Italian Pot Roast Stracotto with Tomato Herb Braising Sauce
By Emma Collins
Prep
15 min
Cook
210 min
Total
225 min
Servings
6
Level
Easy
Browned beef adds flavor to pot roast. Covering the beef while it cooks makes it fall apart. Tomato and broth sauce pairs well with beef pot roast. Stracotto is an Italian-style pot roast made with beef, bacon or pancetta, herbs, and other tender vegetables in a tomato sauce.
The recipe directions include cooking diced bacon or pancetta and setting aside the fat. Cook beef cubes in the skillet with the bacon fat. Add diced onion, carrot, celery, garlic, and red pepper flakes, if using, as other flavorings. Add beef broth and crushed tomatoes seasoned with thyme, rosemary, other Italian herbs, bay leaves, and reserved bacon to the beef. Cover and simmer for a long time.
The sauce needs to be heated on the stove or in the oven with the lid on during cooking. Cooked beef shreds easily and is not sliced with a knife. Mistakes to avoid: insufficient cooking time, which prevents the roast beef from shredding; cook the roast beef longer if it does not shred. Remove bay leaves only after final seasoning.
Serve the beef roast and sauce with gorgonzola polenta, other pastas, and gnocchi or mashed potatoes as suggested. Leftovers stored in the refrigerator will firm up when chilled with the sauce. Gently reheat leftovers and add some of the sauce to help moisten the shredded beef.
Why this recipe works
- Cooking the optional bacon or pancetta first in the Dutch oven leaves fat in the Dutch oven, which helps flavor the beef and other vegetables.
- Searing the seasoned beef in oil or other fat before braising imparts a browned flavor to the braised beef. It does not taste like boiled beef.
- Cooking onions, carrots, and celery until tender will add flavor to the tomato sauce. Raw onions and carrots will be present in the finished sauce if you do not cook them.
- Blanching the garlic and red pepper flakes for a minute helps preserve their flavor and prevent the garlic from tasting cooked.
- The slow cooking covers the chuck to make it tender enough to shred, and the stock and crushed tomatoes add moisture to the cooking meat.
- Three cooking techniques are available for making the tomato-herb braised dish in a stove-top pot, oven, or slow cooker.
Ingredients
- •4 oz bacon (or pancetta, diced, optional)
- •3 lb beef (such as chuck, cut into 3 large pieces)
- •salt (to taste)
- •pepper (to taste)
- •1 cup onion (diced)
- •1 cup carrot (diced)
- •1 cup celery (diced)
- •1 tbsp garlic (chopped)
- •½ tsp red pepper flakes (optional)
- •2 cups beef broth
- •1 can crushed tomatoes (14.5 oz)
- •1 tsp thyme (chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried)
- •1 tsp rosemary (chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried)
- •1 tsp Italian seasoning (or oregano)
- •2 bay leaves
- •1 oz dried porcini mushrooms (reconstituted and chopped, optional)
- •dry white or red wine (optional, replace some or all of the broth)
- •2 tbsp tomato paste (optional)
- •1 tsp sage (chopped, or 1/2 tsp dried, optional)
- •1 tbsp balsamic vinegar (optional)
- •1 tbsp fish sauce or soy sauce (optional; use gluten-free soy sauce for a gluten-free option)
- •1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (optional; use gluten-free Worcestershire sauce for a gluten-free option)
- •¼ cup Parmesan (grated, optional)
Instructions
- 1
Cook the bacon in a large oven-safe saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, then set it aside.
- 2
Season the beef with salt and pepper.
- 3
Sear the beef in the bacon grease over medium-high heat for about 4 to 6 minutes per side, then set it aside.
- 4
Add the onion, carrot, and celery and cook until tender, about 7 to 10 minutes.
- 5
Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
- 6
Add the beef broth, crushed tomatoes, thyme, rosemary, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, and reserved bacon, then mix.
- 7
Return the beef to the pan.
- 8
For the stovetop method, bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer until the beef is falling-apart tender, about 2 to 4 hours.
- 9
For the oven method, cover, transfer to a preheated 275°F (140°C) oven, and cook until the beef is falling-apart tender, about 2 to 4 hours.
- 10
For the slow cooker method, transfer everything to a slow cooker and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours or HIGH for 4 to 6 hours.
- 11
Optionally add reconstituted, chopped dried porcini mushrooms with the onion, carrot, and celery.
- 12
Optionally replace some or all of the beef broth with dry white or red wine.
- 13
Optionally add tomato paste with the garlic.
- 14
Optionally add sage with the herbs.
- 15
Optionally add balsamic vinegar.
- 16
Optionally add fish sauce, soy sauce, or Worcestershire sauce.
- 17
Season with salt and pepper to taste, remove the bay leaves, and optionally stir in grated Parmesan before serving.
FAQ
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
427
Protein
55g
Fat
18g
Carbs
12g
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