Has anyone tried adapting Kenji's All-American Pot Roast recipe from the Food Lab (or any other similar recipe, like "Perfect Pot Roast" from SeriousEats) for a slow-cooker?
The idea would be a recipe you can prep in the morning, set your CrockPot on low heat, and let it roll for 8~10 hours while you're at work, or running around on the weekend.
I think you could still accomplish a similarly delicious meal using this longer time-frame. The texture of the meat will almost certainly end up different, but hopefully still satisfying. My biggest questions are about the liquids used, and when/how to add specific ingredients.
I would still plan on searing the chuck roast in the morning, to get that Maillard flavor…. But:
- Should I also brown the carrots/onions/celery a bit too? I think so, but curious if there's a reason not to.
- Then should I deglaze the searing pan with a bit of the wine to pick up the frond?
- For the wine and chicken stock — should I combine the wine + chicken stock + gelatin first, and then reduce by half as Kenji mentioned in this Pressure-Cooker adapted version? I guess the idea would just be to pour this mixture over the beef/veggies in the CrockPot, before I leave for the day? Is it necessary to reduce the liquids by half, if they're gonna be in the slow cooker all day anyway?
- For the umami bombs (soy sauce/tomato paste/anchovies/marmite) — should I throw these in the CrockPot at the beginning too, or wait till the end of the process?
I would also plan on adding the potato chunks at the end of the process too, and cranking the heat up to "High" for the final 30~45 minutes until the potatoes are fork tender. Or I would just make mashed potatoes on the side, or something. From previous experience: putting the potatoes in with the other ingredients for 8+ hours results in a very soupy potato slurry, which is not really what I'm going for.
Thanks in advance for any tips/advice!
by oatmealfoot
4 Comments
Anything you can do in a slow cooker is better in the oven (set to 200-225) and faster in an instant pot: https://www.seriouseats.com/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.
Other than that I think you have the right idea in general. Brown everything (especially the umami bombs or they will taste weirdly raw) and deglaze the pan with wine and/or chicken stock. I would also add the gelatin during the reduction step as gelatin can decompose at high temperature over many hours losing its gelling power. Potatoes at the end are a good idea but mash would also be fine.
TBH you may also want to brown the veg and add it at the same time as the potatoes or they may also dissolve to mush.
> Should I also brown the carrots/onions/celery a bit too? I think so, but curious if there’s a reason not to.
I wouldn’t. They’re going to end up being mush if you leave them in for the full cook anyhow.
> Then should I deglaze the searing pan with a bit of the wine to pick up the frond?
This is basically never a bad idea.
> For the wine and chicken stock — should I combine the wine + chicken stock + gelatin first, and then reduce by half as Kenji mentioned in this Pressure-Cooker adapted version? I guess the idea would just be to pour this mixture over the beef/veggies in the CrockPot, before I leave for the day? Is it necessary to reduce the liquids by half, if they’re gonna be in the slow cooker all day anyway?
If I were trying this for the first time, I would reduce it at the end. Remove the solids, reduce, then recombine. The pressure cooker is going to hold in nearly all of the moisture. The slow cooker is going to lose a lot of moisture. You don’t know what the final liquid is going to look like.
> For the umami bombs (soy sauce/tomato paste/anchovies/marmite) — should I throw these in the CrockPot at the beginning too, or wait till the end of the process?
Beginning. This is something you want to permeate.
Although I agree with the previous comment. Unless you’re really gaining that much convenience over the pressure cooker, there’s not much good reason to do it this way. The pressure cooker will be better and is very quick. If you’re going to slow cook, a dutch oven in the oven is better.
I’d worry about the wine in the slow cooker – without the evaporation of an open lid, the alcohol will not cook off, and you might end up with a very winey-tasting stew. If you deglaze with the wine and let it basically all cook off right away, and then only add stock for the slow cooking phase, that would be better.
Google Mississippi potroast.
It sounded disgusting and I expected it to be greasy, but with the addition of a few potatoes to suck up the salt, it is great and way less effort. Granted, it’s not as amazing as something I spend all day on, but it takes all of five minutes and is really tasty. It has become my go to for potroast.