is tender – it’s ready once it shreds easily with the twist of a fork.
- 5
Once the red wine braised beef is tender, carefully transfer the roast to a plate or cutting board. At this point, you can remove & discard the spent herbs and bay leaves from the pot, as well. If desired, thicken the braising liquid. Skim any excess fat from the top of the braising liquid, then return to medium heat. Once bubbling, stir in the flour slurry. Simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3-4 minutes until thickened as desired. Taste and season with additional kosher salt & ground black pepper as needed.
- 6
Shred the red wine braised beef into 6 large pieces. Serve immediately. I always place the braised vegetables and beef on a warm pile of mashed potatoes, then drizzle the red wine sauce over top. Enjoy!