Slow cooker pot roast with potatoes and mushrooms is comfort food at its finest. Let it cook in the slow cooker or crockpot all day. Dinner is ready when you are!
BE PICTURED IN; CHARACTERIZED IN:
Knowing that dinner is basically ready before I even go to work makes me feel like a superhero. No matter what the day brings, I know we’ll walk into a house that smells of roast long cooked in herbs, wine and garlic. Well, that’s not a bad way to end a work day.
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Slow cooker pot roast
What is the best cut of meat for pot roasts?
Leaner cuts of beef work best in the slow cooker or crockpot. The long, slow cooking method helps connective tissue and fat break down slowly over many hours, resulting in fork-tender cuts of beef.
TIP: If you’ve ever cooked a tough roast, it’s usually because it was either overcooked, undercooked, or both. Cooking tough cuts in the slow cooker all day solves both problems.
I prefer one of two cuts for the slow cooker:
- Fry Chuckalso called arm roast, is lean and comes from the shoulder of the cow.
- rump roastalso called lower round roast, is even leaner than a feed roast and is cut from the hindquarters of the cow.
Can I put a frozen roast in a slow cooker?
Best not. The USDA recommends always thawing meat before adding it to the slow cooker or crockpot. It also states that meat is best thawed in the refrigerator, in cold water, or in the microwave.
- Defrost in the fridge: It takes you 24 hours to thaw a 3 pound roast in the refrigerator.
- Thaw in water: 2 to 3 hours while changing the water every 30 minutes to defrost a 3 lb roast using the water method.
- Defrosting in the microwave: All microwaves have different wattages and power levels. How long it takes to defrost a roast in the microwave depends on your microwave. However, the USDA recommends cooking the roast using this method immediately after defrosting.
Do you have to fry it?
No, no, you don’t. You can skip the searing step entirely and toss it all in the slow cooker or crockpot, then hit the road and save yourself 10 minutes in the morning. But if you have the extra time, searing adds an extra layer of flavor.
What can be done in advance?
I often prepare items for dinner the next day before cleaning up tonight’s dinner. I think the kitchen is already a mess, so I might as well chop up some more veggies and measure out some more spices.
If you know you’re not a morning person, then by all means, prepare 90 percent of this pot roast the night before: make the spice rub, peel and chop the veggies. You can even sear the roast and deglaze the pan. Just make sure you save the devitrification fluid. Keep everything in the fridge overnight. In the morning all you have to do is put it in the slow cooker.
How long does pot roast take to cook in the slow cooker?
If you’re making this roast over the weekend, when you’re likely to be around, you can cook it on high for about four to five hours. If you have to cook it all day while you’re at work, turn your slow cooker or crockpot on low and let it simmer until you get home — about eight to 10 hours.
How to make gravy
I LOOOVVVVVEEEEEEE sauce. I mean I LOVE it! I think everything has to be there at all times.
When I first wrote this recipe, I wanted the sauce to be thick and cook perfectly in the slow cooker without any extra work, but as nice as this idea was, my sauce didn’t get as thick as I wanted it to.
In the end, I decided to add some already hot slow cooker liquid to a pot on the stove, bring it to a boil, and adding cornstarch to make a proper gravy wasn’t asking too much.
I would not skip this step. It takes less than five minutes and a thick, flavorful sauce makes this dinner even more delicious!
What to do with leftovers
Leftover pot roasts are almost (almost) unknown in this establishment. BUT, when I have leftovers, I like to sauté onions and celery in a saucepan, roughly chop the leftovers into spoon-sized chunks, add them to the saucepan (including the cooking liquid and sauce), then thin out if needed. Voila! They have beef stew.
If you’ve eaten all the veggies and only have a little roast left, you can also cook extra potatoes and onions in buttermilk, mash them to the consistency of soup, break up leftover pot roast, and add to the mashed potato soup. Top with freshly cut chives.
After all, there’s nothing wrong with a grilled roast beef sandwich. Add some marinated peppers and some cheese. Butter the bread and flip it onto a griddle. You just won lunch.
More great roast recipes!
- Pressure cooker pot roast with balsamic vinegar and rosemary
- Beef Brisket Pot Roast
- pot roast
- Moroccan pot roast
- Italian pot roast
Slow cooker pot roast
ingredients
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2 teaspoon kosher salt
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2 teaspoon freshly cracked pepper
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2 teaspoon garlic powder
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3 lb beef chuck arm or butt roast meat
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1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
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5 branches fresh thyme
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1 big Onion, quartered, peeled
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1 Bay leaf
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3/4 Cup red wine
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3 tablespoon Worcester sauce
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2 cups beef broth
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3 big carnations Garlic, smash
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8th ounces cremini mushrooms, halved
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6 carrots, peeled and halved
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1 1/2 lb baby potatoes, halved
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2 tablespoon cornstarch
method
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Season and sear the roast:
Combine salt, pepper and garlic powder. Rub the roast on all sides.
Place a medium-sized skillet over medium-high heat. Put the oil in the pan. Once the oil is simmering, add the roast and sear the roast on all sides. This should take about 5 minutes. Transfer the roast to the slow cooker and nestle the thyme, quartered onion and bay leaf around the roast.
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Deglaze the frying pan:
Reduce the heat for the pan to medium. Add the wine, Worcestershire sauce, and garlic cloves to the pan to deglaze the pan. Cook until some of the alcohol has cooked off the wine and you’ve scraped the brown bits off the bottom of the pan, about 1 to 2 minutes. Turn off the burner.
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Add vegetables and liquid to slow cooker:
Snuggle the mushrooms, carrots and potatoes around the roast. Pour the wine from the pan and the beef stock over everything.
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Cover and cook:
Close the lid, cover and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 10 hours.
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Prepare and serve sauce:
Scoop 2 cups of the slow cooker liquid into a medium saucepan. Put it on medium heat and bring it to a boil.
Make a slurry by mixing 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 3 tablespoons of water. Stir the slurry into the boiling liquid. You should see it take on the consistency of honey within about a minute.
Once thickened, remove from stove. Serve the pot roast and vegetables, then drizzle over the sauce. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
| nutritional information (per serving) | |
|---|---|
| 758 | calories |
| 37g | Fat |
| 40g | carbohydrates |
| 62g | protein |
