Ever tried cooking a chuck roast without a crock pot? Neither had we. In fact, we were so convinced it couldn't be done that we almost didn't try. It was a situation where I had to lay aside my preconceived ideas about this particular cut of the cow.
If you've ever cooked a chuck roast in a pan, you know exactly what I'm talking about. It comes out so tough it leaves your jaw exhausted by the time your finished eating. To help compensate for this issue, we did a slow oven roast with multiple stages.
We're proud to say that the steak came out incredible and the spice and veggie flavors cooked right into the meat. Take a look at the video below to see how the meat just falls apart. This is what we had in mind with the lower oven temperatures and higher cook times.
Here's our new favorite oven baked chuck roast recipe!
Enjoy!
Why Oven Bake a Chuck Roast?
There are 2 major reasons why we suggest you try oven baking a chuck roast...
1) It will expand your abilities in the kitchen and grant you more cooking options.
2) We sear before we cook (not typical with a crockpot) which will provide more of those delicious Maillard flavors in the finished product.
Plus most of us have slow cooked a chuck in the crock pot/slow cooker. It's fantastic, don't get me wrong. But we're always trying to push the envelope here and that entails trying new things.
Step by Step Video
Get Creative
We put some easy crowd pleaser veggies and spices into our chuck roast. We didn't want to mask the steak flavor because we truly wanted to know how it'd come out.
The results are in...
a chuck roast can be oven roasted and the flavor is well worth pursuing.
We were the guinea pigs here, so you can have the freedom to add whatever you'd like. Here's a list of potential ingredients...
Try These Additions
The list goes on and on. The possibilities are endless. You could cook this meal a hundred times and still have variations that'll blow your mind. The beautiful thing about steak is that if you season and cook it right, it makes the greatest star component.
- Ingredients Needed -
- Equipment Needed -
- Spices Needed -
Instructions
1) Pull you chuck roast out of the fridge and throw a modest amount of salt and pepper on both sides. Allow 30 minutes for chuck to reach room temperature for even cooking.
2) Place your oven safe pan on the stove and set on medium-high heat. Pour your 2 tablespoons olive oil in the pan and allow it to get hot (1-3 minutes).
3) Once the pan is nice and hot, throw your chuck roast on and let sear 3 minutes on each side.
4) Once seared to your liking, take your chuck roast and place it on a cutting board for the time being. Turn the heat down to medium.
5) Put your sliced shallot and 2 cloves garlic into the hot pan and let caramelize. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
6) Once caramelized, add your 1/4 cup red wine and 1/4 cup beef/chicken broth.
7) Place the chuck roast back on the pan and wrap the top of the pan with tin foil. Set pan in the oven (350°F) for 2.5 - 3 hours
-closer to 2.5 lb chuck, go for 3 hours.
-closer to 2 lb chuck, go for 2.5 hours).
8) Take the pan out of the oven (leave the oven on 350°F!) and add your 3 cups Yukon potatoes, 3 cups broccoli and 2 cups of carrots. Season with salt and pepper.
9) Cover the pan with tin foil and place in the oven (350°F) for 40 more minutes.
10) There you have it. Beautiful oven roasted chuck steak that falls right apart.
If You're Cooking for the Family
If you're cooking for the family, you may need to bake a bigger steak. If that be the case, increase the cook time by 1.5 for every 2x the weight of the steak.
For example, if you want to cook 4 lbs of chuck (2x the original 2 lbs of chuck), multiply the cook time by 1.5. This comes out to between 3.75 hours 4.5 hours).
Don't worry too much about changing the second bake time. 40 minutes usually does just fine for the potatoes and veggies of any 10-14" pan.
Conclusion
We hope you aren't so quick to dismiss oven baking a chuck roast like we were. We were blown away at the results and believe you'll feel the same. If you have any questions, comment, or complaints, don't hesitate to leave a note below. We're always looking to improve our recipes and if you have any advice, we're very open to improvements.
Cheers,
Kristina