Easy One-Pot Beef Chuck Braise

Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 3 hours | Serves: 4 to 5

🛒 Ingredients

• 1kg beef chuck, cut into 4cm cubes (ask us to cube it when you order)
• 2 tbsp plain flour
• 1 tsp salt, plus more to taste
• ½ tsp black pepper
• 2 tbsp neutral oil
• 2 onions, sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 250ml red wine (optional, use extra stock if you’d rather not)
• 500ml beef stock
• 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 3 carrots, cut into chunks
• 2 bay leaves
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 tsp dried

👨‍🍳 Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 150°C. Pat the beef dry, then toss it with the flour, salt and pepper.
2. Heat the oil in a heavy, lidded, ovenproof pot over medium-high heat. Brown the beef in 2 to 3 batches until deeply browned all over, about 4 to 5 minutes per batch. Don’t crowd the pot. Set the beef aside.
3. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the onions with a pinch of salt and cook for 6 to 8 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
4. Pour in the wine, if using, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Simmer for 2 minutes.
5. Add the stock, Worcestershire sauce, carrots, bay leaves, thyme and the browned beef with any juices. The liquid should come about three quarters of the way up the meat.
6. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and transfer to the oven. Cook for 2½ to 3 hours, until the beef is tender and breaks apart easily with a fork. Check from the 2 hour mark.
7. If the sauce is thin, take the lid off for the last 20 to 30 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks, skim any excess fat from the top and add salt to taste.

No oven space, or the pot won’t fit? Cook it on the stovetop at the lowest heat, covered, for the same time, stirring now and then.

✨ Pro Tip

If your braise is tough, it’s undercooked, not overcooked. Chuck needs time to soften, so give it another 30 minutes and check again. Keep the heat gentle too. A rolling boil toughens the meat, and a slow, quiet simmer is what you want.

🍽️ Serving Suggestion

Spoon over mashed potato, rice or buttered noodles, with crusty bread for the sauce. It’s better the next day, so make it ahead and reheat gently.

To freeze: get it into the fridge or freezer within two hours of cooking, then cool it and divide it into portions. Reheat until steaming hot all the way through. A tub from the freezer is an easy dinner for the quiet days between Christmas and New Year.

🔍 Educational Notes

Chuck is a hard-working shoulder cut with a lot of connective tissue. It’s tough on a grill, but a long, wet, gentle cook turns it tender and rich. That’s why it suits a braise.

Browning the beef first builds most of the flavour. Do it in batches, because crowding the pot steams the meat instead.

Brisket works the same way if you’d prefer it. Allow more time and check for tenderness.

Not sure which oil for the browning? See our guide to [which oil to use] [LINK: which oil to use ATMG].

Freezing portions is the easy way to get ahead over the holidays. See [safe defrosting] [LINK: safe defrosting ATMG] for how to thaw it properly.

If you’re planning your Christmas order, [order in the week of 14 December] [LINK: Week 42 blog] and we’ll hold it frozen until you need it.

This recipe uses: Australian chuck steak | [Brisket, if used as a swap] [LINK: brisket product page]

We’re not here to sell you meat. We’re here to make you better at buying it.
— The Meat Guy Hong Kong