Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Perfect Pot Roast With Mushrooms and White Wine Recipe- Gluten Free, Sugar Free, Nightshade Free

 photo IMG_0018_zps7ad46c81.jpg
Unfortunately, the only pic I got of it was when it
was nearly finished. The potatoes aren't part
of the recipe. Just reheated together.
You know what's annoying? Sometimes, when you're experimenting in the kitchen, you meticulously write down the exact recipe so you can make it again... and it flops. And other times, your experiments come out so perfectly that you wish you had written down a detailed recipe, but you didn't. Both happened to me yesterday- my attempted almond pulp carrot cake came out pretty blah, but I made an amazing pot roast that, in my opinion, was the best post roast I ever had in my life, soft and delicious and delectable... but I only have an approximate recipe for it, not an exact one, unfortunately.
But since, whenever I have a pot roast, I am always looking for the perfect recipe for it, I decided that I needed to write down whatever I remembered from the recipe, even if it wasn't exact, since it was so good, that I'm sure that even with a slight variation, it'll still be amazing.

While beef usually isn't a cheap meal, I don't mind sharing this recipe on my site since it is made with the cheapest cut of beef I can get here- shank roast- which I am often able to get on sale making it even cheaper. Feel free to use any hunk of beef that you can get your hands on, even or especially the cheapo stuff like chuck roast or shoulder that is usually tough and chewy- because, made this way, cooked "low and slow" it becomes so tender, delicious, and juicy, that even the cheapest meat can be perfection. And, for the record, I've heard people talk about getting roasts soft and delicious... I've never had meat as soft as this. It truly was amazing.

I had a problem getting the wine bottle opened when I first was cooking this recipe, so I ended up first cooking the roast just in the mushrooms and their liquid, no wine, for at least 20 minutes until I got the wine in the pot. I am not sure if that is connected to how it came out, but I do want to note that it did cook first without the wine, and only 20 minutes later was everything added.

This recipe is naturally gluten free, grain free, nightshade free, sugar free, Paleo/Primal legal, etc.... If you used fresh mushrooms and water in place of the canned, it would be SCD and GAPS legal as well.


1 roast, roughly 2-3 lbs
1 can mushrooms, with its liquid
1 cup dry white wine
3 large onions
2-3 tablespoons oil (I used palm)
1-2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
5-6 large or 7-8 small carrots
8-10 fennel stalks (probably you can leave this out or replace it with 1-2 ribs celery)
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
(Water, if needed)

1. Put your roast in a heavy saucepan (I used my cast iron dutch oven) on a low heat. Add a can of mushrooms. Cover.

2. 20 minutes later, add your wine and your salt. Cook covered for an hour.

3. Saute onions in oil until golden. When finished, add them and the oil they were cooked in to the pan. Cover and cook some more.

4. Peel and roughly chop your carrots, roughly chop your fennel and add it to the pot. Add the rest of the ingredients.

5. Cook covered on a low heat, turning the meat over every hour or so, for roughly 5-6 hours total. If the liquid is drying up, add about a half a cup to a full cup of water to ensure there is always some liquid in the pan. Taste the liquid- if needed, add more salt to taste.

6. When fully cooked, remove the meat from the pan and refrigerate it for about an hour, or until cooled. Slice thinly against the grain with a serrated knife, then add the slices back to the pot, and simmer for another 30 minutes.


P.S. I was told that red wine would work better in such a roast than white wine. I seriously beg to differ. I've had roasts in red wine many times, and I've never enjoyed it as much as this roast in white wine. Worth a try. (Just try to snag a bottle of white wine on sale at a super low price, like I did, so this won't cost you too much!)

What is your favorite way to cook a pot roast? What is the cheapest cut of beef you're able to get? How do you ensure that it is fully soft? Does this look like a recipe you'd try out?


  1. We bought a cow last year because we have the freezer space and it makes it so affordable for us.I am now getting down to the cuts of meat I am not as familiar with - the shank being one of them. I have made two of them now and have to say that it is by far the most tender beef I've ever had. Although I have used different cuts of meat for a pot roast, nothing has compared to the shank. That may be part of why your recipe turned out so tender. I can just imagine how wonderful it was with the wine and mushrooms. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

  2. I made this yesterday and it was very tender and delicious. We all really liked it. Thank you!



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