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 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 incredibly 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.
If you're interested in learning more about this unique cut of beef, Traeger created a super comprehensive guide to the chuck roast that can remedy some of the mysteriousness.
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.
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 1-2 hours 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 (or butter) in the pan and allow it to get hot. (keep in mind, olive oils low smoke point makes it prone to oxidation which can lead to free radical formation. Butter may be a better alternative).
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
***Keep an eye on the liquid level as the chuck roast bakes. With longer cooking times, the pan may dry up. If this happens, progressively add more beef/chicken broth as you see fit).
- 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.
[wprm-recipe id=19146]
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
This is the best chuck roast ever. To those who are averse to using wine when cooking, be assured that only the flavor of the red wine (dry) enhances the beef stock, it does not make the broth "winey" I had a 3lb roast and used a roasting pan, which allowed ample room for liquid. I/4 cup of red wine and 1/2 of beef stock to start, will give you a good mixture. As the cooking process goes on, add additional beef stock, which reduces down to a perfect, sort of, au jus gravy. Don't forget to sauté' your garlic and chalet, I used a small, sweet onion instead. Don't overcook your roast and make it dry. 160 degrees is perfect when you remove it from the oven.
Love it Roger! Thanks for the intel for readers!
Sorry for the delayed response.
Michael
Can you recommend something other than wine to use in the cooking process? Other than my strong aversion to the taste of wine for drinking and cooking this looks amazing! Thank you so much.
Hey Carrie,
Thanks for the response. Generally speaking, most dark fruit drinks do the trick. You can try cranberry, grape or pomegranate juice. if you’re not a fan of the dark fruit flavor, you can also just replace the wine with an extra 1/4 of chicken or beef stock.
Let us know how it goes!
Michael
I just made this it was pretty. It was not apart but no problem we ate it. I cooked the 1.75 lbs chuck in a cast iron pot with lid at 325. I used half a cup of dry wine in 1⁄4 cup of stock. My preference. I only used salt or pepper and no other seasoning. After 2 hours I took off the lid And did add more stock based on my oven and added my vegetables and raise temp to 350 for 45 minutes. Thanks for receipe!
Hey Terri,
Thanks for the feedback! Full disclosure, the “fall apart” statement we put on here is a little click-baity and I apologize for that. Achieving a “fall apart” chuck roast is quite the task even when you’re slow-cooking. No matter the title, we always provide a recipe we believe to be worth following. I’ve added a little section telling folks to keep an eye during the baking stage to ensure the stock/wine doesn’t run dry. Really appreciate the feedback here.
Enjoy your day!
Replying to "No liquid left".
Add more liquid. Flavor remains on the bottom and sides of the cooking vessel. Rehydrate with water or beef broth and gently stir frond off bottom and sides of vessel. Taste and adjust salt. Too salty? More water. Too bland? Adjust.
Fantastic! Thank you Gina for your input!
No liquid left 🙁
I made this tonight and it turned out great. It was my first time making this. Thanks for the recipe!
Thanks Joe!
Glad the recipe worked out for you. It’s always a little dicey trying to accommodate different ovens.
Got any suggestions for improvements? Did you add/replace any ingredients worth mentioning?
Thanks for the kind words Joe,
Wishing you all the best,
Michael
Nice recipe but. . .
It is irresponsible to recommend olive oil for searing. With a very low smoke point olive oil is just about the worst choice possible as once an oil begins to smoke it should be discarded and definitely not consumed. Also, it takes a lot longer than 30 minutes for a 2.5lb chuck roast to reach room temperature, unless your room temp is the same as your 'fridge. Good luck hustling a few bucks from your sponsored links:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(:(
Thanks for your input frequent chuck roast cooker.
Any other suggestions? How about these cook times? Do you have a similar experience with your chuck roasts?
I had to laugh – not at you – just at modern life – when you said you'd only made pot roast in a slow cooker until recently. I grew up on Sunday pot roasts roasted in the oven. My father, a non-church going construction worker – made dinner every Sunday and had it waiting when my mother and we kids got home from services. In fact, I learned to make chuck roast, mashed potatoes, bread, and cinnamon rolls from him. When Mom made roast, she more often made in on the top of the stove in a heavy Dutch oven, but I prefer roasting in the oven. She also taught me to make fried chicken, pies (though my crusts aren't as good as hers) and most other things, though I've added 50+ years of more "modern" fare. I've also made chuck roast in a crock pot and a pressure cooker, but imho (and I know others disagree), it gets too done and kind of mushy in the crockpot and isn't as tender in a pressure cooker (unless you home can it afterwards) as the oven. Plus, the flavors don't meld as well in the pressure cooker which is why pressure cooker roast beef tastes better home canned than not – again, imho.
Your recipe is similar to Dad's except he used onion not shallot, regular salt and pepper (usual , in those days) and didn't add broccoli. I don't think I will, either. I like broccoli but i t is one of the few vegges I prefer steamed rather than roasted.
Lindi!
Wow, what a comment 🙂 You know growing up, whenever we had steak, it was definitely an occasion. So instead of buying the cheaper chuck roasts, we usually went all out on a prime rib or something of the sorts. It wasn’t until much later in life that we found we could make a worthwhile meal with cheaper cuts. My mom’s signature dish is her beef stew. She starts the chuck in the dutch oven (on the stove), transfers it to the oven, and then brings it back to the stove to add the vegetables. Her ingredients are pretty basic and yet it comes out with so much flavor it’s ridiculous.
I definitely prefer steamed broccoli as well. We just didn’t feel like adding another pot to the mix 🙂
Thanks for the response Lindi. Wishing you all the success with your cooking endeavors.
By the way, did you find similar baking times for your chuck roasts?
Cheers!
Michael
Would you reduce the roast time to maybe 2 hours for a 1.5 lb roast
Hey Dale,
Yes 1.5-2hours for a 1.5 lb roast. At least, that has been our experience. But this can vary with different oven models 🙂
Let us know how it goes!
Michael