Perfect Pot Roast

When I was growing up, my family always had roast, mashed potatoes, and gravy. It was a staple dinner and most amazing. When I went away to school and had my own kitchen, I naturally had this urge to cook something more than just macaroni and cheese. One day, feeling ambitious, I decided to embark on the pot roast making endeavor. It does take a bit of practice, but it is doable and definitely not impossible. Here's how to make the perfect pot roast that's just like (or at least reminiscent of) your mother's!

You can use either a rump roast or a chuck roast for your pot roast, but I prefer the chuck roast because it's tenderer when cooked. You'll need salt, flour, a pot (go figure), and time.

1. Salt the roast on all sides. Make sure you salt it well and get into all the little cracks in the meat. The more salted the meat is, the better it will taste.
2. Follow that by coating it in a thinner layer of flour. Be careful with this process, though, because you don't want to take off the salt layer you just put on. (But you do need the flour to coat the entire roast.)
3. You then proceed to brown the roast. Put a bit of oil in the bottom of the pot and turn the burner on the stove to high. Let the oil heat up a bit and then put the roast in the pot with one side down. The roast will sizzle and probably send up a bunch of steam (and maybe smoke), but it's nothing to worry about. Keep an eye on the roast and rotate it so all the sides end up browned. Immediately following this, pour about a cup of water into the pot and steam will come up immediately, making a loud, hissing sound. Cover the pot right away and turn the burner down to about medium to medium-high.
4. Once the roast is covered in the pot, let it cook for about two-and-a-half to three hours, depending on the size of the roast.
5. You'll know the roast is finished when it's brown and juicy all over and the meat is tender. You can then take the roast out and start on making the gravy from the drippings!
6. For the gravy just add a little less than a cup of water and stir the drippings around while adding a mixture of water and flour to thicken it. Thicken to your desire.

Now that your roast is made and your gravy concocted you're ready for an amazing roast dinner. Who knew you could cook a pot roast? Now you do!