Not a Crock… How to Make Crockpot Pot Roast
March 23, 2009
Note to self; I am not a crockpot purist. I don’t believe in tossing in everything raw and turning it on. Some foods improve with a little cooking in oil first, a little browning, a little deglazing. And that’s no crock… I also have no hesitation in lifting the lid, stirring the pot, and rearranging things. Heresy, I know.
In this new age of austerity, I’m going to focus on some frugal recipes, getting more “bang for the buck” and cooking with what’s on hand in the ‘fridge or pantry. I think the recipe below cost approx. $8 and would easily feed a family of 4. It will certainly give us a few meals of leftovers for 2.
Today I’m making a Pot Roast in the crockpot. A note; I rarely measure and this recipe is certainly not an exact science. If you want to use a little more a little less or leave something out altogether, that’s all fine.
Crockpot Pot Roast
How to make pot roast in a Crockpot
Servings: 8 Servings
Ingredients
- 2.5 lb Chuck Roast
- 1 each yellow onion thinly sliced
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 6 oz baby carrots
- 1 cup chopped celery 4 small stalks
- 1 cup sliced mushrooms
- 8 each baby potatoes halved or quartered
- 1 cup red wine
- 1 cup homemade chicken stock
- 3 Tbsp Olive Oil
- 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano
- ½ tsp Dried Thyme
- Salt and Pepper to taste
Instructions
- Start by putting the potatoes, carrots and celery into the crock pot. Cook the onions in 1 Tbsp of olive oil until they are almost caramelized. Add the garlic and deglaze with 1/2 cup of the red wine. Add thisnto the crockpot after about 1 minute.
- Cut the meat into large chunks so it would fit easily into the crock pot. If you make this recipe in a Dutch Oven or Casserole, you can leave the roast whole.
- Add 1 more tablespoon of oil to the pan and sear the meat until it's brown on both sides. Deglaze the pan with the rest of the red wine and scrape up all the meat bits. Add to crock pot.
- Add the final tablespoon of oil to pan and saute the mushrooms. Deglaze with ½ cup of chicken stock. Allow it to reduce for a minute. Add the mushrooms to the crockpot add the remaining 1/2 cup chicken stock and the dried herbs and cook all day on low.
- After at least 6 hours of cook time, taste for seasoning. Check the liquid. Is it too thin? You can turn it up to high and leave the lid off to reduce some of the liquid if necessary.
Notes
While there are already potatoes in this dish for starch, it would be excellent served with a soft polenta or mashed potatoes and a green salad.
3 Comments
Tiffany
LOL… I need to collect my brain from the shelf and dust it off. I only just made the connection that I’m following you on Twitter, and this wasn’t a random recipe that “fit the bill”.
-BakerTiffany
(I just discovered a dormant love for polenta!)
formerchef
That’s pretty funny! I just noticed your Blog, so I’m glad you commented again. 🙂
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