How to Use a Roaster Oven to Cook a Chuck Roast

Chuck roast is a flavorful cut of beef that needs slow cooking to make it tender.
Image Credit: Максим Крысанов/iStock/GettyImages

Chuck roast is a flavorful cut of beef that needs slow cooking to make it tender. Cooking roast beef in a roaster oven is convenient because it is portable. You can plug it in the garage, for instance, if the weather is hot or your kitchen cramped.

Advertisement

Tip

Roaster oven recipes for beef cuts such as chuck roast are great because it allows you to cook the meat long and slow for tenderness and flavor. Cook at 300 degrees F for 15 to 30 minutes per pound, depending on whether you want rare, medium or well-done beef.

Video of the Day

It's also useful if you need your conventional oven for other foods that must be cooked at the same time. Roaster ovens have an advantage over slow cookers — a thermostat that lets you choose the cooking temperature.

Video of the Day

Read more:How to Cook a Chuck Roast Perfectly

Step 1: Prep the Roast

Preheat the roaster oven at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes with the lid on. Meanwhile, pat the roast dry, rub half the oil over the surface and season with the salt and pepper. Brush the inside of the roaster insert with the remaining oil.

Advertisement

If you're minding your health, choose oils such as olive oil that are lower in saturated fat — the "bad" fats that can increase risk of heart disease, according to Mayo Clinic.

Step 2: Brown the Meat

Place the roast in the roaster and brown while you prepare the vegetables. Turn the roast over to brown the other side after 4 or 5 minutes.

Step 3: Prep Your Veggies

Prepare the vegetables. Remove the roast from the roaster, spread the onions on the bottom of the roaster. Nestle the carrots and celery in the onions to make a bed for the roast. Place the bay leaf on the onions and replace the roast.

Advertisement

Step 4: Add the Liquid

Pour the beef broth or beer around the roast. Place the lid on the roaster and make sure it fits tightly.

Step 5: Cook Until Tender

Cook the roast at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 to 30 minutes per pound, depending on whether you want rare, medium or well-done beef. Cook for 3 to 4 hours total for a well-done roast; the meat should fall apart when done.

Step 6: Check the Temperature

Use an instant-read thermometer to check for doneness. For rare meat, cook the beef to 140 degrees, for medium 160 degrees and for well-done 170 degrees Fahrenheit.

Advertisement

If you eat your meat rare, it's important to note that the USDA recommends heating beef to a minimum of 145 degrees Fahrenheit to avoid harmful bacteria.

Step 7: Remove and Strain

Remove the roast to a serving platter. Cover with foil and let it sit while you make the gravy. Strain the pan juices into a measuring cup and put them back into the roaster.

Step 8: Make the Gravy

Turn the heat up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Mix 1 tablespoon of flour per cup of pan juices with enough water to make a thin slurry with no lumps.

Advertisement

Whisk the flour slurry into the pan juices and stir until the gravy begins to thicken.

Step 9: Serve and Enjoy

Turn off the heat and pour out the gravy, using oven mitts to protect your hands. Serve and enjoy.

Save leftovers for another meal. However, to avoid harmful bacteria, discard any food that has sat at room temperature for more than two hours (or less, if the temperature is more than 90 degrees), as advised by the USDA.

Read more:A Roast Beef Recipe That Makes for the Perfect Entrée and Next-Day Sandwiches

Things You'll Need

  • 2 tablespoons olive oil

  • Brush for the oil

  • 6- to 8-pound beef chuck roast

  • 1 tablespoon salt

  • 2 teaspoons pepper

  • Tongs

  • 1 or 2 onions, chopped

  • 2 carrots, peeled and cut into strips

  • 2 celery stalks

  • 1 bay leaf

  • 1 cup of beef broth, beer or water

  • Instant-read thermometer

  • Serving platter

  • Aluminum foil

  • Strainer and measuring cup

  • Whisk

  • 1 tablespoon flour per cup of pan juices

  • Oven mitts

Tip

Use the cooking insert; don't put ingredients directly into the roaster. Add eight potatoes around the roast, if you want them cooked in the pan juices.

Warning

The roasting oven gets hot to the touch; always use oven mitts.

Every time you take the lid off, the roaster loses heat, so try not to open the lid until the roast is nearly done. Start checking the temperature after 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours, depending on the desired doneness.

Chuck roast cooked to medium can be tough. Rare chuck roast or very well-done chuck roast turns out better.

Advertisement

Advertisement

references & resources

Report an Issue

screenshot of the current page

Screenshot loading...