# Why do I suck at pot roast? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 18, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891 "2009-05-18T20:03:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/41 "2009-05-19T17:30:32Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > Really? Whoa. Really. I’ve tried this trick, and it gives a real nice little something different to the gravy. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/42 "2009-05-19T17:33:26Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > I take the opposite approach, I use my pressure cooker… I used to do it this way. For years, I made amazing pot roasts in amazingly short times (it’s all relative). But then I lost the art. I have no idea how it happened … one day, it came out overdone. Then again. Maybe a third time. Since then I’ve been afraid to go back, considering it one of those how’d-they-do-it mysteries, like the Pyramids of Giza. I’ll try again. As for roasts, is there a reason everyone is using (or appearing to use) boneless roasts? It can be hard to find a bone-in chuck, but I find the flavoring and texture to be better than boneless. Am I part Ogre? ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/43 "2009-05-19T17:56:02Z")
> [@Rhythmdvl](#): > > As for roasts, is there a reason everyone is using (or appearing to use) boneless roasts? It can be hard to find a bone-in chuck, but I find the flavoring and texture to be better than boneless. Am I part Ogre? My preference is the traditional “7-bone” chuck steak for pot roast. But I’ll buy a boneless chuck if it is on sale. After all, I have to feed five cheaply. Incidentally, I use the pressure cooker to make swiss steak quickly - the pressure breaks down the tough cubed steak and it turns out very nice indeed. And the best part is it only takes about 45 minutes vice 2.5 hours in the oven. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/44 "2009-05-19T19:29:50Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Yeah…I live right out there on the edge. > > Actually gingersnap gravy is pretty common - you see it a lot in German cooking, and it is the thickener for the sauerbraten gravy. Give it a whirl. I got a chuck in the freezer - now I gotta try it. Thanks! Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 7:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/45 "2009-05-19T19:54:40Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Nope. Pulverized gingersnaps. Ja, ja, ven I vant der sauerbraten, I do dat. Mit spaetzle. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/46 "2009-05-19T20:03:30Z")
> [@Shodan](#): > > I got a chuck in the freezer - now I gotta try it. Thanks! > > Regards, > Shodan No problem. The cooking threads are one place few argue with me. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 8:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/47 "2009-05-19T20:32:13Z")
I sometimes do pot roast in the pressure cooker, and it turns out divine. Also includes whole red potatoes and carrots n’ parsnips for mashing - a whole meat-and-potatoes dinner in one pot! I can’t find my recipe just now, though. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/48 "2009-05-19T21:15:54Z")
While on the topic, what’s the best way to make a nice gravy for the pot roast? Is it as simple as reducing some of the liquid the roast cooked in? Maybe add some a cornstarch slurry as a thickener? ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/49 "2009-05-19T21:18:35Z")
> [@BrandonR](#): > > While on the topic, what’s the best way to make a nice gravy for the pot roast? Is it as simple as reducing some of the liquid the roast cooked in? Maybe add some a cornstarch slurry as a thickener? “Pay Attention,” Ginger snapped. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/50 "2009-05-19T21:20:21Z")
Post #22, but try \*\*Mr. Moto’s \*\*gingersnap variation sometime. ---
**Author:** ![BrandonR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/779978/32.png) [@BrandonR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrandonR)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/51 "2009-05-19T21:20:49Z")
Yeah I saw that and it frightens and intrigues me simultaneously… 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [May 19, 2009, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/52 "2009-05-19T22:17:41Z")
All this talk of searing and browning makes me wonder if I’ve been doing something wrong all these years. My usual plan goes along the lines of: Open slow cooker Drop in a 7-bone roast Peel a handful of carrots and potatos, cut them into roughly 2" chunks Coarse chop several cloves of garlic Peel an onion and cut into quarters Unwrap a box of sliced mushrooms Dump the veggies and garlic on the meat Pour in one can beef broth Add two teaspoons of beef base\* Drop in some dried bay leaves and fresh rosemary Close the lid and put cooker into its “Auto” mode Go to work Daydream about dinner Go home EAT! Prep time is maybe 15 minutes, 20 if I have to go outside to pick some rosemary. If the veggies are cut much smaller, they disappear. I’ve got a fancy Kitchen Aid cooker - the Auto mode does something like jack up the heat high to get things going, then shifts down to a simmer for something like eight or ten hours, then drops into a keep-warm setting so it doesn’t all burn away. If I want gravy, I’ll scoop out some of the liquid into a saucepan, then reduce it and whisk in some flour slurry. - Beef base? What’s that? Hooves? No… Better Than Bullion is the popular consumer brand, but I buy the stuff at a restaurant supply shop. Costs about one-fourth as much that way. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/53 "2009-05-20T09:56:40Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I sometimes do pot roast in the pressure cooker, and it turns out divine. Also includes whole red potatoes and carrots n’ parsnips for mashing - a whole meat-and-potatoes dinner in one pot! I can’t find my recipe just now, though. Where are the ONIONS in this recipe? Can’t have pot roast without onions, or so my husband and daughter inform me. If I tried to make pot roast without onions, I’m sure there would be mutiny in this house. Sometimes I put a small turnip in the pot roast. My mother never cooked turnips, as her father hated them and wouldn’t allow them to be cooked in his house. However, for some reason, I tried a small turnip in a stew, and found it good. Since then, turnips have regularly shown up in my soups, stews, and pot roasts. Try it sometime. Pot roast is magic. A cheap tough piece of meat and some root veggies turn into a dish that lifts the soul. I prefer to use chuck for pot roast. I think that chuck is very flavorful, but it’s tough, and the long low cooking makes the most of that cut. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/54 "2009-05-20T13:52:01Z")
That’s the one drawback - I always get the onion from the Sunday roast at my mom’s house. ---
**Author:** ![chela](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chela/32/21582_2.png) [@chela](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chela)\ **Post date:** [May 20, 2009, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891/55 "2009-05-20T14:10:43Z")
Sauerbraten is one I want to try, marinated first for 3 days, then seared then cooked and gravified yow! For BBQ beefs from pot roast Use 3 lbs of pot roast, cover with water and simmer for 90 minutes. Make your own bbq sauce or add a bottle of Stubbs, add onion and lemon slices. Drain potroast, add sauce and simmer covered in oven or stove top for another 90 minutes. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-i-suck-at-pot-roast/496891.md?page=2)