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A complete roast dinner cooked in a single pan, beef pot roast in Guinness gravy is Sunday lunch made simple: just 15 minutes prep, one pot to wash up, and a balanced meal to boot. Enjoy thick slices of moist roast beef in dark, syrupy gravy, with carrots and baby potatoes on the side.
As you’ll have plenty of time on your hands, finish the meal with an equally impressive and weekend-worthy dessert like this salted caramel and apple homemade pastry pie.
The expression “Good things come to those who wait” has been used in Guinness ad campaigns since the 1990s. It’s both true for the perfect pint (a wait of 119.5 seconds while pouring) and for this sumptuous Guinness gravy beef chuck pot roast (3 hours).
Three hours might sound long, but that is three hours of free time thanks to the hands-off pot roast method. You’ve only 15 minutes of meal prep, then the whole thing goes in the oven and you spend the three-hour cooking time indulging in your favourite weekend activities.
For me that looks like one of the following (in order of likeliness):
- Three back-to-back episodes of Bridgerton.
- A slow lap of Greenwich Park (with a stop at Gail’s for a coffee).
- Cleaning the bathroom and organising my office with extended periods of distracted procrastination.
How will you spend yours?
Beef chuck roast or brisket?
The joint you use will depend on how much you want to spend and how long you have to cook it. I suggest using beef chuck roast. Chuck sits behind the neck and over the shoulder, so it’s not too tough and responds well to a slow cook (see also beef pot roast with chickpeas). Choose a well-marbled joint so the fat can render into the gravy and keep the meat moist.
However, I’ve used brisket in mine. This joint sits under chuck around the chest, and is a little cheaper, a little tougher and needs a touch more cooking time to make sure it reaches tenderness.
In the UK, brisket is sold rolled. In North America, it might come unrolled, untrimmed and uneven. Roll it yourself, creating a cylinder shape from the flat cut and securing with kitchen string. This will help it to cook evenly, prevent the thin edges drying out and retain the meat’s succulence.
Pot roast gravy
“Gravy maketh the roast.” Not a formally used expression but true! This pot roast gravy benefits from the caramelly drippings of the seasoned and seared beef, the sweet, sweated onions, garlic and thyme, a whole can of the Black Stuff (Guinness), meaty beef stock and warm bay. That is layer upon layer of flavour!
But a little too thin for my liking. 2 hours into cooking, make a slurry from cornstarch and water (2:1), remove the beef joint from the pot and stir in the mix. Over the remaining cooking time, the sauce will thicken into a luscious lava-like consistency.
Guinness itself, if you’re not a stout drinker, is a black beer with a creamy texture and coffee and dark chocolate notes. It’s rich, bitter and malty providing the beefy gravy with a complex and impressive flavour profile. The meal is simple; the gravy is not.
Important recipe tips and notes
- Guinness makes the gravy. Use the 0% version if you don’t cook with alcohol, it’s just as good!
- Other stouts or porters will work just as well in place of Guinness.
- Roll your brisket if it comes flat.
- Trim the fat if there’s excess. You don’t want a thick oily layer topping your pot roast gravy.
- Baby potatoes are best as they’re waxy and will hold their shape.
Serving suggestions
This beef pot roast with gravy has built in potatoes and vegetables, so if you don’t have the time or energy for extra dishes, no-one will notice! However, if, like me, you feel no meal is complete without greens try one of these tempting sides:
And I have to mention Irish colcannon, even though potatoes feature, as there are lashings of Guinness gravy to be soaked up!
Storage and leftovers
Leftover beef pot roast can be kept in the fridge for 2-3 days in an This is an affiliate link.airtight container. Repurpose the Guinness-soaked slices in a sandwich that riffs off a drippy French dip.
More roasts to try
- Slow Cooker Roast Beef
- Slow Cooked Mississippi Pot Roast
- Pork Roast with Warm Persimmon Sauce
- Roast Chicken with Mango Chutney Glaze
Beef Pot Roast in Guinness Gravy
Ingredients
- 2 kg / 4-4½ lbs beef brisket, (rolled) or chuck
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 3-4 sprigs thyme
- 440ml / 1 can Guinness, or other stout (see notes)
- 500ml / 2 cups beef stock
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (cornflour), mixed with 2 tbsp water
- 1-2 This is an affiliate link.bay leaves
- 2 carrots, cut into large chunks
- 2 parsnips, cut into large chunks (optional)
- 500g / 1 lbs baby potatoes, whole and unpeeled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 150C/300F. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large cast iron pot and brown the seasoned with salt and pepper beef brisket until golden on the outside. Remove to a separate plate until needed or move to a side.
- To the same pan add the chopped onions and cook over slow heat for 5 minutes, then add the minced garlic and thyme sprigs and cook for 30 seconds longer, making sure not to burn the garlic. Now pour in the Guinness and the beef stock and bring to a simmer, add the bay leaves and cover with a lid and put in the oven for 2 hour. Flip the beef over after one hour.
- Take the beef out of the oven and stir in the cornstarch slurry (cornstarch mixed with water), then place the carrots, parsnips and baby potatoes all around the roast. Put the beef and vegetables back in the oven uncovered for 1 hour or until the beef is tender and the vegetables are cooked all the way through. Test the doneness of the beef brisket by pulling at the edges with a fork, there shouldn’t be too much resistance.
- Remove the beef brisket from the pan and let it rest for 10 minutes, then cut the kitchen string off and slice. Serve with potatoes and vegetables.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
