Super Tender Pot Roast Veal is a tasty second course that brings joy to the table. It is the ideal dish for a Sunday family lunch, but also great for festive menus.
The preparation starts with a classic sauté of celery, carrots, and onions, creating an irresistible aromatic base. The roast is first seared to seal in the juices, then brought to a medium doneness: this keeps it tender and pink at the center, preventing it from drying out.
The real secret, however, is in the finish: once cooked, the meat is wrapped in foil to rest and retain all its juices. This is when the aromatic herbs (like rosemary, sage, and thyme) release their scents into the remaining cooking juices, absorbing all the flavor of the meat and vegetables.
Here’s my mom’s secret. She added a handful of fresh aromatic herbs to the sauté and also halfway through cooking to make the cooking base even more fragrant. This will give the sauce an incredible aroma.
Then to thicken the cream: before the meat goes into the foil, blend the celery, carrot, and onion base with an immersion blender. You’ll get a velvety cream where the scents of aromatic herbs will be released.
The result is a soft, juicy, and elegant dish that will satisfy even the most demanding palates. Follow the step-by-step instructions and all the tips to prepare it.
- Difficulty: Very Easy
- Cost: Medium
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 6 People
- Cooking methods: Stove
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: All seasons
Ingredients
Super Tender Pot Roast Veal
- 2.4 lbs veal (single piece, e.g. top round, rump, or eye round)
- carrot (a large one)
- 1 white onion
- 1 stalk celery
- 1 sprig rosemary
- sage (a few leaves)
- 1 sprig thyme
- 1 leaf bay
- Half cup dry white wine (about 100-120ml)
- 2 cups vegetable broth (keep extra hot broth on hand)
- to taste extra virgin olive oil
- pepper
- salt
Tools
- Kitchen twine
- Casserole
- Aluminum
Steps
Super Tender Pot Roast Veal
Tie the roast with kitchen twine (if not already done) and season it generously with salt and pepper.
(If you’re not experienced, have your trusted butcher tie the roast for you!)
In a large pot (suitable for the roast), heat the EVO oil and brown the meat on all sides until well-sealed and golden.
Try not to pierce the meat during browning, or it will lose its precious juices!
Once browned, add sliced carrot, onion, and celery next to it. Cook over medium-low heat for about 5-7 minutes, stirring the vegetables.
Add the aromatic herbs (rosemary, sage, thyme).
Increase the heat and deglaze with white wine, allowing the alcohol to evaporate completely.
Add about 200 ml of hot broth. Cover with a lid and cook over low heat.
Turn the roast every 20-30 minutes and add more broth as the liquid reduces. Total cooking will take about 1 hour and 15 minutes (or until the internal temperature reaches 150°F for a pink/medium doneness).
If you don’t have a thermometer, do this.
With the back of a wooden spoon or kitchen tongs, gently press the surface of the roast in the center.
Very soft and spongy: The roast is still very rare (not recommended for veal).
Slightly resistant, gives a bit: The doneness is pink/medium (ideal for tenderness).
Firm and not very yielding: The meat is well-done (risk of drying out, but still acceptable for those who prefer it that way).Once cooked, remove the roast from the pot, transfer it to a cutting board and immediately wrap it tightly in foil.
This is crucial to rehydrate the fibers and make it super tender. Let it rest for at least 15-20 minutes.
(Mom’s Secret!) Remove the rosemary, sage, and thyme sprigs from the cooking base.
If you prefer a non-creamy base, leave the carrots, onions, and celery whole and use the cooking juices as they are.
If the sauce is too liquid, reduce it for a few minutes over high heat.
Slice the roast thinly (it will be easy because it is super tender).
Arrange the slices on a serving platter and generously drizzle them with the aromatic cooking juices and vegetables.
Enjoy your meal
If you enjoyed this recipe, you might also like Orange Roast or Oven-Baked Pork Roast. Or even Turkey Roast.
You can accompany the roast with NEW Potatoes or Duchess Potatoes with Air Fryer.
Tips
For a piece weighing 1.2-1.5 kg, calculate about 1 hour / 1 hour and 15 minutes total on the stove (at low heat after browning).
After the first 50 minutes, check often. If you have a kitchen thermometer, for medium doneness (pink), the core temperature should be around 140-150°F. If you don’t have a thermometer, use a toothpick: if it comes out with pinkish liquid, it’s ready to be taken off and wrapped in foil.
The Time Rule (Culinary Math)
For a veal roast of those dimensions (1.2kg – 1.5kg), calculate approximately 20-25 minutes of cooking for every 500g of meat.
Example for 1.5 kg:
First 500g = 25 min
Second 500g = 25 min
Third 500g = 25 min
Total: about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Mom’s Tip (since you use foil)
Remember, when you wrap the meat in the hot foil, cooking continues by inertia for a few minutes. So: turn off the heat when the meat seems just a tad underdone (still slightly pinkish liquid). The 15 minutes in the foil will bring it to absolute perfection without drying it out.
Storage
In Refrigerator (2-3 days)
A maximum of 3 days. Place it in an airtight container (with a lid) or cover it well with plastic wrap. If you’ve already sliced it, try to store it immersed in its sauce with mushrooms. This will prevent the slices from drying out when exposed to the cold air of the fridge. If it’s still whole, wrap it in foil or plastic wrap.
2. In Freezer (Up to 3 months)
It’s best to freeze it already sliced and divided into portions (for example, trays for 2 people)
Place the slices in the container and cover them with the sauce and mushrooms. The liquid protects the meat from direct cold (“freezer burn”) and keeps it tender.
Transfer it from the freezer to the refrigerator the night before. Avoid defrosting it in the microwave if you want to maintain the “medium doneness”, otherwise, you risk cooking it.
When you decide to eat it, reheat only the portion you need. Avoid reheating and cooling the entire pot multiple times.
Because mushrooms are delicate and could spoil.
Because by continuously reheating the roast, you will lose the pink doneness, and it will become dry.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What meats can I use besides veal?
Want the meat pink at the center? Choose Beef.
Want a rustic taste and spend a little less? Choose Pork (Loin).
Want to stay light? Choose Turkey.Can I cook the roast in advance?
If you prepare it in the morning for the evening (or the day before), follow these steps:
Cook the meat as per the recipe (medium doneness). Once ready, wrap it in foil and let it cool completely whole. Don’t slice it when hot!
Store the Base: Cook the mushrooms in the cooking base, then turn off and set aside (in the fridge if too much time passes).
When the meat is well chilled (perhaps after a few hours in the fridge), slice it.
The advantage: Cold meat slices beautifully, you can make thin and precise slices that don’t break.
How to Reheat (The trick to not ruining the medium doneness):
Arrange the cold slices in a wide pan or dish.
Bring the sauce with mushrooms to a boil (it must be boiling).
Pour the boiling sauce over the slices of meat.
Turn the heat on low for a few minutes, cover with the lid, and turn off almost immediately.
The heat of the sauce will warm the slices without cooking them again. This way, they will remain pink and tender. If you boil them too long, they will turn gray and tough.
