Bottom round braised low and slow with carrots, onions, and potatoes — the American Sunday dinner. Cheap cut, cheap technique, deep flavour. The leftover slices make the best cold roast-beef sandwiches.
Serves 6 to 8Prep 25 minCook 3 hr 30 min
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Ingredients
- 1 bottom round roast (1.8 to 2.2 kg)
- Salt and freshly cracked black pepper
- 3 tablespoons neutral oil
- 2 large onions, thickly sliced
- 4 carrots, in chunks
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 500 ml beef stock
- 300 ml dry red wine
- 2 sprigs rosemary
- 4 sprigs thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 kg waxy potatoes, halved
- Cornstarch slurry (optional, to thicken)
Method
- 1Preheat the oven to 150 °C (300 °F). Pat the roast dry, season heavily with salt and pepper.
- 2Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over high heat. Sear the roast on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Lift onto a plate.
- 3Add the onions and carrots to the pot; cook 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste; cook 2 minutes.
- 4Pour in the wine, scrape the fond, then add the stock and herbs.
- 5Return the roast to the pot. The liquid should reach halfway up. Cover and braise in the oven for 2.5 hours.
- 6Add the potatoes around the roast for the final 45 minutes — they'll cook through and absorb the braise.
- 7Lift the roast onto a board and rest 15 minutes. Skim the fat from the sauce; thicken with a slurry if you like.
- 8Slice the roast across the grain into 1 cm slices. Plate with the vegetables and sauce.
Chef's tip
Bottom round dries out fast at high heat — keep the temperature low and check at 2 hours. It's done when a fork twists easily but the slices still hold shape.