My lovely wife buys a chuck roast about every three weeks to brown in a skillet and then crock pot for all day, adding veggies at the last stage. The darn roast is always so tough I have trouble chewing it. The veggies and broth are excellent however.

My question to the brain trust: What are your favorite ways to do a roast that is edible?

Thanks in advance.

A pressure cooker is your friend for many uses and a roast is one of them.
I would cook the roast in the pressure cooker and then add it to another pot with the vegetables and let it cook for 20 to 30 minutes on low heat.

I have a Fagor Rapida 6 liter which is stainless and has an aluminum insert bottom for fast heat transfer.

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You could add some acid to it. Maybe a couple splashes of cider vinegar or some balsamic but it's easy to overdo it, so I go w/ some red wine.

My mom made crock pot roast a couple of times a month for most of my life growing up.

Always with cheap/inexpensive roasts, potatoes, and carrots, in an old, brown, 70s era Crock Pot.

It has never been anything but delicious, very tender (nearly falls apart but not too much, cut it with a fork with ease), and it's always been super simple.

I've forgotten the exact method but I'll call her tomorrow and ask.

My pot roasts are always tasty and tender.

1 chuck roast, maybe 3 lbs or so.
Season with plenty of sea salt and fresh pepper, then lightly coat with flour and brown in enamel cast iron pot.
Add half-cup red wine, minced garlic and a chopped onion, cover pot, put on low heat and simmer for 2 or 3 hours. Then add chopped potatoes and carrots, cook another 2 hours.

Bingo. Oh, and make gravy with the juice! Easy!

Crock Pot
4-5 lb roast
1-pkg Ranch Dressing mix
1-pkg Au Jus mix
1-stick butter or margarine
6-8 pepperoncini peppers

Place roast in pot, shake Ranch dressing and Au Jus mix on top of roast. Place stick of butter/margarine on top of roast. Place peppers on top of roast. Turn on crock pot for 4 hrs high or 6-8 hrs low.

Give it a shot, it is delicious.

quote:

Originally posted by bushpilot:
My lovely wife buys a chuck roast about every three weeks to brown in a skillet and then crock pot for all day, adding veggies at the last stage. The darn roast is always so tough I have trouble chewing it. The veggies and broth are excellent however.

My question to the brain trust: What are your favorite ways to do a roast that is edible?

Thanks in advance.

DON'T brown it first.
This is advice people like my mother (queen of the dry, tough roast) would give.
Always found that to be time consuming and contrary to what it is supposed to do (keep roast from drying out).
Ruined the roast every time.

Add a can or two of beef broth in the crock pot/roasting pan, even if you roast it with vegetables.

Make sure your crock pot isn't too hot.
Low and slow is the key
Meat comes out moist and tender, don't even need a knife to cut it.

When roasting in an oven, the difference between 325 and 350 cooking temperature can be the difference between tender and tough.

The leaner the roast (i.e. better cut - less fat) the lower the temp needs to be (I use 300) and cooking time will need to increase.

You make no mention of adding liquid (preferably beef broth). That's why it tough.

we usually add 1-2 cans of broth, then water until the meat is almost covered. it will fall apart.

Salt crust and slow cook at no higher than 200F until it reaches the internal temp of your choice. Easy-peasy.

Been doing it this way for years on the advice of a chef. With the spices of your choice, it'll turn out juicy, tender, and flavorful even with the cheap cuts.

Stay with your better cuts of meat. I never buy rump roasts.

quote:

Originally posted by 46and2:
My mom made crock pot roast a couple of times a month for most of my life growing up.

Always with cheap/inexpensive roasts, potatoes, and carrots, in an old, brown, 70s era Crock Pot.

It has never been anything but delicious, very tender (nearly falls apart but not too much, cut it with a fork with ease), and it's always been super simple.

I've forgotten the exact method but I'll call her tomorrow and ask.

Yea, i have never experienced a non fall apart crock pot roast. My mother made the same.

I actually made crockpot shredded beef tacos last night and it fell apart. What tempature are tou cooking the roast to? Needs to be a boneless chuck roast and you have to get it to 190 degrees internal for it fall apart and it has to be done slowly. My beef took 9 hours yesterday on LOW.

My recipe is:

slice yella onions thick to keep the roast from contacting the bottom. Season roast with taco seasoning of choice. Place on top of onions. Add 1 can beef consomme/stock. Thats it. If i taste the beef and it is bland after i shred it i will put it back in the juice on warm with another taco packet. For 30 to an hour to gice it good flavor. I never stop cooking until 190 though. Its the magical bbq pulling tempature.

Slower and lower. Don't add veggies until the end or throw out first batch of veggies and add more about 1-1.5 hour before serving.

It's actually quite hard to do wrong if you do it slow and low.

I have found that adding a bit more liquid helps if the roast comes out tough from the crock pot. We brown the roast , put it in the crock pot, add beef and mushroom soup, run it on high til the temp gets in the cooking range then down to low for 6 to 8 hours. Comes out fork tender.

Cook's Illustrated pot roast with root vegetables

I use this one. It's good.

Put the roast in the crock pot, sprinkle lipton onion soup powder on it, pour a cup or two of water in with it, and put whatever veggies you want in there around the sides and over the top. Cover and cook on low all day. Probably the searing is what makes yours tough.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Salt crust and slow cook at no higher than 200F until it reaches the internal temp of your choice. Easy-peasy.

Been doing it this way for years on the advice of a chef. With the spices of your choice, it'll turn out juicy, tender, and flavorful even with the cheap cuts.

Salting the roast will draw more moisture out of it, no?

cut up carrots, potatoes, and an onion. Put them in the crockpot, place the roast on top with a little salt and pepper. Put the lid on the crockpot, set the temperature to low.

Open the crockpot 8-10 hours later, and have a wonderful meal. No matter what cut of roast, I've found this method comes out so tender you can't get it out of the pot without it falling apart.

Browning it first is what is making it tough.

Have her just cook it all day in the crock pot and it should come out fork tender.

quote:

Originally posted by snidera:
You make no mention of adding liquid (preferably beef broth). That's why it tough.

we usually add 1-2 cans of broth, then water until the meat is almost covered. it will fall apart.

No liquids would be my guess as well.


I've been adding cream of onion soup, water and (reduced sodium) beef bullion. That gives me a decent base for gravy.


I prefer to do my chuck roasts on low for 6 to 8+ hours - they fall apart easily every time.


If I use high for half that time they are a tougher and don't fall apart very well.

quote:

Originally posted by jcat:

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Salt crust and slow cook at no higher than 200F until it reaches the internal temp of your choice. Easy-peasy.

Been doing it this way for years on the advice of a chef. With the spices of your choice, it'll turn out juicy, tender, and flavorful even with the cheap cuts.

Salting the roast will draw more moisture out of it, no?

Nope, just the opposite. Locks everything in. That, coupled with temps lower than 212F keeps all the moisture where it belongs.