How to (Better) Cook a Roast
I will admit, I usually just throw the roast into a crock pot with some water and a packet of onion soup mix; turn it on low and leave. Ok, so while this does get the roast cooked, it can often make it a bit dry or overcooked. But you know, I would rather get it done than not ha!
The other day, I took time to try a different approach. Not that much more time, mind you, I still need this to be quick. I had thawed the roast out in the fridge overnight. It was not completely thawed, only on the outside. I Pinterested (is that a word these days?) a rub to try on the roast…..and ended up creating my own rub from several ideas I saw. Some salt, pepper, onion powder, parsley flakes, and probably garlic salt or powder too. I rubbed the roast with the spices and then seared it on all sides in a very hot cast iron skillet that had a bit of coconut oil in it. This whole process from fridge to crock pot took me about 15-20 minutes. So, not too bad. Then, I cooked it in the crock pot with just a little water (probably could have used more) for about 6 hours. My husband loved it! He said it was the best roast he had eaten for awhile. Hmmm, maybe a little effort was worth it!
So, I took it a step farther and did a bit more research about cooking roast. These are some great ideas I found that I am definitely going to try.
Ideas to add to your roast as you cook it:
Mushrooms – these will add juices and are a nice neutral addition to the pot.
Onions or onion soup mix- these go well with pretty much whatever you want to do with it later.
Wine, Beef Broth or Worcestershire Sauce
Roast Goes Good with:
Veggies; potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, celery, onions, radishes, parsnips, turnips.
A few more ideas for various cooking methods I looked up below:
Crock Pot- Sear the roast on all sides if you want (this is not required, but adds a bit of flavor) then add salt, pepper, and whatever spices you prefer. Cook on low 8-10 hours (over night is a great way to do this). Or if you cut it up cook 6-8 hours on low.
Oven- Sear the roast on all sides if you want (this is not required, but adds a bit of flavor) then add salt, pepper, and whatever spices you prefer. You can also cook it on a high heat (about 450) for about 15 minutes then reduce the heat for the remainder of the time. To slow cook it on a low heat about 275-300; Cook on low 8-10 hours (over night is a great way to do this). Or if you cut it up cook 6-8 hours on low.
To cook it quicker in order to slice it not shred it cook it approx. 1:45-2 hours for a 4lb roast. It is best to let it rest before you cut it. So let it sit on the counter 15-30 min or so. The juices will stay in the roast better rather than leaking out into the pan.
Insta Pot- flavor your pot roast as desired. You can sear the pot roast in the pot to add flavor as it cooks or just cook it. The average 4lb pot roast will take around 2 hours to cook in an insta pot. Which is an amazing and incredibly fast way to cook a pot roast that is super tender. You can cut up the roast into large chunks or you can cook it whole. It cooks faster cut up into large chunks.
Pressure Cooker- very similar to the insta pot, you can sear the roast in the pot prior to cooking to add a bit of extra flavor. To cook a roast in a pressure cooker it is much better to cut the roast up into large chunks to cook better. Also add some beef broth or water to the pan or you will burn the roast while cooking.
A couple of websites I found helpful in researching this endeavor