Pot roast is a braised

Braising

Braising , is a combination cooking method using both moist and dry heat; typically the food is first seared at a high temperature and then finished in a covered pot with a variable amount of liquid, resulting in a particular flavour...

 beef

Beef

Beef is the culinary name for meat from bovines, especially domestic cattle. Beef can be harvested from cows, bulls, heifers or steers. It is one of the principal meats used in the cuisine of the Middle East , Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Europe and the United States, and is also important in...

 dish. Pot roast is typically made by browning a roast-sized piece of beef to induce a Maillard reaction

Maillard reaction

The Maillard reaction is a form of nonenzymatic browning similar to caramelization. It results from a chemical reaction between an amino acid and a reducing sugar, usually requiring heat....

, then slow-cooking in or over liquid in a covered dish.

Tougher cuts such as chuck steak

Chuck steak

Chuck steak is a cut of beef and is part of the subprimal cut known as the chuck. The typical chuck steak is a rectangular cut, about 1" thick and containing parts of the shoulder bones, and is often known as a "7-bone steak"...

, Boneless chuck roast, and 7-bone pot roast

7-Bone Roast

The 7-bone roast or 7-bone steak is from the chuck section of the steer or heifer and it includes a cross cut of the shoulder blade. The bone is shaped like a "7", which gives the steak its name. The steak differs from the 7-Bone Roast only in thickness. 7-Bone steaks are cut 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick...

 are popular joints of this technique. Unsuitable for oven roasting due to the toughness of the fibers, they become tender and flavorsome after slow braising. As with all braises, slow cooking tenderizes, while the liquid exchanges its flavor with that of the beef, resulting in tender, succulent meat.

Pot roast in North America (also known as "Yankee pot roast") is often served with carrot

Carrot

The carrot is a root vegetable, usually orange in colour, though purple, red, white, and yellow varieties exist. It has a crisp texture when fresh...

s and/or potato

Potato

The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...

es as well as other vegetables such as onion

Onion

The onion , also known as the bulb onion, common onion and garden onion, is the most widely cultivated species of the genus Allium. The genus Allium also contains a number of other species variously referred to as onions and cultivated for food, such as the Japanese bunching onion The onion...

s simmered in the cooking liquid.

Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten

Sauerbraten is a German pot roast, usually of beef , marinated before cooking in a mixture of vinegar, water, spices and seasonings.Sauerbraten is traditionally served with red cabbage, potato dumplings , Spätzle,...

is a popular variety of pot roast in Germany.