Pot Roasting | Combination Cooking

I only use a roux or a slurry if my pot roast sauce is too thin.
You could also thicken the sauce before you cook the pot roast. After sauteing your aromatics, deglaze with wine as instructed, reduce till syrupy and add a couple of tablespoons (30ml) of flour to form a thin paste, add your stock and or water/bouillon, your meat and you should end up with a liquid that has the proper sauce consistency once the cooking process is done.
Bon appetit

Another lesson that show's you the devel's in the details.
My current Pot Roast recipe follows Christophe's suggestion and works fine. I do prefer Dawn's idea of using a roux, i think it gives you more control of the finished product and adds even more flavour.

For how many days it is ok to keep the beef roast in the fridge before serving ?

Generally, cooked meat, if stored properly, will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days. Use your nose and your senses. Something I heard years ago has always stuck with me: When in doubt, throw it out! Cheers!

Hello! I need to purchase a nice pot (I want an enameled cast iron pot), but the one at the store was a 6 quart, and looked too small. Is this an appropriate size for pot roasts?

Thanks!

Here is a link to the lesson on combination cooking. There we specifically talk about the size of pot needed and the things you must consider (in topic 4). Cheers!

I didn't notice the need to "pre-oil" the meat before braising or stewing. So, I'm not sure why the need to "pre-oil" the pot roast if it's going to be seared in oil anyways?

Good observation. Oiling the roast is optional. Because the piece of meat is so large, you may have to add a bit of oil to the pan during cooking to help sear all sides and protect the sucs from burning. Cheers!

I pre-oiled the meat and got a nice browning on the meat without burning the sucs. However when I took the meat out and then added the onions for browning the sucs burnt! I was expecting the liquid from the onions to cool the sucs and even help deglaze them. To follow up to the comment on June 28th, it sounds like you're saying that oil can protect the sucs from burning. Should I have added more oil when I put the onions in the pan?

Good job on reflecting and trying to figure out how you may alter things for next time. Adding more oil and/or turning down the heat a bit, at least until the onions started to release some of their juices, would be the right thing to do. Cheers!

for anyone interested:
http://rouxbe.com/community/forums/21/topics/1441?page=1#posts-10748

about how long does it take to reheat the potroast in a 200 degree oven? (including the vegatables and potatoes)

It's hard to say as it all depends on how big or how much meat there is, the size/depth of the dish, your oven, etc. etc. For us, it usually takes a couple of hours but really, the answer is it takes as long as it takes for the meat to be fully heated through. Better to start reheating a bit earlier as the dish will hold well at this low temperature. Hope this helps. Cheers!

We love pot roast, but it is just the two of us. Can you freeze a portion of the pot roast? How would you reheat it?

Thanks

Sure, leftovers can be frozen, but the vegetables may suffer a bit. Thaw in the refrigerator and then heat in a low oven until properly heated through. Cheers!

I was given a membership, but, as a vegan, I have yet to find much that applies to my cooking. Do you have any lessons geared to my needs?

I know that it's hard to estimate cooking time for Prime Rib, but if you are doing a whole (approx 10 lb) ribeye lipon, what would be a ballpark estimate for the 250 degree roasting time?

In topic 4 of the lesson "How to Roast Prime Rib" there is a Drill-down that provides a chart with estimated cooking times for cooking meat. Hope that helps. Cheers!

Elizabeth this is an interesting point that you bring up. I believe that Chef Tony says it best.

"I always have at least 3-4 vegan/vegetarian students in my pro classes. Now only a fraction of the recipes in our curriculum are vegan, but our focus in school is always, always technique. When I teach a student how to shallow fry a crabcake for instance, I'm using the crabcake as a vehicle to properly shallow fry anything, including a quinoa cake. Now to make a quinoa cake you need to know how to cook quinoa, whether applying a steaming or pilaf method - again, a technique needs to be applied. Our vegan students are not obliged to eat what they make, but they do learn how to cook. Down the road it becomes a matter of substituting animal for plant ingredients, but the skills remain the same.

Sounds like you're itching for good vegan recipes. There are plenty of excellent recipes out there, but the good ones have excellent technique behind them besides excellent compatibility. Patience is a virtue. Learn to cook in general, then learn to cook specific ingredients of your choice. And especially for a vegan cook, technique is vitally more important as the health benefits and flavors of the ingredients depend on how well you transform them, not just combine them.

As I tell all my students, pro or home cooks, focus on becoming a cook cook, then focus on cooking what you want."

Hope this helps. Cheers!

Thanks for another useful lesson. My pot roast are always so dry, now I understand why. I am anixous to try your method.

around here it is hard to find a nice thick round roast like you show in your video. I can find a chuck roast but they seem to be in a flat slab. If I only fill half way up with liquid-it would be about an inch of liquid at the most. What should I do?

Lots of good tips on making a pot roast in this lesson. Never realized how long it should take to get a succulent piece of meat.

Next time, you can have your butcher tie a roast for you so that it is more compact. But if you are using a suitable-size pot for the amount of meat that you are cooking, it's ok that the liquid only rises half way up. Turn it from time to time to make sure that each side is being cooked in the liquid. Cheers!

I too don't have an appropriate size roasting pot so I had to modify my cooking method a bit. I seared the roast and then sauteed my onions/garlic in the same pan. I de-glazed my pan with about half a cup of good lager beer and reduced it a bit and then added all this to a preheated crock pot at 200 degrees (I used a thermometer on my crock pot so I know the temperature of all my settings). I added my veggies during the last hour and a half of cooking and added a bouquet garni of bay leaves, tyme, and whole peppercorn during the last half hour. Took about 4 hours in total and let it rest in fridge overnight to serve the next day. It came out very tender and had great flavor. All the spices and even the beer provided a nice subtle background for the meat. Next time I will probably try a roux to thicken a bit but I was very satisfied with this experiment.

Hi,
Just viewed my first lesson - what is the best pot for cooking pot roast? A dutch oven??? I have a sirloin tip roast in freezer that I'm thinking of using with this recipe; however, it is a little over 5 lbs. Is this too big for this recipe, or for cooking pot roasts in general?

Kathy D.

This is a great question Kathy. In fact, it is so important that we did an entire topic on it in the lesson called "Combination Cooking Fundamentals". That lesson is one of the pre-requisite to this Pot Roasting Lesson. Hope this helps. Cheers!

I try to cook as low fat as I can with out loosing to much flavor. Is marbling and connective tissue consider fat?

Yes these would be considered as fat, especially the marbling. As for "cooking as low fat as possible without loosing too much flavor" in this case I would say that fat is where a lot of the flavor comes from so I would rather serve the dish with a salad or go for a run then give that up. Hope this helps. Cheers!

I was curious if you chefs had an opinion about using a crock pot instead of an enameled cast iron pot? The way I used to cook roasts was as simple as seasoning the meat and placing it into a crock pot and leaving it all day. The pot would usually be about 1/3 to 1/2 full of juices after cooking. I have had some good results this way but I have not attempted a roast yet as the lesson teaches. Thanks!

Indeed, you can use a crock pot. I would just sear the meat first, for more color and flavor, before cooking the meat. For more information, you might want to check out the forum as there a few forum threads about this already. Cheers!

In the braising lesson mirepoix is used; in this only onion (and optionally garlic). My guess is this is just teaching a different variation on moist cooking, but I wanted to check to make sure there isn't a reason the carrots and celery are not used in pot roasting.

BTW these lessons are great! I'm taking lots of notes so I can refer back later to what I'm learning.

You are correct; the type of mirepoix can be varied depending on the dish one is making. For more information on mirepoix, you may want to watch this video called "What is Mirepoix?".

Well, I bought the roast then watched the video on how to cook it, but have now realized that the meat probably won't be a good pot roasting choice as it is too lean (it looks like very fine, vein marbling).

Any suggestions on what to do with two 4-lb sirloin tip roasts (they were bogo)?? Should I cut them up into steaks or is there a good roasting technique I could try?

You are right, it is not the best for a pot roast for the reasons you just mentioned. Personally, I would try it as a regular roast (dry cooking method), try searing the roast in a pan, then I would place it in a roasting pan, season it, smother some Dijon on it with some chopped thyme or rosemary a few whole shallots or wedges of onions, 2 glasses of white wine, (1 for you and 1 for the roast) Place it into a 325F oven until it reaches an internal temperature of 140F for rare 150F for medium, let rest for at least 30 minutes before slicing into it so the juices settle in the meat fibers, et voila. Hope this helps.

Thanks, Christophe, I followed your directions and had two perfect roasts that I served to a party of 10. I also served sweet potato french fries, green beans and marinated portabellos.

My only challenge with the meat was that they took way longer to cook than I had anticipated. Otherwise, awesomeness:) Thanks!

i use to get the dry meat affect but looking at these method, i think my next roast going to be a hit at dinner time thanks for the lessons

My sister gave me a beef round roast. Looks to lean for pot roasting. What is the best methiod to cook this cut of meat?

I agree with you. I would proceed like I suggested 4 comments up. If the roast is too big to sear in a pan, start it in a hot, 450F oven for the first 30 minutes before turning the oven down. Cheers!

It is a small I of round roast, Dry heat method, won't it come out a bit chewy? Seems challenging to cook this cut successfully as it is a tough but lean. My first thought is low and slow but it does not have the connective tissue for this, and regular dry heat seems like it will leave it too tough. Then again I have never cooked this cut so perhaps I am over thinking things. I have had the same challenge when trying to find a good way to cook grass fed beef. What are your thoughts.

Thanks.

What a blessing I always do a great pot roast but my hubby cringes. He calls it grey foodbecause that is all his mom cooked. Thanks to you I now know about the slow 200DEGREE HEAT TO KEEP THE MEAT RED. What is that called again?
Thank you great lesson

Low and slow cooking allows the meat to maintain more of its reddish myoglobin pigment. Cheers!

Hi James, not sure we are talking the same thing. For me, a Beef round is a large piece that weights easily 10-12lb and I would proceed as I explained. Now, you mention an "I" of round. I am assuming you mean the eye of the round. This is a much smaller muscle which requires a combination cooking method, like I mentioned earlier. It is one of my least favorite cuts. For that, I would cut it into 1" steaks, sear them, add lots of sliced onions, add beer and place in an oven until fork tender.
Hope this helps. Cheers!

What are your thoughts on using a rump roast for pot roast. I know it's leaner, but it's also not as chewy as the chuck or shoulder and slices easily. I'm torn.

You are right. This cut is leaner and therefore, it can be drier. Make sure you cook it nice and slow (and covered).

Now, you mention chewiness in regards to the chuck. This may be because you did not cook it quite long enough. Chuck should not be chewy but fork tender. Cheers!

I am making a pot roast with eye of the round : ( I will get the better cut of meat next time. In the meantime however I have taken Christophe's advice about slicing it 1 inch think and searing it. I didn't have beer so I used chicken stock for the liquid. I have them completely submerged and they have been in a 200 degree oven for about 3.5 hours. They haven't gotten even the slightest bit tender. Is there anything I can do to speed up the process? Should I remove some of the liquid? I'm going to be adding potatoes and carrots to it.

Thanks in advance!

The main thing is to be patient :-) 200F is a low temperature which is why we say it is a slow and low cooking process. You can turn up the heat if you are pressed for time, but don't take the meat out of the liquid. The liquid will help to tenderize the meat. Keep turning the steaks every 30 minutes or so if any of the meat is poking out. The meat should pull apart easily with a fork when it is done. I know sometimes it seems like it'll never get tender but it does. You just need to wait and let it do its thing. Cheers!

Thank you, it seems that that cut of beef is sort of hopeless! After turning it up to 300 and another few hours and it was still pretty dry. The sauce however is insanely good! There is lots of extra sauce and I'm wondering if there is another use I could put it too? It has a blonde roux already incorporated into it.

Sometimes this happens with the type of cut. It doesn't mean that ALL eye of rounds will produce that result but it can happen. Even though the meat is dry, I hope it is still tasty. You could shred the meat or break it into bite-sized pieces and mix it with the sauce to make it seem like it is more moist.

In terms of what to do with leftover sauce, I'm sure it would be great over mashed potatoes...or make an open faced hot sandwich and pour it over top. The sauce should also freeze well, so you could divide it into portions and keep it for pouring over pan-fried meats whenever you want a little bit of something over top. Hope this helps! Cheers!

Great suggestions thank you very much for your help. Yes this particular cut had absolutely no marbling at all, maybe it just needed one more hour : ) but we were so hungry.

Really you can do many things with the sauce. You could pan-fry some meat and pour the sauce over top. You could sear some stewing beef off and use the sauce as the sauce to cook the meat, providing it's not too thick. You could cook some pasta or polenta and pour the sauce over top. This is where your imagination will guide you. You could even make some toast, saute some lovely mushrooms and then pour the sauce over top. Cheers!

I love the mushroom and toast idea! Thanks Dawn.