The Best Pot Roast – a new take on an old classic
When I firmly joined Meg on our zen of slow cooking journey two years ago, there was a 
mantra in the slow cooking/crock pot world “pot roast and pulled pork..pot roast and pulled pork.”
Meg had warned me that in her early slow cooking days, the frequency with which she turned out a pot roast had driven her daughter to near vegetarianism. So for a while, at least, we steered clear of introducing it on our blog.
That was until recently when, lured by the temptation of summer dining on our doorstep and a distant memory of a special lunch served by friends, we conferred and decided it was time for pot roast á la zen of slow cooking.
The lunch I mention was a rib of beef, served rare and thinly sliced, alongside a simple tomato salad. The cook’s father had ceremoniously dumped the rib incongruously on her kitchen counter as a hostess gift the week prior to our visit. Jules carefully seasoned it and tucked it into a very low oven overnight and voila, the next morning it was “just” cooked.
I didn’t doubt the efficacy of the slow cooker pot roast and our recipe remains faithful to the expectations of stalwart pot roast traditionalists, while offering a take on an old favorite. The beef simmered in a beef broth with vegetables for hours, after which I turned it out and served with the vegetables and boiled yukon gold potatoes for the first evening, then cooled and sliced with a fresh tomato salad and a balsamic glaze on the second.
We’ve kept it minimal and simple but you can add worcestershire sauce and mustard to the broth in the dish if you wish.
With busy moms in mind, the 10 hour cooking time really is a gift if you’re out all day. The pot roast supper is perfect for serving cold cuts the following day or making sandwiches.
| Prep Time 10 minutes Cooking Time 10 hours LOW or 4-5 hours HIGH Servings 6 |
Arrange the onion, carrots and celery in the bottom of your slow cooker.
Season your pot roast. Heat the grapeseed oil in a skillet and brown the seasoned beef on both sides, 1-2 minutes per side.
Remove the browned beef from the skillet and place in your slow cooker on top of the vegetables.
Pour the beef broth over the meat and vegetables. Cover and cook on LOW for 10 hours.
