How to cook pot roast …

… is really quite easy and may be prepared and served so many different ways.  Read on for some great ideas on how to cook yourself,  friends and an entire family a juicy and delicious pot roast.

With most of us watching our pennies these days, making a pot roast meal is perfect and goes so far especially when you add a bunch of your favorite veggies.  Because you can use tougher, cheaper cuts of meat such as rump, chuck, top or bottoms and still wind up with a very delicious, melt in your mouth meal, it’s a blessing on your budget!

The secret is in slow cooking for a long period of time often submerged in a huge variety of juice bases.  Some of these could be stewed tomatoes, beef or vegetable broth or stock, or any kind of canned or home-made soups mixed with milk or water. Be sure to turn your roast at least once or twice during the slow cooking process so if any of your pot roast is above the juice/fluid level, it won’t dry out. (You can always add more water if needed without fear of ruin!)

Keep it simple, just go out and get yourself a beef rump roast. (A pork roast will work also, however, pork does have a lot more fat in it.  Keep this in mind as the meat and all of the vegetables will be cooking in that extra fat.)

All cuts of meat are clearly stated on the package labels.  Have your butcher or anyone who works in the meat department at your grocery store help you if you have questions or would like suggestions for seasonings. They’re always happy to help and show off their knowledge!

Allow your selected roast come to room temperature, or close, before cooking. Just before cooking apply your seasonings which are commonly salt or seasoned salt, pepper, and maybe some garlic. You could easily marinate the beef roast hours before cooking.  I find just about any combination of liquid smoke, bbq sauce, teriyaki, ketchup ~ whatever is available in your refrigerator or pantry ~ works great ! Taste as you mix your marinading sauce. Or, again, ask your butcher or a friend for suggestions. But, if using the crock pot as your cooking vessel, the roast will be automatically marinated as it cooks.

I prefer, as many people do, to use a crock pot to slow cook pot roast all day long.  In the warmer summer time, you’re not heating up the house by having the oven on all day.  With a slow cooker the house is slowly filled with wonderful, inviting smells and is much easier to watch! If you want to take the time to sear (or brown) the meat, place it into a heavy duty searing pan or a cast iron pan with a small amount of vegetable oil, (about 2 tablespoons) turning it over and over until golden brown.  This is not necessary but many people think that it seals in the juices.

Because you’re using a cheaper cut of pot roast beef, it will have quite a bit less fat than the better, more expensive cuts of meat, the searing will help keep it moist.  Seared or not, place your pot roast  into your crock pot, dutch oven or french oven.  Doing an average sized roast (approx. 3-4 pounds) I allow about two to three hours, per pound, of medium to low cooking time. If using a crock pot, start on the high setting until the ingredients are at a gentle rolling boil, (about one hour) then reduce the heat to medium to low and check the progress about every hour or so.

Remember, the idea is to slow cook for a long time. If you reduce the heat to low you don’t have to monitor it as often. If you have a roast on the larger side it can always be cut in half or smaller if you wish to speed up the cooking time a bit!

If you’re adding vegetables to the pot roast for a complete meal in one, wash all of the vegetables, remove any bad or discolored spots, cut the ends off of the carrots and peel off the skins or scrub them with a vegetable scrubbing brush.  You may do the same with the potatoes or scrub them and also leave the skins on.

Note that the reds and yellow, such as Yukon Gold, potatoes do cook faster than any of the white (or russet) potatoes do.  Carrots and kohlrabi will take the longest to cook so I’d plop them into the crock pot about 2 hours before the meat is expected to be “falling apart” done.

You could insert a meat thermometer at any time to check ‘doneness’  if you don’t want it falling apart, however, it probably will be a bit tougher.

And any other vegetables you choose should be added about an hour or so before the pot roast should be fully cooked.  Cut into 1 or 2 inch pieces.  If there is enough time I do like to cut my vegetables larger.  This keeps them a bit more firm and they don’t get lost in the pot!

Add any other vegetables you enjoy such as broccoli, cauliflower, mushrooms, green beans, kohlrabi and peas.  No matter what combination of vegetables you use, the best crock pot meals will appear without fail! And you will no doubt come up with a lot of your own crock pot recipes!

Here’s an easy way to use your leftovers. Use everything left in your crock pot and add any or all of the ingredients listed below.  No matter how you measure or choose your ingredients, refill that crock pot and there’s another meal.  If there are still leftovers after that, freeze them in meal sized containers.

• VEGETABLE BEEF SOUP

Half to one lb. leftover pot roast (or cook up one lb. ground beef)
1 cup chopped onion
1 large (28 oz.) can whole tomatoes (chopped)
3 cup diced potatoes
1 (16 oz.) can cut green beans
2 teaspoon chili powder
2-3 dashes cayenne pepper sauce
2 (10 1/2 oz.) cans condensed beef bouillon
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup sliced carrots
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

Brown meat with onion and celery; drain off fat. Stir in remaining ingredients and add 1 or 2 cups water. Cover and cook on low for about five hours.

Dutch Ovens

Using a Dutch oven verses a crock pot makes no difference for the finished pot roast dinner other than a Dutch oven is used inside your oven whereas a crock pot sits on the counter and can be more easily watched.  With the Dutch oven the process is the same.

I start my roast (in a broth/stewed tomato base) at 350 degrees for 2 hours. This gets the temperature of the meat up and “jump started”.  Then reduce the heat to 275 degrees and check the ingredients every hour.  When the pot roast is about 2 hours away from being served, add the vegetables.  Carrots (depending on the size) usually take longer than other vegetables. Simply scrub or peel a few carrots and potatoes, cut them into quarters and plop them in the pot.  Also, add some small whole onions or quartered large onions, cauliflower chunks and often I add 1/2 head of cabbage.  For my family, the cabbage truly compliments the entire mixture! You’ll be collecting your own pot roast recipes very soon after trying this dinner just once!

For seasoning the meat ahead of time, keep it simple by using salt, pepper and/or garlic.  Another option could be to use either a marinade or a rub. A marinade is a solution where your roast is soaked for at least an hour or two so that the taste permeates through the meat and helps in making the roast beef tender and juicy. This option works best on better cuts of meat and dry cooked in the oven in a shallow baking pan.

More coming soon. In the meantime you might want to check out these great pot roast accessories on ebay…

Anyone, and we mean anyone, can learn how to cook pot roast!!!

Vtg Wagnerware Sidney -0- Magnalite4265-9 aluminum roasting pan

Vintage WAGNER WARE -0- Sydney MAGNALITE Aluminum Roaster Roasting Pan 4267M BIG

Vintage Wearever Baking Roasting Heavy Duty Aluminum Pan #918 Tacu Tray

VINTAGE ENAMELWARE LARGE OVAL Green SPECKLE ROASTING PAN

4 piece TURKEY WEAR-EVER Aluminum Roaster/Oven Roasting Pan #1029 W/RACK

Vintage Wear Ever Aluminum Roasting Pan No. 2614. 15 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 2 1/4"