Preheat your oven to 300°F (150°C). Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish or a medium-sized brown ceramic casserole dish.
Trim any very large pieces of hard fat from the beef chuck roast, then cut the roast into large chunks about 2 inches in size. This helps the meat cook evenly and gives you nice bite-sized pieces that will fall apart when done.
Cut beef chuck roast pieces on a well-used cutting board
Place the beef chunks in an even layer in the bottom of the casserole dish. It’s fine if they’re snug; they’ll shrink as they cook.
In a medium bowl, stir together the condensed cream of mushroom soup and the dry onion soup mix until well combined. The mixture will be thick and very flavorful—that’s your old fashioned gravy base.
Pour the soup mixture evenly over the beef chunks, using a spatula to spread it so all the meat is coated. The beef does not need to be fully submerged; it will release juices as it cooks and create more gravy.
Thick mushroom and onion gravy mixture being spread over beef
Cover the casserole dish tightly with a lid or a double layer of aluminum foil. A tight seal is important to keep the moisture in so the beef becomes fork-tender.
Place the covered dish on the middle rack of the preheated oven and bake for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until the beef is very tender and easily falls apart when tested with a fork. Avoid opening the oven or lifting the lid too often, as this lets out heat and steam.
Once the beef is fork-tender, carefully remove the dish from the oven. Gently stir the beef and gravy together, breaking up any very large pieces of meat with a fork if you like. The gravy will be glossy and brown, coating the tender beef chunks.
Fork-tender baked beef in glossy brown gravy just out of the oven
If the gravy seems a bit thick for your liking, you can stir in a few tablespoons of hot water or beef broth to loosen it slightly. Taste and add a pinch of salt or black pepper only if needed, since the soup mix is already well seasoned.
Let the dish rest, covered, for about 10 minutes before serving to allow the juices to settle. Serve the tender beef and rich onion gravy straight from the casserole dish while hot.
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