Friday, May 17, 2013

Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I just love pot roast.  I'm a meat and potatoes girl.  And maybe this makes me a non-gourmand, but I specifically love Golden Corral's pot roast.  It's so tender and full of flavor.  I've tried for a while to get my pot roast to taste the same but it always seemed to fall short until I tried this recipe recently. 

People, I have found my eternal pot roast recipe!  We are going to be so happy together! 

BEST DANGED SLOW COOKER POT ROAST
slightly adapted from When the Dinner Bell Rings

1 rump or chuck roast
2 tsp. olive oil
1 envelope onion soup mix
1 envelope brown gravy mix
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
2 cups water
salt & pepper, to taste
3 carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
2 celery stalks, thickly sliced
3 medium potatoes, scrubbed and quartered
1/2 onion, sliced
cornstarch, as needed for thickening, optional

Sprinkle roast with salt and pepper.  Heat oil in a skillet over med-high heat and sear (brown) roast on all sides.  Place roast in bottom of slow cooker.  Return skillet to heat and add water, onion soup mix, brown gravy mix, and applesauce and whisk to combine.  Remove from heat and set aside while you prepare the vegetables.

Place vegetables around and on top of roast.  Slowly pour gravy mixture over veggies and roast, being sure to get all potatoes covered with the sauce so they don't turn black as they cook.  Cook on LOW for 8-10 hours*. 

Remove roast and veggies to oven-safe serving platter, cover immediately with foil, and place in a warm oven.  Turn slow cooker to HIGH and whisk in some cornstarch mixed with water to thicken the gravy.  Cook for 10-15 minutes or until thickened.  Serve with roast and veggies.

*I don't always get my roast ready in time to cook for 8 hours, so I usually cook it on HIGH for two hours or so and then reduce it to LOW for another four.

7 comments:

Marci Ann Pelayo said...

I'm going to try this tomorrow! I'll be sure to post again with the results!

Anonymous said...

How was it Marci? I am going to try it soon.

Unknown said...

Oh my goodness. This was by far the best pot roast we have ever tasted!
I prepared this pot roast yesterday following the recipe exactly. I used a chuck roast.
I too am not an early bird so I began the roast on the the low setting for 2 hours, then moved it to 4 hours. I used the timer for these times so I wouldn't get distracted, forget, and then ruin the roast.
Please tell me that scenario is familiar to someone out there!
This is now our new family pot roast recipe!
I can't wait to share it with others!
Thank you for sharing this with me.
Ya'll must try this you will LOVE it!

Unknown said...

Oh dear.
Why is it that your post looks fine when you preview it but once you hit publish your mistakes just glare out at you.
I meant to be specific on the cooking temps and times but ended up confusing the issue.
I placed the crock pot on the high setting for 2 hours and then moved it to low for 4 hours.

I hope this clarifies the timing and settings.

Anonymous said...

As Brits we've struggled to find a recipe that comes near the Golden Corral one we fell in love with on our US holidays. Am definitely going to try this but can you give an idea of how many portions this would make?

SewinThyme said...

Yes, how many does this recipe serve and how large of a roast does the recipe call for? Thank you in advance! I have also been trying to find a great pot roast recipe and just end up disappointed and discouraged. I'm looking forward to trying this, but have a large family and need to know if I need to double the recipe or any part thereof.

SewinThyme said...

I made this tonight with a 4 lb chuck roast, 1lb baby carrots, & 5 potatoes and followed the recipe for the rest. I doubled the gravy though, to make sure I'd have enough. It was perfect! I also served this with sticky (Calrose) rice and Grands Biscuits (we are a family of 8 and there are never quite enough veggies to fill up on). This was so delicious! Thank you for sharing!