Do I have too much liquid in my crockpot? (Italian roast beef)

Cafe Society
1

Okay, I know it’s not an authentic recipe, etc, etc. But it’s quick and easy and hopefully edible…
I coated a roast with spices and put 1.5 c of water in my crockpot. Put the roast in, then added a 16 oz jar of pepperoncini peppers with liquid. There’s a lot of liquid…more than 3/4 covering the roast.
So…should I siphon off some of that flavorful liquid and let it continue cooking? Pull the whole mess out and put it stove top in a bigger pot? Or is it okay as it? I’ll be using it for sandwiches.
thanks!

2

Never mind! I left it and a few hours later it seems fine. I’m going to let it cool and shred it tomorrow, but the bit I tried was pretty tasty!

3

IANACook, but what you are doing seems fine, and the proof of the roastin’ is in the eatin’. It’s hard to go wrong in a crockpot.

4

As a really general rule, if you have to ask if you have too much liquid in a crockpot, you do.

5

^I would tend to agree. I don’t do any crockpot cooking, but I do cook in a Dutch oven, which is a similar concept. Braises, in my experience, tend to require a lot less water than you’d think. The meat itself releases quite a bit of water in the cooking process, and if you have veggies like onions or peppers, they release quite a bit themselves. I find that maybe an inch of water/broth is enough. It’s not like too much liquid is fatal, though. It’ll turn out fine, just the flavor will be more diluted in the liquid, of course.

6

I guess we’re late to the party, but for the record:

  • yes, if you’re asking if you have too much liquid you probably do
    and
  • you can always scoop out part of it into a small saucepan and simmer it down to reduce
7

There was quite a bit more liquid than I would want if I were going for a roast, but in this case I think the extra turned out to be a good thing. I stuck it in the fridge overnight, then sliced it super-thin the next day. Dumped it all back in the liquid to heat it back up, and put it on sandwiches. It turned out really well, and since the Italian beef sandwich is supposed to (from what I read) be really really juicy, all that nice juice was perfect. It was full of peppers and spice, too, so all good.
It was a really lean roast, too…almost no fat to collect off the surface.