FROZEN POT ROAST SLOW COOKER DINNER with horseradish, carrots, and onions IN 4.5 HOURS

Using a large hot skillet to brown and unthaw the roast quickly, you can then add red wine to de-glaze the pan and form the basis of a sauce. After you add the beef, wine, and vegetables to a slow cooker and set it for 4 hours on high, you’ll have dinner right on time. I like to cook my potatoes separately (recipe for mashed cheddar potatoes given at bottom), but if you like them in the slow cooker, add a 3 or 4 you’ve peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces right along with the carrots and onions.

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Beef

Servings: 6

Author: More Time at the Table

Ingredients

2 tablespoons canola oil
3-4 pound frozen beef chuck roast with bone
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
1/4 cup grated horseradish
2 cups dry red wine I used a mix of leftover Cabernet Sauvignon and Chianti
10 large carrots,trimmed, peeled, and cut into 2-inch pieces
3 stalks celery,trimmed, and cut into 2-inch pieces
2 large onions, cut into wedges
4 cloves garlic,minced
6 sprigs of fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 Bay leaf,broken in half

Instructions

Brown the pot roast well on both sides; it thaws as it browns:
Heat a large skillet over medium-high flame with 2 tablespoons canola oil. Add frozen pot roast sprinkled evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Brown well, covered, 10-15 minutes; turn and spread evenly with the horseradish, cooking another 10 minutes. Add wine and cook another 5 minutes uncovered or until the wine has cooked down a bit.
In the meantime, cut up the vegetables and put them in the slow cooker while the meat browns:
Trim, peel, and cut carrots, celery, and onions; peel and mince the garlic. Add about 3/4 of the them, along with half the thyme, half the bay leaf, and a 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper, to the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker turned to high. (You’ll add the rest of the vegetables and herbs on top of the beef in a moment.)
Add the beef and the wine to the slow cooker and… read a good book ’til dinner’s done:
Add browned beef and wine, scraping the bits from the bottom of the skillet into the slow cooker. Place the remaining vegetables, and the rest of the thyme and bay leaf on top of the beef. Sprinkle everything with one last good pinch of salt and pepper. Put the lid on top and cook for 4-5 hours or until meat and vegetables are tender.
Slice meat, place on platter surrounded by vegetables (remove thyme stems), and drizzle with juices. Serve with cheddar mashed potatoes if desired. (Recipe below: takes 35-40 minutes for the potatoes.)

Notes

COOK’S NOTE: You can sub 3 good-sized sprigs of rosemary for the thyme and bay. Add one on top of the first (bottom) layer of vegetables and two on top of the meat. Copyright Alyce Morgan, 2015. All rights reserved.