Pot roast is the quintessential comfort food. This hearty, flavorful one-pot meal features tender fall-apart beef surrounded by potatoes carrots, celery, and other root vegetables simmered in a savory gravy or broth. While pot roast may seem simple to make, choosing the right cut of beef is crucial for achieving the best texture and most delicious flavor. This guide will walk through the top cuts of beef to use for pot roast and provide tips on selecting quality meat at the store.
What Makes A Good Pot Roast Cut?
Pot roast relies on slow, moist cooking methods to break down tough cuts of beef into tender, juicy results. The best cuts for pot roast come from the hardest working muscles of the cow, like the chuck, brisket, round, and shank. These areas get a lot of exercise, so the meat contains abundant collagen and connective tissue. The collagen melts into gelatin during long, low cooking, keeping the meat moist. Connective tissue also slowly breaks down to become tender.
Ideal pot roast cuts also possess excellent beefy flavor from ample intra-muscular fat marbling. However, they lack the delicate texture of expensive loin cuts like tenderloin and ribeye. While delicious, these quick-cooking steaks would fall apart under lengthy pot roast cooking. Their tender texture also lacks the satisfying mouthfeel of braised beef.
When selecting meat look for cuts labeled chuck brisket, round, rump, shank, or short ribs. Opt for well-marbled over lean. Bone-in is fine, but boneless cuts will be easier to serve. Plan on purchasing 2-3 pounds of meat per 4-6 servings.
6 Recommended Cuts for Pot Roast
1. Chuck Roast
This versatile, flavorful cut comes from the shoulder. Often sold boneless, it works beautifully for pot roast. Look for chuck roast, chuck eye roast, shoulder steak, or shoulder pot roast. Well-marbled with great beefy flavor.
2. Brisket
From the breast region, this flat cut has fat on one side. Slice against the grain for tenderness. Look for whole brisket or brisket flat half. Leaner than chuck but still flavorful.
3. Bottom Round Roast
This lean, economical cut comes from the back leg. It’s thicker than eye of round. Ask for bottom round roast or rump roast. Sliceable, but can be less flavorful.
4. Short Ribs
These meaty ribs are cut from the rib and plate regions. Look for English style (boneless or bone-in) or flanken style. Very flavorful and succulent after braising.
5. Beef Shank
From the cow’s leg, this cut has lots of connective tissue. Look for cross-cut shank or hind shank. Abundant flavor and collagen. Can keep meat moist.
6. Rump Roast
This comes from the hip/back end of the cow. Ask for rump roast or bottom round roast. Very flavorful with good fat marbling to keep meat tender.
Cuts to Avoid for Pot Roast
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Tenderloin – Too delicate. Will fall apart. Lacks beefy flavor.
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Rib Roast – Prime rib is too tender. Better roasted. Disintegrates if overcooked.
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Sirloin – Leaner than other cuts. Can become tough in a pot roast.
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Flank Steak – Very lean. Easily overcooked. Better grilled quickly.
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Skirt or Hanger Steak – Tough cuts requiring fast, high heat cooking.
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Flat Iron Steak – Texture won’t hold up to long cooking.
Tips for Selecting Pot Roast Meat
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Look for marbling – white fat streaks throughout the meat. This keeps the beef moist.
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Opt for cuts between 2-4 pounds to feed 4-6 people comfortably.
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Choose meat that is very red in color, not brown or gray.
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Check that the cut has a thin layer of fat on one side. This bastes the meat while cooking.
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For ease, select boneless over bone-in cuts. Or ask the butcher to remove the bone for you.
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Avoid pre-cut steaks or stew meat. Opt for a whole roast you can trim and cut yourself.
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When in doubt, choose chuck roast. This cut rarely disappoints for pot roasts.
With the right cut of beef and a simple homemade pot roast recipe, you can enjoy this comforting one-pot meal any night of the week. Low and slow braising transformed economical roasts into rich, meaty masterpieces perfect for cold weather meals.
What Makes the Best Pot Roast?
Pot roasts typically use the tougher cuts of beef—a chuck roast or shoulder roast—which have the most flavor. Slow cooking at low heat is what melts the tough connective tissue between the muscle fibers, leaving you with tender meat that pulls apart with your fork.
For pot roasts, and other slow cooked tough meats, fat is your friend! Not only does fat deliver flavor, it helps keep the meat from drying out in the long slow cooking. So look for cuts that are well marbled with fat.
Another tip? Let the roast sit (wrapped) for one to two hours outside of the refrigerator so that it comes closer to room temperature (between 65°F and 70°F) before cooking. Otherwise, it will take a lot longer to cook at the low heat called for in this recipe.
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Can I Make This Pot Roast Other Ways?
My mother cooks her pot roast on the stovetop, but you can make it in the oven, a slow cooker, or a pressure cooker.
- If youre cooking in the oven, brown the meat and onions, and bring to a simmer first on the stovetop. Then put in the oven, start the temp at 350°F for 15 minutes, then drop it to 250°F for the next hour, and then to 225°F after that.
- If youre using a slow cooker, brown the meat and the onions, and transfer to the slow cooker. Follow the recipe as written, cooking on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours.
- If youre using a pressure cooker, brown the meat and onions (if using an Instant Pot you can do that right in the cooker itself), then cook at high pressure for 65 minutes, then allow a natural release for 15 minutes. Check the instructions in our Instant Pot Pot Roast with Balsamic and Rosemary recipe.
Note! If you have a gas range, you may find difficulty getting the flame low enough. A tip I read in Cooks Illustrated suggests tightly rolling up some aluminum foil, shaping it into a donut, and putting that on top of the burner to create a little more distance between the range and the pan. If you use a high-BTU range, even this may not be enough, in which case I recommend starting the roast on the stovetop and moving it to the oven to cook.
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FAQ
What cut of beef makes the most tender pot roast?
The best meat for pot roast is a beef cut with abundant connective tissue, like chuck roast, beef brisket or bottom round roast.Sep 18, 2023
Which is better for pot roast chuck or rump?
Chuck is often the go-to cut for pot roast. A rump roast can be used for a pot roast, but most would agree that beef chuck would be better to use because the cut is versatile, and the connective tissue and fat content lends itself to a juicier dinner.
What is the best beef joint for pot roast?
Pot roasts typically use the tougher cuts of beef—a chuck roast or shoulder roast—which have the most flavor. Slow cooking at low heat is what melts the tough connective tissue between the muscle fibers, leaving you with tender meat that pulls apart with your fork.
What is the best cut of meat for a pot roast in a slow cooker?
The best beef for pot roast is Beef Chuck Roast. It’s an economical cut of beef that’s marbled with fat that needs to be slow cooked to breakdown the tough connective tissues so it becomes ultra tender to eat.