Beef · Slow cooker adaptation

Martha Stewart Pot Roast (Slow Cooker)

Martha makes her family pot roast with a chuck eye roast, a classic mirepoix, and just one tablespoon of flour to bring the gravy together. Frugal cooking the way the grandmothers did it, slow and patient until the meat shreds with a fork.

R By Richard · Adapted from Martha Stewart · Published 23 June 2026
👁 1.6M source views ❤️ 19.5k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 4 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
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Pot roast is Martha's frugal family dish, a chuck eye roast browned hard then braised with onion, carrot, celery, thyme, bay and peppercorns. A tablespoon of flour and a splash of red wine vinegar build the gravy. Carrots, turnips and baby potatoes go in for the final stretch. Adapted here for the slow cooker so the meat reaches that silky, shred-with-a-fork stage without you turning it every 30 minutes.

Slow cooker notes: Source is a hob and oven braise. Adapted to a slow cooker: brown the meat and sweat the mirepoix in a pan first (the transcript stresses that browning needs a dry, hot surface and will not happen in the slow cooker), then transfer everything to the slow cooker pot. Liquid kept low as the original specifies (about one inch up the meat) because the slow cooker does not reduce. Root vegetables added in the final 60 to 90 minutes so they do not collapse. Meat is rested 10 to 15 minutes before slicing as the chef directs.

Ingredients

Main
  • chuck eye roast, tied, patted dry
  • olive oil
  • fine salt
  • black pepper, freshly ground
Mirepoix
  • 1 wholeonion, thinly sliced
  • 1 wholecarrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
  • 1 wholecelery stalk, coarsely chopped
Aromatics
  • fresh thyme
  • bay leaf
  • black peppercorns
Gravy
  • 1 tbspplain flour
  • 300 mlwater
  • 2 tbspred wine vinegar
Vegetables
  • 340 gcarrots, peeled, cut into chunks (add late)
  • 340 gturnips, peeled, cut into wedges (add late)
  • 340 gbaby potatoes, left whole, or thickly sliced or quartered (add late)

Method

  1. Pat the chuck eye roast dry on parchment paper. Season generously with salt and freshly ground black pepper, rubbing it into the meat on all sides. Wash hands after handling the raw meat.

    ~5 min

  2. Heat a little olive oil in a heavy pan over a high heat until very hot. Add the meat and brown well on all sides, about 8 to 10 minutes in total. Do not try to turn the meat until it releases easily from the pan. Lift the roast out onto a baking sheet.

    ~10 min

  3. In the same pan, add the sliced onion, chopped celery and carrot, thyme, bay leaf and peppercorns. Cook over a medium heat until the onion is translucent rather than coloured, about 2 to 3 minutes. If they catch, splash in a little water and stir up the brown bits.

    ~5 min

  4. Sprinkle in the tablespoon of flour and cook it out well so there is no floury taste.

    ~2 min

  5. Pour in the water and the red wine vinegar, stirring as it thickens.

    ~2 min

  6. Tip the contents of the pan into the slow cooker. Sit the browned roast on top. The liquid should come about 2.5 cm up the sides of the meat. Cover.

    ~2 min

  7. Cook on Low for about 6.5 hours, or on High for about 2.5 hours, until the meat is starting to become tender.

  8. Lift the meat onto a baking sheet. Strain the gravy through a sieve into a bowl, pressing the aromatics through. Skim off any excess fat. Return the gravy to the slow cooker.

    ~5 min

  9. Add the carrots, turnips and baby potatoes to the gravy. Sit the meat back on top, cover, and cook on Low for a further 60 to 90 minutes (or High for 30 to 45 minutes) until the vegetables are tender to the point of a knife.

  10. Lift the meat out, remove the trussing strings, and rest on a board for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing. The meat should be silky, easy to shred, yet firm enough to slice neatly.

    ~15 min

Frequently asked

Do I really need to brown the meat first?
Yes. The chef is emphatic that meat will not brown in liquid, and the slow cooker steams rather than sears. The dark crust from a hot pan is where the depth of flavour comes from.
Can I use a different cut of beef?
Chuck eye is what Martha uses because it is well marbled and holds together when tied. Any well-marbled braising cut like brisket or shin will work in the slow cooker.
Why so little liquid in the pot?
The original recipe asks for liquid only about an inch up the meat. Slow cookers retain almost all their liquid, so keeping it shallow gives you a concentrated gravy rather than a thin broth.
When should I add the root vegetables?
Add them for the final 60 to 90 minutes on Low. They cook through to knife-tender in that window without turning to mush.
Do I have to rest the meat before slicing?
Yes. Resting for 10 to 15 minutes lets the fibres relax. Slicing straight from the heat tends to make a tender chuck eye fall apart on the board.
Extraction notes (transparency): Meat weight not stated (chef says 'a chuck eye roast'); olive oil quantity not stated ('a little bit'); salt and pepper not measured ('a generous amount'); mirepoix counts inferred as 1 of each from singular wording ('an onion, a carrot, and a stalk of celery'); thyme, bay leaf and peppercorn quantities not stated; serving count not stated, 6 used as a working default for a chuck eye roast. Water (about 1.25 cups), flour (1 tbsp), red wine vinegar (about 2 tbsp), and the root veg (about 3/4 lb each of carrots, turnips and baby potatoes) are explicit in the transcript.