To begin, turn your oven on to 275 degrees with your oven rack lowered enough to fit a Dutch Oven with lid. Wash, trim, and cut carrots into 3-inch pieces. I don’t feel the need to peel them, but do whatever floats your boat. In an oven-safe Dutch Oven, heat oil until it is quite hot, but not smoking. Add in your carrots. Allow the carrots to cook until they get a little color on them.
Remove them to a dish. In their place add garlic cloves and the large onion. Cook these until they have some lovely color as well. While those are cooking, pat dry, salt and pepper both sides of the roast. Remove your onion and garlic to the dish with the carrots and in with the roast.
Set it in the Dutch oven and don’t touch it. Let it sit and sear for about 4 minutes.
Carefully turn it over and sear the other side. While the roast is browning, measure out your rosemary, thyme, parsley, a cup of red wine, two bay leaves, and grab a carton of beef broth. When the roast has browned on both sides, remove it from the heat. Arrange the carrots, onion, and garlic around the roast, then toss in the herbs. Pour in the wine and the broth.
Put the lid on your Dutch oven, stick it in your oven and walk away from your kitchen for about 4 1/2 hours. Your house will begin smelling heavenly!
After the afternoon has gone by, remove it from the oven, and carefully scoop the roast and the carrots out to a platter. Pull the meat apart with a couple forks. For the finishing touch, ladle some of the broth through a sieve into a saucepan. You’ll want between 2 and 3 cups of the broth – however much gravy you would like to make. Begin heating the broth and bring it to a gentle boil.
While it is heating, in a cup or a small bowl, combine a half cup of cold water and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Beat them together with a fork or whisk until smooth. Pour about half of the cornstarch mixture into the saucepan, whisking it together. Allow the broth to return to a boil. If it isn’t thick enough, add the rest of the cornstarch mixture and again let it come to a boil.