Private Money Lender · OK · Member since 2010 · 163 posts · 32 votes
This is the first time I ever cooked a roast before. Probably messed up a few things. I'm cooking it in a crock pot. Obviously I'm no Iron Chef here, but I can cook a lot of dishes pretty well. I'm trying to eat a little healthier though and I know roast is pretty lean so I bought one. One thing I just thought of is I put in some white wine in the bottom of the pan. Then I put 2 sliced potatoes in the bottom of it and layed the roast on top of the potatoes. Now that I have thought of it, will this make a difference that the roast is not sitting in the liquid? I put carrots and mushrooms and onion on top of that. Theres no room for me to even get a baster to draw any juicec so I'm hoping the crock pot does it well enough. Thank you for the feedback.
Real Estate Investor · St. Louis, MO · Member since 2010 · 153 posts · 104 votes
16y
Hey Michael,
Cooking a roast in a crock pot is going to take 6-8 hrs depending on size. So you really don't want to add the veggies and taters until about the last couple hrs or they will be mush by the time the meat is ready. Keep the roast covered and it will create a good amt of it's own juice. If need be I like to add some beef broth and or vegetable broth (low sodium) when I add my veg and tater. Most times though I don't add potato to my crock pot. I make mashed pots and then ladle my pot roast over a bowl of smashed taters .
Private Money Lender · OK · Member since 2010 · 163 posts · 32 votes
16y
Originally posted by Christopher Davis:
Hey Michael,
Cooking a roast in a crock pot is going to take 6-8 hrs depending on size. So you really don't want to add the veggies and taters until about the last couple hrs or they will be mush by the time the meat is ready. Keep the roast covered and it will create a good amt of it's own juice. If need be I like to add some beef broth and or vegetable broth (low sodium) when I add my veg and tater. Most times though I don't add potato to my crock pot. I make mashed pots and then ladle my pot roast over a bowl of smashed taters .
mmmmmmm mmmmmmm
Chris
Haha, I should have consulted you first. Unfortunately I had already decided to start cooking before asking questions. Guess my eyes were bigger then my stomache on that one eh. I added the potatoes, carrots, onions, garlic, seasoning and wine all at once. In fact I really can't even move the roast because the crockpot is completely packed. Guess we'll have to charge this one to the game and consider it a learning experience. I don't have any beef broth unfortunately :cry:
I did just add some carmelized French Onion soup though. Now my roast is completely submerged in veggies, wine, and the soup. I'm sure in the end it will be like a boiled piece of meat but oh well. I'm going to cook it unil like 5 or 6pm
Michael
Attorney · Raleigh, NC · Member since 2008 · 4k+ posts · 1k+ votes
16y
You will end up having very tasty, basically mashed potatoes....which is not necessarily a bad thing. They won't have the same visual presentation but it won't kill you. The roast is likely to have some more dryness than usual. I fixed this once by putting a layer of bbq sauce on top. The sauce held the moisture better and created a sort of "seal" around the exterior of the meat. Not like searing, but close. It is better to have the roast in the bottom first in the future and as Chis suggested - only the last couple hours.
Don't feel too bad. When I first made a roast I put the broccoli in right away with the meat and potatoes. I do believe I created soylent green.
Private Money Lender · OK · Member since 2010 · 163 posts · 32 votes
16y
Originally posted by Tim Wieneke:
I do believe I created soylent green.
I laughed out loud. That was the only line in the movie that made it worth watching.
After Chris mentioned stew I had a nobel prize unoriginal idea. I took the whole roast out and cut it all into little chunks.
To make matters worse it turns out I was really screwing up. I was putting water in the heating element part because I thought thats how a crockpot worked. No wonder it wasnt getting very hot lol
Private Money Lender · OK · Member since 2010 · 163 posts · 32 votes
16y
And the verdict isssss:
I started out with 2 good sized potatoes, half a bag of baby carrots and 2 onions. Now all I really see is the meat and gravy, a few carrots and a couple of potato slices, and some hard to see onions.
Thanks to everyone who joined us for this episode of Iron Chef :)
Irish potatoes cut in half long ways go in the bottom. Then the meat. Then you top the meat with carrots and onions. You can add rutabagas and sweet potato on top if you like them.
I put the meat in raw. You can sear it first if you don't mind an extra dirty pan to wash; I don't bother.
Add a bit of liquid, maybe an inch in the bottom of the pot: red wine, broth, brandy, water with a Tablespoon of soy sauce, or coffee (yes, coffee).
Sprinkle some seasonings on top of everything: onion powder, a clove of fresh garlic, chili powder if you are going Mexican, basil and oregano if you are going Italian, maybe a can of cream of mushroom soup. Or top the whole thing with an envelope of Lipton's onion soup mix.
Put the lid on and do not open it again until the meat is done anywhere from 5 to 12 hours, depending upon what you are cooking.
The only veg I add late in the cooking process is fresh mushrooms.
The entire point of the crock pot is to set it and forget it. It's a good meal for rehab days. Go put in a hard days work and come home to find dinner already cooked.
And for Pete's sake.... after you eat your pot roast dinner, put the leftovers in the refrigerator.
If you are going to put the whole crock in the fridge, put a couple of hot pads or a towel under it and put it in the fridge without waiting for it to get cold. You don't want to set warm crockery directly onto a cold refrigerator shelf.
(Better to decant the roast into smaller packages and refrigerate, but anyone who can't make the effort to put the leftover pizza into the fridge can't be trusted to property repackage the pot roast.)
Real Estate Investor · Craigmont, ID · Member since 2009 · 564 posts · 239 votes
16y
Michael,
Did you just move away from home or something? I remember calling my mom at least once a week to ask her cooking questions. How long to boil corn, potatoes etc. I still do even though I haven't been home in 17 years. It makes my Mom feel special when I need her help :)
Please don't tell my mom I absolutely hate the way she cooks eggs! Way too dry! BTW, I eat them anyway whenever I am home I just make sure there is some toast/honey to wash it down :)
Oh shoot! This forum is PUBLIC! Hope my Mom doesn’t see this. hehe
How did your roast turn out? The way you cooked it sounds yummy to me. I don't think you can really go wrong in a crock pot, long as you have enough juice, and normally roasts make there own juices. They also have a tendency to shrink, so after a few hours, you would be able to baste your roast