Belgian Pot Roast with Onions and Mushrooms

I went looking for a stew recipe, and ended up finding this pot roast recipe instead.  I'm not generally a big fan of mushrooms, and I don't drink beer at all, so it might seem odd that I picked a recipe that relies heavily on both.  For some reason though, when this is all cooked together, it comes out as something amazing.  I've made this twice in the last two weeks (I forgot to post it the first time because I was too busy eating it), and it's a definite winner.  As the original post says, make sure you don't go with a cheap beer for this recipe.  Because of the relatively small number of ingredients, a cheap beer would be fairly obvious in the end result.

Belgian Pot Roast with Onions and Mushrooms

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 Tablespoons canola oil, divided
• 4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
• 3 to 4 medium yellow onions
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 tablespoons flour
• ½ cup chicken broth
• 12 ounces Belgian-style pale ale
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound sliced mushrooms
• 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300ºF.
2. Pat chuck roast dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper on both sides.
3. Heat a large lidded ovenproof skillet over medium-high flame. Add one tablespoon each of canola oil and butter and swirl to combine.
4. Brown roast thoroughly on both sides, about 5 minutes per side. About halfway through browning of second side, reduce heat to medium. Transfer roast to plate.
5. While roast is browning, peel onions, halve lengthwise and cut into ¼-inch slices. You want about 6 or 7 cups of sliced onions total.
6. Add 2 more tablespoons of butter to pan in chunks and swirl to melt.
7. Add onions and toss to coat with butter/oil mixture. Season with a little salt and pepper (use a light hand). Cook until slightly browned, stirring often, about 4 minutes.
8. Stir thyme into onions and cook until fragrant, about 45 seconds.
9. Sprinkle flour over onions and toss to coat. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring frequently.
10. Add broth to pan and stir, scraping up any browned bits.
11. Add beer to pan, stirring to combine.
12. Add bay leaves. Return meat and any accumulated juices to pan, nestling the roast among the onions. Cover pan and transfer to oven.
13. Roast meat in oven for about 1¼ hours. Nearing the end of this time, heat a large nonstick skillet over medium flame.
14. Swirl last tablespoon each of canola oil and butter together in pan.
15. Sauté mushrooms, stirring frequently, until they release their moisture and begin to brown, about 7 to 10 minutes.
16. Remove roast from oven and turn meat in pan. Spoon mushrooms around roast, cover pan and return to oven. Roast until meat is very tender, about 1¼ hours more.
17. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the roast to a cutting board and tent with foil. If the sauce is too liquid, simmer it on the stovetop until it’s reduced to the thickness you like. Conversely, if it’s too thick, whisk in a little water.
18. Just before serving, whisk in the Dijon mustard. Taste sauce and adjust seasonings.
19. Slice roast into ½-inch slices (it will shred some - that’s okay). Plate and top with onion mushroom sauce. Serve.

Notes:
I used one sweet yellow onion and two white onions to add a little variety.  I used Ommegang Belgian Pale Ale the first time I made it and Hoegaarden White Ale the second time.  Both came out great!