Chuck Roast is my favorite meat to prepare. It’s relatively inexpensive. Especially if you catch it on sale like I always do. And it is absolutely divine when slow cooked into fork tender slithers of beef. Smother with some savory gravy and man! It’s a meal! I typically cook it stovetop or in the oven for hours. But, thanks to the beautiful ingenuity of my pressure cooker, I can now serve a delectable roast in one hour.
Of course we’ll need a roast. This one was a little over 3 pounds. It’ll fill at least four hearty servings. I start my seasoning off by patting on the W sauce. And my special blend of spices works every time. Pack it on every inch of the roast. Don’t forget the sides!
The most important step in preparation is the searing. I’m grateful for the browning preset on pressure cookers. It saves us time! If we were using a slow cooker, we’d have to sear the roast on the stove. The pressure cooker is a one stop shop! Sear the roast in hot oil on ALL sides! Again, don’t forget those edges!
It’s a cardinal sin to wipe of the “brown stuff” or “fond” found at the bottom of the pot after searing. That’s where the foundation of flavor begins! Instead, we leave it and sauté our veggies in it. See, we’re building flavors.
I roughly chop the veggies because we’re pressure cooking for a whole hour. If we finely chopped them, they would disintegrate completely during the duration of pressure cooking.
Look at this tender beef! I don’t ever want to use a knife to cut my roast. I like it fork tender all of the way! If you enjoy the carving, remove the roast before simmering the gravy. Speaking of the gravy, browned flour is a MUST! All it is a flour baked until golden brown. That’s it! I prefer the texture browned flour gives the gravy over cornstarch. I believe cornstarch is more suited for sauces, not gravies. Browned flour is an alternative to roux. It can even be used in making gumbo! Definitely beginner friendly, but still a go to for pros!
Fork tender deliciousness every single time! That’s the result of this recipe. Try it for yourself! I serve it over garlic mashed potatoes! What do you prefer?
If your roast is tough in the Instant Pot, it likely needs to be cooked longer. Chuck roast will become more tender the longer it cooks, so extra time may be needed. However, you can overcook beef in the Instant Pot, so keep an eye on it if you add extra time.
More From Good Housekeeping. Taste: For overall taste, the pressure cooker was the hands-down winner. Beef, carrots, and potatoes all retained their rich flavors. After 8 hours in the slow cooker, they emerged bland and seemed to need salt.
If it's still tough, you will need to cook it longer. The pressure cooking process breaks down tough meat, making it tender. Put the lid back on, seal the pressure cooker, and cook at high pressure for another 10 to 20 minutes.
While you may cover meat almost completely for a conventional braise, use just enough liquid for the cooker to reach pressure – during pressure cooking the meat will release it's own juice and braise in that flavorful liquid, instead.
Yes, very easily. The temperature inside a pressure cooker is about 250F at full pressure, which can easily overcook meat if you're not careful. It'll be stringy and dry.
Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat. Earlier, I explained how ingredient size affects the cooking time.
The rule of liquids in pressure cooking is to always add at least 1 cup of liquid unless the recipe states otherwise. The liquid will help create enough steam to cook the meal.
8. Low and Slow is the Way to Go. Whether you cook your pot roast using a stovetop, oven, slow cooker, or pressure cooker method, you'll always get the most tender and flavorful results if you use low temperatures over a long period of time.
The tightly sealed cooker creates a high-pressure environment that quickly and efficiently steams whatever is inside of it at an extra-high heat. This technique also forces moisture into the food quickly.
To prevent a chewy beef steak, you need to avoid using too much high-pressure heat. Of course, start with pressure cooking your roast (that's why you're using the Instant Pot anyway), but keep that high-pressured phase to a few minutes only.
Summary. So, to recap, you don't need to pre-brown vegetables or meats. You just place it all in the pressure cooker and if you don't like the look when it's cooked , you can do a bit of browning afterward. f you're using a recipe and it says to pre-brown, ask yourself in what way is it helping further the flavor.
Sear roast on all sides in hot oil until browned; season with salt, onion powder, and pepper. Pour in beef broth and Worcestershire sauce; add onion and seal the lid. Bring the cooker up to full pressure. Reduce heat to low, maintaining full pressure, and cook for 30 minutes.
To enhance the taste and texture of your roast, it's best to sear it before pressure cooking. Heat a small amount of oil in your pressure cooker over medium-high heat. Carefully place the roast in the cooker and sear it on all sides until it develops a caramelized crust.
You can still pressure cook leaner pieces – like eye of round and top sirloin – but these work best if they've been stuffed, shredded or rolled (with other ingredients). Best cuts of beef to use: Chuck steak, Round Roast, Shoulder, Pot roast, Ribs, Brisket, Oxtail.
Steam penetrates food easily under pressure. So connective tissues in cubes of beef for soups or stews soften in 15 minutes or less, and a pot roast will be medium-rare in 30 minutes.
Simmering helps break down the connective tissue. Connective tissue breaks down to collagen. Collagen tenderizes, and adds flavor and juiciness to the roast.
Introduction: My name is Msgr. Refugio Daniel, I am a fine, precious, encouraging, calm, glamorous, vivacious, friendly person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
We notice you're using an ad blocker
Without advertising income, we can't keep making this site awesome for you.
