Pot Roast and Onions

3½ to 4 lbs chuck roast 
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
4 garlic cloves, cut in half
coarse salt and ground black pepper
2 tbsp canola oil
6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
6 cups sliced sweet onions
3 cups chicken stock

Let roast come to room temperature. Place seasoned flour in a shallow plate or pie pan. Set aside. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. With a sharp knife, slit veins of fat (or the meat itself) and insert garlic halves fully, so they don't pop out when the roast contracts during cooking. Then, using your hands, generously rub salt and pepper into the meat.

Place roast into flour mixture and turn over. There will be a good coating of flour on the roast. Heat oil in a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Add melted butter, allowing the water to cook off and the milk solids to sink to the bottom of the pan, about 30 seconds. Wait for milk solids to boil off (30 seconds), then put roast into the pan to sear. It should sizzle loudly. Reduce heat a bit. After a minute or so, using tongs or a fork, make sure that the roast isn't stuck to the pan and can slide easily. But don't mess with the roast too much. Let it get a good, dark-brown sear on the first side, about 5 minutes. Do not under cook — gray meat is not seared meat. Turn over and cook other side the same way. When both sides are browned, remove roast from skillet and place on a roasting rack or cooling rack.

Turn heat back to medium-high. Add onions to the hot fat. Using a wooden spoon or spatula, stir onions, scraping up any and all bits stuck to the pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and let cook 2 to 3 minutes. Let cook for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring regularly. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Taste liquid for salt and pepper  Place roast in Dutch oven. Pour onion mixture over roast, making sure that the liquid comes only halfway up the roast. Using the spatula, scrape any onions off the top surface of the roast and into cooking liquid. Bring the liquid back up just to a simmer (not a full boil, just a slight agitation of the surface and tiny bubbles around the sides of the pot). Place lid on pot and put into oven. Cook until fork tender, 3 to 4 hours. Before serving, let the meat rest in the liquid just long enough for the roast to reabsorb its juices, about 15 minutes.