Crock Pot Roast
Growing up this was always a family favorite - but not just for the day of Leftovers were sliced cold and combined with Grandmas pickles for a sandwich treat that Im sorry you cant try Until I post the pickle recipe that is
Growing up this was always a family favorite - but not just for the day of Leftovers were sliced cold and combined with Grandmas pickles for a sandwich treat that Im sorry you cant try Until I post the pickle recipe that is
- 1 bay leaf
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic sliced
- 4 carrot peeled and cut
- 1 large onion peeled and cut
- 2 ribs celery cut, and throw in a few chopped up leaves too!
- 2 pounds chuck roast
- 1 pkg lipton onion soup mix
- 2 cups vegetable stock
- 1 teaspoon rosemary fresh is best
- 1 teaspoon thyme fresh is best
- 16 ounces button mushrooms whole
- Carbohydrate 16.6014859455855 g
- Cholesterol 99.7903214 mg
- Fat 28.5793972707491 g
- Fiber 2.38810904688394 g
- Protein 31.849684957 g
- Saturated Fat 11.180070828624 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (779g)
- Sodium 2018.45476589149 mg
- Sugar 14.2133768987016 g
- Trans Fat 3.65849882471839 g
- Calories 455 calories
Step-by-step
- Cut all vegetables to (large) bitesize pieces. Toss them into a really hot skillet until they''ve started to brown. Don''t cook them all the way, just let that pretty brown color touch them and then toss them into the crock.
- Salt and pepper the roast. (Don''t skimp on the salt! Use kosher if you have it around - it sticks better.) Use olive oil to sear roast in really hot skillet - just until outside is browned. It should sizzle and smoke or it''s not hot enough.
- Place the roast on top of vegetables in the crock, top with onion soup mix and then stock. (Any type of stock coulb be substituted here without much problem, veg stock is just all I keep around.) Add small sprig of fresh rosemary, a little thyme, and a bay leaf right on top. Cover it and cook it on low.
- Cooking time can vary according to your day and your desired doneness. See, you cant really overcook potroast, you just make it fall apart. Which results in a more of a stew than a roast. (But a roast mingling with veggies for a couple of hours couldn''t make for a better stew! So if you forgot it, just use a tough of cornstarch to thicken it a bit and pretend it was your intent all along! Not a soul will call you on it!)
- Mushrooms should be tossed in about an hour before it''s done. Don''t cook the mushrooms all day. Same goes with potatoes. If you like potatoes in your potroast, (I usually do mashed on the side), cook them for only a few hours, (this will depend on size of the potatoes, if you''ve cut them at all, etc.). Do not cook your potatoes for 8 hours. Been there, done that.
- So a low setting for 8 hours will do it, and so will a high setting for 3-4. Specifics here will depend on your life and desired doneness.
Searing chuck roast before slow cooking creates a deep complex taste through the Maillard reaction, which requires surface temperatures exceeding 300 degrees Fahrenheit to transform amino acids and reducing sugars into hundreds of new flavor compounds. Raw meat dropped directly into liquid fails to brown because moisture boils at 212 degrees, capping the surface temperature and preventing this essential chemical transformation. Patting the exterior completely dry with paper towels removes surface moisture before it hits the hot skillet, accelerating the browning process.
Vegetables added to a slow cooker require careful staging based on cell wall composition. Dense root vegetables like carrots withstand hours of simmering because pectin holds their structure together during extended heat. Button mushrooms and other delicate fungi possess fragile cellular structures that rupture and turn mushy when exposed to prolonged liquid heat, which is why introducing them during the final hour preserves their bite and meaty texture. Similarly, commercial onion soup mixes supply dehydrated aromatics and concentrated sodium that rapidly penetrate the beef fibers, functioning as a powerful instant marinade without requiring hours of pre-salting.
Stock substitutions alter the final sodium balance significantly. Vegetable stock provides a lighter base compared to beef bone broth, which contains gelatin that naturally thickens the cooking liquid as moisture reduces. If shifting to low-sodium broths, increase added kosher salt by half a teaspoon per cup of liquid to compensate for the missing minerals. Cooked pot roast retains quality in the refrigerator for up to four days, and leftover slices yield superior cold sandwiches because chilled meat fats firm up and slice cleanly without crumbling apart.
