I love this recipe. Full of rich, beefy flavor that tastes even better than it smells... and boy does it smell good. This simple boneless beef chuck roast recipe takes only minutes of prep time and will satisfy everyone at your table!
A delicious boneless beef chuck roast recipe that is: Gluten Free, Paleo, Primal, Low Carb and Wheat Belly Friendly.
If you have close neighbors, expect them to come knocking when you start cooking this recipe. The rich beefy aroma will permeate the neighborhood, which is one of the reasons that I love cooking so much. I have an infatuation withthe smells that come out of my kitchen. Quick question: Have you ever walked outsideyour house for the sole purpose of coming back inside with clear senses to inhale the goodness you are creating? I do it all the time. Sometimes it happens to me by accident. I'll head down to the basem*nt for a minute and then come back into the kitchen to get blasted with wonderful smells. For some reason it is impossible not to smile in that moment whenthe richness fills your lungs.
Well, be prepared for all of these things to happen when you create this boneless beef chuck roast recipe. For some reason when beef and onions are cooked together, they release the most wonderful aromas. My whole family begins congregating in the kitchen as the aroma intensifies. It's what cooking is all about!
MEAL PREPARATION: BRAISING
You will find that the preparation is simple, taking only a couple minutes to prepare the dish to be braised. Braising is simply the act of searing(or sautéing) food lightly and then cooking it in a closed pan with liquid. You can braise veggies or meats with relative ease. The most important part of braising is to ensure that there is a good seal when you have covered whatever you are braising. Otherwise, the braising liquid will evaporate too quickly.
At the cooking school I ran, there were so many questions from students about braising. Here's a couple of the most common:
- Do you need to cover the meat with liquid?Nope! Immersing whatever you are cooking would make it more like boiling or stewing than braising. We need to create a steamy environment, not one where we are boiling.
- If the meat isn't covered with liquid, how does it stay moist?Well, it's not actually the liquid that keeps the meat from drying out. It's the fat in the meat that adds moisture. For this reason, when I am braising I will add more fat into lean dishes. For example, with pork tenderloin (which is very lean), I will wrap it in caul fat or add additional fat to the pan to keep it from drying out during longer periods of cooking.
- Braising takes forever. Is it really practical?As with anything, all good things take time. Aside from that, it really depends on what we are braising. Braised veggies like baby bok choy take about 4 minutes. Larger cuts of meat such as a pork shoulder could take up to 8 hours. Butter Braised Carrots with Thymetake about 20 minutes (including prep time) and will change your outlook on cooked carrots!
- Can you pause a braise?Yep. There were lots of times in our professional kitchen when we wanted to "par cook" various cuts of meat. All par cooking means is that the cooking process is stopped before something is fully cooked. When you pause a braise, it is important to store the food safely before you finish the cooking process. If you are just pausing for a couple hours, keep the temperature of the braise above 140 degrees. If you are going to finish in a day or two, make sure the temperature gets below 40 degrees and into the fridge as quickly as possible.
- You are making too much meat! How do I scale down the recipe?For most vegetables, the braising time is going to be consistent. Take about the same time to cook 5 carrots as it does to make 50 carrots, depending on the size of pan you are using! For meats, typically it is all about the end temperature you are working toward. For pork butt, it is always 200 degrees. The best bet is to temp the meat early in the process. For example, if the recipe says that it will cook in the oven for 8 hours, check at 4 hours to see what temperature it is at. If you see that you are at 170 degrees, then you're not going to need another 4 hours of cook time. You have averaged about 40+- degrees an hour.
QUICK COOKING TIP:For this recipe, we are not going to use any stock for the braising liquid. Typically I would add in a beef stock when braising beef, but the gravy we are going to create is already going to be rich with flavor and fat. Instead, we are going to deglaze the pan that we used to brown the beef before putting it in the oven.
Deglazing is just adding a cooler liquid to the pan and scraping up all the browned bits (fond) from the pan. When you deglaze, it is important to be prepared before you start. You can either have a small glass of water next to your stove or take your pan and pass it quickly under cold running water. I like having a glass next to the stove because I can control how much I am adding more easily. Typically no more than ½ a cup is needed. When you have added the water, you take a spatula and scrape everything up. The water will be bubbling like crazy, so be careful! After you have it all scraped up, pour it into your braising dish.
Ok. That's was a lot about braising and deglazing. Let's get into the meat of this boneless beef chuck roast recipe.
Yield: 4 people
BONELESS BEEF CHUCK ROAST RECIPE
Pan seared boneless beef chuck roast recipe has huge flavors and is ready to be braised within minutes! Paleo, gluten free and low carb. The No-Flour Onion Gravy is slightly sweet with hints of savory. I call it an optional item but you will be missing out! Same with the sautéed onions and mushrooms.
Prep Time12 minutes
Cook Time2 hours
Total Time2 hours 12 minutes
Ingredients
For the boneless beef chuck roast
- 2.5 LBS Boneless Chuck Roast
- 2 Sprigs Thyme
- 1 Sprig Rosemary
- Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper
- 2 tablespoon Bacon Fat, (or lard ghee etc)
- ½ Red Onion, peeled and sliced
- 4 Cloves Fresh Garlic, peeled and smashed
- 1 Cup water, split evenly
For the No-Flour Onion Gravy (optional)
- Braising liquid, including the onions and garlic.
- ½ Cup Coconut Milk, unsweetened
- ¼ teaspoon Balsamic Vinegar
For the Onions & Mushrooms (optional)
- 8 OZ Baby Bellas or Crimini mushrooms, cleaned and sliced
- ½ Red Onion, sliced
- 2 tablespoon Olive Oil, split
- Salt & Fresh Cracked Pepper
Instructions
For the Boneless Beef Chuck Roast
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees. Get out an oven safe pan that your roast will fit nicely in. Add in the ½ red onion, smashed garlic and ½ cup water. Make sure that the bottom of the pan is covered.
- Liberally salt and pepper the roast on both sides. Heat a heavy bottom pan over high heat. Add in the fat. Lay in the roast and allow to brown. Add in the thyme and rosemary sprigs.
- After about 3 minutes, flip the roast using tongs. Spoon up some of the fat over the top of the roast and allow to sear another 3 minutes. Reduce the heat if smoking occurs. When the roast is nicely browned, place it in your prepared roasting pan.
- Add in the ½ cup water to the hot pan. Deglaze and pour the liquid into the roasting pan, along with the thyme and rosemary. Cover the roasting pan tightly with a lid or aluminum foil and put in the oven for about 2 hours.
- While the meat is cooking, prepare the mushrooms and onions.
For the Mushrooms & Onions
- Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Add in the olive oil. When the oil shimmers, add in the onions and a pinch of salt. Allow to cook for a minute, then stir. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for another 10-12 minutes or until translucent. When the onions have finished cooking, remove from the pan and set aside.
- Reheat the pan. Add in the mushrooms. Allow to cook for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the mushrooms start to brown a bit, add in the remaining tablespoon olive oil and a pinch of salt. Cook until the mushrooms are tender, about 5-6 more minutes.
- Combine with the onions and serve over the top of the meat when ready.
For the No-Flour Onion Gravy
- When the roast has reached it’s final temperature of 190 degrees, remove from the oven. Remove the beef from the pan and cover with foil. Allow to rest for 10 minutes.
- While the beef is resting, defat the pan drippings, reserving the braised onions and garlic. Using a blender or immersion blender, add in the pan juice and reserved onions with garlic. Blend together until liquified.
- Heat a non-stick pan over medium-high heat. Pour the mixture from the blender and add in the coconut milk. Mix together well. Add in the balsamic. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Set aside until the beef is ready.
To Finish the Beef
- After the beef has rested, cut off the visible fat. Then cut the beef into about 1″ pieces. Add the beef to a sheet pan and cover with heavy foil. Smash the beef pieces with a meat mallet. They will start to shred apart. Continue smashing until they are all starting to shred.
- When the beef is smashed well, add it into the non-stick pan over high heat to add some crisp to it (this step is optional, but adds such a nice dimension to the beef).
- Plate with the shredded beef, mushrooms and onions and the onion gravy for a delicious meal!
Notes
If you are going to make the mushrooms and onions to top the boneless beef chuck roast recipe, you can make them early, allow to cool and then reheat them.
Or, make them about 15 minutes before the roast will be ready. If you try to keep them warm for the full 2 hours while the roast is cooking, the onions will turn mushy.
Nutrition Information
Yield
4
Amount Per ServingCalories 644
Did you make this recipe?
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PLEASE NOTE: The nutritional data is provided by NutriFox and may not be 100% accurate.
Final thoughts on the boneless beef chuck roast recipe:
So there are a lot of steps in this recipe. I know. Most are pretty easy though and the combined dish is just so good!
What would go great with this recipe? Well, we had it with aroasted carrots and fennel pureethat was fantastic. It would go great withpureed cauliflower, somebalsamic roasted brussels sproutsor evensauteed spinach with bacon and shallots. My personal favorite to go with just about any beef dish are theeasy creamed leeks. They're just so good.
Hopefully you'll give this recipe a try. It's worth the time and I promise that your kitchen will smell fantastic!
