Pot roast, potatoes, carrots and lots of horseradish!

One afternoon, while sitting at a local watering hole, I was talking with a friend named Nita about the popular condiment called horseradish and how we both liked this spicy white stuff served on a slab of pot roast. That conversation got my salivary glands working and I made it a note to myself to stop at a local meat counter the next day to pick up a 2 pound roast! Allez cuisine baby!

OK. So fast forward a number of hours and I found myself armed with the following ingredients:

2 1/2 lb roast tr-tipped roast

2 carrots, peeled and quartered

1 onion, quartered

4 Russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

1 pkg of McCormick pot roast seasoning with cooking bag

I prepped the veggies, seared the meat on each side for about four minutes, placed the bag into the cooker and threw everything on in. After sealing the bag with the supplied plastic tie, I elected to set the Rival cooker on a high setting (230ºF) for about two hours and then reduced it to low for another four.

'As an aside, another good friend of mine (named Brandy) gave me some cooking tips that I found interesting. Apparently her culinary philosophy is to do as little as possible when preparing this dish. For instance, she doesn't bother searing the meat prior to placing it into the cooker. She also avoids the peeling exercise by rough cutting up some potatoes (skin on) and by using baby carrots. (I had no idea if she bothered with peeling an onion). Everything is simply dumped in along with a little water and a tiny prayer book. The cooker is then cranked to the max early in that morning and everyone goes out to frolic. Later that day, I think she counts on someone taking notice of 'that smoking thing' in the kitchen and voila the meal is ready! Just kidding as Brandy is a very smart woman.'

As  the clock on the kitchen wall ticked the minutes away, I successfully resisted the temptation to open the cooker lid to take a peek. And, let me tell you. That's hard to do! At any rate, by the afternoon around 4PM, the deed was done. I removed the roast and veggies to a small platter and took the picture you see above.

Not another pot roast!

The problem: I wanted to cook a rump roast in my slow cooker, yet most recipes refer to cuts of meat in the 3 to four pound range. My little roast came in at only just over 2 ½ pounds and which cost me eight bucks and change.

In general, cooking a roast is pretty much a no brainer. You sear it over medium high heat in a frying pan to brown it and then you dump it into a Dutch oven along with some carrots and potatoes with just a little bit of water and wine and then throw it into an over set to 350 for about two hours. No big deal….

After doing some searching I came across this recipe and instructions:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb beef roast of your choice
• olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut into pieces
• 2 Russet potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 onion, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 can beef stock
• 2 cans hot water
  

Directions:

• Brown roast in a pan with a little bit of oil over medium-high heat.
• Layer half of the carrots, garlic and all of the onion on the bottom of crock pot
• Top with browned roast
• Arrange the rest of the carrots, garlic and potatoes on top of roast
• Mix beef base in the hot water, pour over roast and veggies
• Cover crock pot tightly, set on high
• Cook for six to eight hours, meat will be very tender, falling apart and veggies cooked through
  

After 2 hours of cooking on high, I decided to check the contents of the slow cooker to see how things were going….. (I figured if either the meat or the veggies were not done, I’d dump them into a Le Creuset and finish them off on the stove top). Instead, I reduced the heat to the low setting and went 2 more hours at which time everything looked good to go. Note that some cookers work much faster than others. It pays to check the contents from time to time.

The end result was pure ambrosia! The roast came apart using just my fork!  And, with a little bit of Horseradish I was in pot roast heaven!

Making a rump roast in a slow cooker!

The problem: I wanted to cook a rump roast in my slow cooker, yet most recipes refer to cuts of meat in the 3 to four pound range. My little roast came in at only just over 2 ½ pounds.

In general, cooking a roast is pretty much a no brainer. You sear it over medium high heat in a frying pan to brown it and then you dump it into a Dutch oven along with some carrots and potatoes with just a little bit of water and wine and then throw it into an oven set to 350 for about two hours. No big deal….

However, after doing some research, I came across this slow cooker recipe and instructions:

Ingredients:

• 2-3 lb beef roast of your choice
• olive oil
• 2 carrots, cut into pieces
• 2 Russet potatoes, cubed
• 1/2 onion, quartered
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 sprigs of Rosemary
• 1 can beef stock
• 2 cans hot water

Directions:

• Brown roast in a pan with a little bit of oil over medium-high heat.
• Layer half of the carrots, garlic and all of the onion on the bottom of crock pot
• Top with browned roast
• Arrange the rest of the carrots, garlic and potatoes on top of roast
• Mix beef base in the hot water, pour over roast and veggies
• Cover crock pot tightly, set on high
• Cook for six to eight hours, meat will be very tender, falling apart and veggies cooked through

OK, I thought to myself, I’ve got most everything listed here, so let’s give er a go! Note: I did modify the original recipe for some items (won’t say which ones) to accommodate what I had on hand and to suit my personal tastes). The slow cooker used in this preparation was an old three quart model made by Rival.

After 3 hours of cooking on high, I decided to check the contents of the slow cooker to see how things were going….. (I figured if either the meat or the veggies were not done, I’d dump them into a Le Creuset and finish them off on the stove top). Instead, I reduced the heat to the low setting and went 2 more hours at which time everything looked good to go.

The end result was pure ambrosia! The roast came apart using just my fork!  And, with a little bit of Horseradish I thought I was in pot roast heaven! Serves 4 (see note).

Note: If a mistake was made here it's that next time I might need to add maybe two more potatoes along with two or three more carrots! Then, I might have enough to serve 5 or 6! 

Update: It's about time to make this again! It's November 2015 and I've just moved into a condo. I'll publish a link here as to what happens!