Planning on cooking my first pot roast today. I’m planning to have mashed potatoes on the side and add carrots and mushrooms to the pot. Various recipes I’ve consulted differ on when to add the veggies - some say to brown them first and then add them in at the beginning, others don’t include the browning and say to add them in near the last hour of roasting.
This is a stove-top roast in a pot (no pressure cooker or slow cooker). What should I do?
I always put veggies in at the first. However, my husband and I prefer our cooked veggies to be on the soft side, rather than crunchy. Onions, celery, and carrots benefit greatly from browning first, but it’s not really necessary. The chunk of meat will also benefit from being browned first.
Too many carrots will make the whole dish too sweet. If you don’t put enough in, though, everyone fights over the carrots.
I always put in potatoes, onions, carrots, and celery, and if I have a turnip, I put that in too. We love potatoes roasted with meat, as they pick up the flavor. However, mashed potatoes are good with pot roast, too.
You can cover the pot and put it in the oven to cook, and it will require just about no attention.
I brown the meat but not the veggies, and I put the veggies in as soon as the meat is browned. I’ve always been amazed that a three-pound hunk of meat can be fork tender and the veggies aren’t mushy, when they cooked for the same period of time. Why is that?
I brown the meat most of the time, occasionally I skip that if I am feeling particularly lazy. And I throw in onions and garlic to brown too, but don’t brown the rest of the vegetables. I put them all in at the same time (right after the meat is browned) no matter what method I am using to cook the roast. Too much time can make the veggies too soft, but we’ve never minded, and it is just easier to do it all at once rather than remembering when to add this or that.
I like to cook, but don’t love it, and I am a good cook (if I do say so myself) but I am also a lazy cook and will almost always go with the easiest, quickest option. 
Use at least some of the celery and carrots as a grille for your meat. Not a lot will be left when it’s done, but their veggie goodness will be added to the dripping and the beef’s well-done meatiness will be absorbed by the veggies. At gravy time you need to ask yourself, “Should I puree them and add them to the gravy, or just eat them?” For me the gravy usually loses.
ETA: BUT IT SHOULDN’T!!!
Thanks guys. It turned out okay - the meat was certainly very tender but still a tiny bit dry, and the whole thing was somewhat bland. I guess I didn’t season the meat enough. And I should cook it longer? I must have simmered it for 4-5 hours.
I usually leave mine in the crockpot for upwards of 9-10 hours on low. For flavoring, I also put in a couple packets of the dried Lipton French Onion Soup. It’s fantastic when it’s done.
I use beef bouillion cubes or Kitchen Bouquet for extra flavor. The Kitchen Bouquet adds some nice color to the broth too.
No idea why your roast was dry. How much liquid did you have in the pot? I try to have enough to cover at least half of the roast.
You probably didn’t put in enough onions. And it’s perfectly all right to put in garlic, too. If you didn’t brown the meat first, that might be a problem, too. Browning the meat (and the veggies) will bring out more flavor. I always let things slowcook for at least 6 or 7 hours, longer if I have the time.