By Alice K. Thompson for Food Network Kitchen

Alice is a contributing writer and editor at Food Network.

Skip over the expensive marbled steaks at your butcher or supermarket: The best meat for pot roast comes from the tougher, cheaper cuts of beef. These hard-working cuts are perfect for the long, slow braising process that makes melt-in-your-mouth pot roast. Here are the best three meats to use for this iconic comfort food.

What Is Pot Roast?

Pot roast is a beef dish made by first browning a generously sized cut of meat before cooking it slowly over low heat for a long time. The cooking can be done either on the stovetop, in the oven or in a slow cooker or multi-cooker like the Instant Pot. A good amount of liquid like broth, water or wine is added to the cooking vessel to keep the heat even and moist, producing tender, juicy results after several hours of cooking.

Various vegetables like carrots or potatoes are usually added towards the end of cooking to make pot roast a complete comfort meal. If you’re thinking this sounds like a beef stew, you’re right, although there’s one major difference: The meat in a pot roast is kept in one or more very large pieces during cooking, not cut into chunks as you would for stew. For a pot roast, carving or shredding is always done after the braising is complete.

What Is the Best Meat for Pot Roast?

The best meat for pot roast is a beef cut with abundant connective tissue, like chuck roast, beef brisket or bottom round roast.

This connective tissue called collagen is what makes pot roast melt-in-your-mouth tender. Collagen wraps tightly around meat’s muscle fibers, so cuts that have a lot of can be tough and rubbery when they are raw or cooked quickly over high heat. But long, slow cooking begins to melt the collagen, turning it from elastic to gelatin. This is what makes pot roast so tender and easy to carve, and also why the liquid it cooks in becomes so naturally thick and luscious: Collagen seeps into the broth, giving it thickness and a velvety mouthfeel that makes an irresistible sauce for the finished dish.

The more a muscle in the animal works the more collagen it contains. This is why “tender” cuts perfect for grilling or searing, such as ribeye or tenderloin, come from the upper back of the animal, an area that’s fairly inactive. By comparison, the best pot roast cuts come from the well-exercised front and hind quarters of the animal. Here’s a rundown of your best choices for pot roast.

Chuck Roast

This cut comes from the shoulder of the cow, right above its front legs, an area that gets a lot of exercise. Chuck is famously beefy in flavor and makes absolutely delicious pot roast when slowly braised until tender. A chuck roast typically weighs 2 to 3 pounds and is sometimes sold as shoulder steak or chuck shoulder pot roast. The cut has several veins of fat in it, making it particularly rich, but it shreds or slices in chunks rather than producing the long even slices of brisket.

Brisket

Brisket comes from the breast of the animal, just above the front legs. These muscles work hard so they’re full of connective tissue that gets soft and juicy during long braising. Brisket is made up of two cuts, the flat brisket or “first cut,” and the point brisket or “second cut.” The flat brisket is leaner and uniform in thickness and is recommended for pot roasts for the Jewish holidays. It cooks up very tender but still holds together beautifully for picture-perfect slices cut across the grain. The flat is large, weighing 6 to 10 pounds, so you may not always need a whole one for your recipe.

Bottom Round Roast

This cut comes from the hind quarters of the animal, including the rump and leg, an area that does a lot of work. Round is lean and fine-grained and, much like brisket, it slices evenly. Bottom round is typically a bargain cut and will give you the best bang for your pot roast dollar. The drawback? It’s considered slightly less flavorful than other cuts, but if this is your choice you shouldn’t worry. Just make sure you brown the meat well before braising it to give it deep caramelized flavor from the start and opt for well-seasoned recipes.

Can Chuck, Brisket and Round Be Used Interchangeably in Pot Roast?

While you can use chuck roast, brisket and bottom round interchangeably in most pot roast recipes, you may have to adjust the cooking time since they vary in size and thickness. Plus, while the flavors of your finished recipe will probably be about the same, their appearance may not be. Chuck roast tends to dissolve into shreds or chunks more easily, whereas the finer texture of brisket and round lend themselves to easy slicing.

Pot Roast Recipes

The Best Pot Roast

This classic recipe made with chuck roast gets big flavor from caramelized onions and a braising liquid of wine and broth enriched with tomato paste. Carrots and potatoes make it a one-pot meal — just add a simple salad and crusty bread to soak up the irresistible sauce.

Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast

Pepperoncini peppers and ranch seasoning in pot roast? It may not be classic, but it’s sensational! Ready in just an hour-and-change, this recipe is a great use for a multi-cooker: You brown the beef and pressure cook it in the same vessel. Chuck roast shreds beautifully, and the tender morsels are served with the zesty sauce over mashed potatoes.

Braised Brisket

Tangy and sweet are the hallmarks of a brisket for the Jewish holidays, and this beautiful dish delivers on both. Sage and fennel deepen the flavor of the broth-and-wine braising sauce.

Sunday Pot Roast with Mushroom Gravy

This five-ingredient pot roast is simple, delicious cooking at its best. Made with bottom round roast, one of the bargains of the beef world, plus a handful of everyday ingredients, it’s particularly economical, too.

Beer and Onion Pot Roast

Beer fans will love this chuck roast braised in amber ale with caramelized onions and a garnish of crispy bacon. It makes a generous eight servings, perfect if you're feeding a crowd or want to have leftovers for later in the week.

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