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
What to ask for
This recipe calls for Bottom round. Can't get it where you are?
Ingredients & method
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.
Cook this well
$$ · roasts, smokers, and long cooks
Track a brisket overnight without opening the lid
Monitoring large cuts where opening the smoker or oven would cost heat.
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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.
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