Really. I’ve tried this trick, and it gives a real nice little something different to the gravy.
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?
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.
I got a chuck in the freezer - now I gotta try it. Thanks!
Regards,
Shodan
Ja, ja, ven I vant der sauerbraten, I do dat.
Mit spaetzle.
No problem. The cooking threads are one place few argue with me.
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.
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.
Post #22, but try **Mr. Moto’s **gingersnap variation sometime.
Yeah I saw that and it frightens and intrigues me simultaneously… 
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.
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.
That’s the one drawback - I always get the onion from the Sunday roast at my mom’s house.
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.