Beef Cooked with Carrots, Onions, and Dried Plums

Ingredients

• 1 pound baby carrots 
• 3  bay leaves 
• 1 teaspoon pepper black freshly ground
• 2.5 pound chuck roast boneless trimmed
• 2 cups plums dried pitted
• 2 teaspoons grapeseed oil extravirgin
• 3 cups onion thinly sliced
• 2  rosemary sprigs 
• 1  sage sprig 
• 2 teaspoons sea salt 
• 20  thyme sprigs 
• 4 cups warm water 

Equipment

• frying pan
• oven
• ziploc bags
• measuring cup
• dutch oven
• cheesecloth
• kitchen twine

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 35
2. Tie the roast at 2-inch intervals with twine; rub with salt and pepper.
3. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
4. Add roast; cook 12 minutes, browning on all sides.
5. Remove roast from pan.
6. Add onion and water to pan, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return meat to pan.
7. Place rosemary, thyme, sage, and bay leaves on a double layer of cheesecloth. Gather edges of cheesecloth together; tie securely.
8. Add cheesecloth to pan; cover, reduce heat, and simmer.
9. Bake, covered, at 350 for 1 1/2 hours. Turn roast; bake, covered, an additional 45 minutes.
10. Add carrots and dried plums; bake, covered, an additional 45 minutes or until carrots are tender.
11. Place roast, carrots, and dried plums on platter; keep warm. Reserve cooking liquid. Discard bag.
12. Place a zip-top plastic bag inside a 2-cup glass measure.
13. Pour reserved cooking liquid into bag; let stand 2 minutes (fat will rise to the top). Seal bag; carefully snip off 1 bottom corner of bag.
14. Drain drippings into measuring cup, stopping before fat layer reaches opening; discard fat. Slice roast; garnish with sage leaves, if desired.
15. Serve with carrot mixture and sauce.