Beef Chuck Roast Pot Pie
This beef chuck roast pot pie is pure comfort food! The beef filling is braised in the oven for hours, along with carrots and mushrooms. It's finished with a golden puff pastry crust for the best beef pot pie ever!
Servings: 6 people
Calories: 902kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 ½ pounds boneless chuck roast excess fat trimmed
- Kosher salt and ground black pepper
- Olive oil for searing
- 1 medium yellow onion thinly sliced
- 2 stalks celery chopped
- 6 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary and thyme
- 3 medium carrots cut into thick slices or chunks
- 8 ounces cremini mushrooms halved or quartered
- 1 pound puff pastry sheet thawed but cold
- 3 tablespoons italian parsley finely chopped
Flour slurry
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons water at room temp
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- ½ tablespoon heavy cream
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325°F.
- Season and sear beef. Portion the chuck roast into equal 3 parts. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Heat oil in a large 4-quart Dutch oven braiser over medium-high heat. Once hot, sear on both sides until a golden crust forms, about 4-5 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Sauté aromatics: In the same pan, cook the onions and celery, deglazing any burning spots with a splash of broth. Then, add the minced garlic for another 1 minute. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of flour and stir to coat.
- Add the liquids: Add the beef broth, dissolving the flour and deglazing any remaining browned bits. Next, add the balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, and Dijon mustard. Bring to a simmer and season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Braise: Return the seared beef and add the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Bring to a simmer. Cover tightly with the lid, then transfer to the oven for 1 hour 45 minutes.
- Add a flour slurry: After that, separately in a bowl, whisk 2 tablespoons of flour with 2-3 tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Remove the pan from the oven, and add this slurry to the braising liquid. Give it a stir to combine.
- Add the vegetables. Add the carrots and mushrooms, gently pushing them down into the liquid. Cover again, and return to the oven for another 1 hour.
- Prep the puff pastry: 10 minutes before it's ready, roll out the puff pastry and cut 2-inch squares (I usually use a pastry wheel). Set aside or place it back in the fridge to keep cold.
- Increase oven temperature to 400°F. Then, remove the pan from the oven.
- Adjust gravy consistency: If needed, remove some liquid (I ended up removing about 1/4 cup). Remove the herb sprigs too. Note: Sometimes the meat releases extra juices when cooking. You want enough braising liquid to keep the filling hearty, but not so much that it's soupy.
- Shred the beef: At this point, the beef should be very tender. Using a fork, shred into smaller chunks. Stir in the chopped Italian parsley until evenly combined.
- Top with puff pastry: Arrange the puff pastry squares on top in an overlapping pattern. Brush the puff pastry with egg wash (1 egg whisked with ½ tablespoon heavy cream). Sprinkle the top with flaky sea salt.
- Finish baking at 400°F for 20-25 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed up and golden and the filling is bubbling. Let it cool down for about 20 minutes before serving to allow the filling to settle a bit.
Video
Notes
- Use chuck roast here, as its marbling stays tender. An alternative is pre-cut stew beef. Avoid dry, lean cuts like sirloin or top round roast.
- Note that we add flour in 2 stages for thickening. Once when sauteing the onions, then again later as a slurry. This allows the liquid to thicken gradually without getting too thick too early, which is important for the beef to tenderize well.
- Pastry: Keep puff pastry ice-cold until baking so it turns out light and flaky.
- Veggies: Add medium-chunked carrots and halved or quartered mushrooms partway through cooking so they don't get mushy. They don’t take long to cook.
- Consistency: If the filling is too soupy before you add the puff pastry, remove some as needed (usually ¼ to ⅓ cup of liquid). Sometimes extra juices get released from the beef.
- Make ahead: Store the cooked pie filling in the fridge for up to 2 days. Reheat, assemble with the pastry top, and bake as directed.
- Freezing: Freeze filling alone up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the fridge and reheat at 350°F until warm.
- Storage and Reheating: Reheat leftovers in the oven to keep the crust crisp. You can also microwave it, but the crust may get a little soggy.
- Crust: Standard pie crust works (adjust time as needed), or use a single puff pastry sheet with vent slits cut into it.
- Veggie add-ins: Peas, green beans, or corn added near the end.
- Gluten-Free: Swap in a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend and gluten-free puff pastry.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 902kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 46g | Fat: 57g | Saturated Fat: 18g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 6g | Monounsaturated Fat: 31g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 159mg | Sodium: 752mg | Potassium: 1121mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 5414IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 92mg | Iron: 7mg