Instant Pot Frozen Roast
This recipe may have originated out of necessity when I forgot to thaw my roast in advance, but its quickly become our chosen way of making roast! The results are so tender, that I dont see the need to thaw the meat in advance anymore.
If youre looking for pull-apart tender pot roast with minimal effort and time, this is definitely the recipe for you!
Instant Pot Pot Roast: The Ultimate Guide
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Instant Pot Pot Roast is probably both one the most sought out Instant Pot recipes and also one of the most confusing for beginners. Questions abound with it. Is pot roast better in the Instant Pot than the old fashioned low and slow method, or at least as good? How can you assure that your Instant Pot pot roast is tender? How long should it cook?
In short, yes, you can get very good pot roast from the Instant Pot, and it is quicker than the low and slow method, although it still does take a good amount of time to do properly. This guide will take you through the key points of making a great pressure cooker pot roast and provide my tried and true recipe. Yes, pot roast can be easy!
How To Make Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe
Thanks to an electric pressure cooker, a pot roast can be on your table in 1.5 hours total. However, this sirloin tip roast takes the same time and is differently delicious. Another affordable must-try beef roast recipe!
- Make dry rub: Combine seasonings on a large plate and stir together.
My favorite pot roast dry rub is a combination of salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika. See optional add-ins and variations for other seasoning combinations to try!
- Season roast: Dip roast in a large shallow plate with homemade dry rub making sure all edges are covered well. It will create a delicious outer crust.
- Sear the meat on all sides: On the Instant Pot, press Sauté and wait until the display says Hot. Only then add oil and sear for 3-4 minutes per side. I would not recommend skipping this step like you can with Instant Pot pulled pork because it adds a lot of flavor to a pot roast.
- Cook onions and deglaze the pot: Add the slices from 2 large onions and sauté for 5 minutes or until fragrant. Then add beef stock, red wine, and vinegar to deglaze the pot. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up the brown bits on the bottom. You want to avoid the Burn notice but you also want that extra flavour!
- Put the roast back and add mushrooms: Once youre done deglazing, press cancel. Add the roast back into the pot and lay the mushrooms on top of the roast.
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How To Cook Corn On The Cob In An Air Fryer
Like a grill, the air fryer gives the corn a caramelized effect and crisps up the kernels. Unlike the grill, the air fryer requires very little cleanup.
Use This Chuck Roast Recipe To Make Lip
I love me some gluten-free French dip sandwiches! This recipe is perfect for them because the broth leftover from cooking is wonderfully rich. I use my Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns or my Artisan Gluten-Free Bread for our sandwich bread. Simply add some cheese , and some mushrooms and/or onions. Mmmm-mmm-mmm⦠my mouth is watering just thinking about it!
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Traditional Pot Roast V Instant Pot Pot Roast
It seems like every time a person asks in a social media group for an Instant Pot roast beef recipe, a fair number of people chime in telling people not to do it and asserting that the best roast will always come from traditional methods. I think there is a valid basis for that in that I personally believe that a good roast cooked low and slow for many hours will always be the superior product. BUT Instant Pot pot roast can be nearly the same and done in less time. For a person without access to an oven or who wants a quicker version, the Instant Pot is a great way to make roast beef.
Where We Get Our Beef Roasts From
We are HUGE fans of Butcherbox and have been getting our beef from them for years now. In fact, Rachel wrote a comprehensive honest review about this meat subscription service.
We love that all their meat is healthy and sourced responsibly. Its so convenient to have it delivered to our doorsteps whenever we choose!
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Is It Better To Cook A Roast Frozen Or Thawed
When you leave a roast in its frozen form, you negatively impact several steps of the cooking process. The first is your overall cooking time. Placing the frozen roast in any cooking device increases the overall time needed for the meat to cook, as the meat must first thaw before it can properly cook through.
The Best Cut Of Meat For Pot Roast
A great Instant pot beef roast starts with a good cut of beef. Normally, tougher cuts work best for pot roast as they have high amounts of collagen that, when cooked over a long period of time, breaks down into gelatin which tenderizes the meat.
Chuck roast is traditionally considered the best cut for pot roast, followed by round roast and/or brisket. For the Instant Pot, I have used both chuck and round, with chuck being my strong preference.
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How Do You Cook A Roast In An Instant Pot
To cook a beef roast in an instant pot, follow these simple steps!
Thats all there is to it! Now read on to find out what people have to say about this revolutionary way to cook your favorite Sunday dish, the famous Pot Roast.
First What Is A Pork Butt
The cut referred to as a butt roast or Boston Butt is actually from the front of a pig. The shoulder area to be exact. The shoulder is divided into two cuts the top rectangular part and the lower triangular part .
Historically, the top rectangular portion was a less popular cut. Butchers in colonial New England took these less popular cuts and packed them in wooden barrels for storage and transportation. The barrels used were called butts. So now you know. Interesting, right?
Now on to an easy and relatively quick recipe for pork roast. I know, this sounds a bit like an oxymoron. Pork shoulder roasts and pork butt roasts generally benefit from long cooking times. With the introduction of the Instant Pot, an updated electric pressure cooker, that has all changed. In about an hour you can have a fork-tender pork roast on the table.
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Instant Pot Chuck Roast
Typically, a chuck roast would take many hours of low and slow cooking for a perfectly cooked roast. With the Instant Pot, you’re saving hours of time, and the result is tender and succulent meat finished with a rich liquid that’s perfect for making gravy to slather on top!
My Instant Pot pot roast recipe is so simple and easy to make, you can make it all year round. But, it makes a great addition to a holiday table or as a cold winter’s night meal. I know you’ll love it!
Beef Its Whats For Dinner
Fact. Were equal opportunity eaters in the Shaw Kitchen, meat included.
Theres nothing like a hearty supper that soothes the soul and fills the belly. This recipe does both of those things in just under an hour.
Yes, no more slaving and waiting for hours for the slow cooker to finish your roast! The Instant Pot will do it for you in 1/4th the time .
The best part: youll get the same tender, moist round roast quality youd expect from a long and slow cook!
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Instant Pot Pot Roast Experiment
In our Instant Pot Pot Roast experiment, we pressure cooked 3 nearly identical chuck roast steak at High Pressure for 20 mins, 45 mins, and 75 mins with an Instant Pot Electric Pressure Cooker.
Out of the 3 results, we enjoyed the 45-Minutes Instant Pot Pot Roast the most.
It was overall the most well-balanced in terms of Meat Texture, Meat Juice, Meat Flavors, and Sauce. It was definitely the most delicious one!
So, we developed this easy pot roast instant pot recipe based on this cooking time.
You can read more about the pot roast experiment here:The Best Pot Roast Cooking Time Experiment.
Instant Pot Frozen Pot Roast
You can easily prepare a pot roast using a frozen chuck roast when cooking in the Instant Pot. Unlike slow cookers, the Instant Pot will get hot enough in a short amount of time to safely cook frozen meat.
- Skip searing the meat, as you can not sear a frozen cut of meat.
- Place the frozen beef roast, salt, pepper, garlic, and onion powder inside the pressure cooker.
- Pour in beef stock around the roast, then top the roast with horseradish.
- Cook on high pressure for 30 minutes per pound For a 3 pound roast that would be 90 minutes.
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What Does It Mean To Naturally Release The Instant Pot
After pressure cooking in an Instant Pot, the pressure has to be released from the machine before you can safely open the lid. Some recipes call for “quick release” which means that you manually open the valve and let all the pressure out at once. Here we’ll let the roast manually release, which means that we just let it sit, undisturbed for 10 minutes.
Natural release lets the pressure slowly dissipate from the Instant Pot.
How To Make Instant Pot Pot Roast
So, here is my basic Instant Pot pot roast recipe . This is an adaptation of my long time favorite low and slow traditional method roast. Its secret ingredients are Montreal Steak Seasoning and a packet of onion soup mix. They give awesome flavor to to the roast!
Coat the beef roast with olive oil and rub a generous amount of Montreal Steak Seasoning on all sides of the roast. Then sear the beef in the pot using the saute function. After searing, remove the beef and add a chopped onion with a small splash of beef broth to deglaze the pot. Once deglazed, pour in the remaining broth and add a trivet.
Place the beef roast on the trivet and pour a package of onion soup mix over it. Set two or three bay leaves on top.
Pressure cook on high pressure at 25 minutes per pound, followed by natural release. Then remove the roast from the pot.
Add vegetables to the pot and pressure cook for 5 minutes. I add baby potatoes, carrots, celery, and onion to mine.
To serve, cut the roast against the grain or cut into chunks and serve with the vegetables and a ladle of the broth. You can also make a gravy by removing the vegetables, then making a cornstarch slurry and adding it to the pot to thicken the broth. But I prefer to serve my roast without gravy, and I include a savory bread, such as my Savory Jalapeno Irish Soda Bread, or a good grainy wheat bread, to use to soak up the broth.
The roast is tender and juicy with lots of flavor.
Here is the Recipe card:
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Ingredients For Instant Pot Roast
- Chuck or rump roast: I used a 3 lb roast. You can use a size that fits into your pot but may need to adjust the cooking time.
- Onions and mushrooms: Yellow or white onions. Brown or portobello mushrooms yield more flavor than white mushrooms. You can use red onion as well if thats all you have.
- Red wine: Any medium-priced red wine like Pinot Noir. Do not use the cheapest one though, the flavour wont be as robust.
Red wine tips: More often than not, if you have red wine on hand, it will work! If not, check out a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet Sauvignon, or a Merlot. Dont spend too much money, but the flavour of cheap wine is noticeable.
My final tip would be to enjoy a glass while you cook
Please note: Cooking the vegetables at the same time as the meat only works in an 8 or 10 quart Instant Pot. So, if youve got a 6 quart Instant Pot, cooking them at the same time as the meat is no longer an option.
Materials & Methods For Best Pressure Cooker Pot Roast Cooking Time Experiment
Altitude: close to sea levelMeat: USDA Choice Grade chuck roast/ Canada AAA Grade blade roastMeat Thickness: roughly 2 inches thickMeat Weight: 598 608 grams Liquid: 1 cup of chicken stockPressure: High Pressure Cooking Time: 20 minutes, 45 minutes, 75 minutesRelease Method: Full Natural Release for 25 minutes
Oh, look at this baby! So excited when we brought home this 5 pounds chuck roast!!
First, we cut it into 3 nearly identical pieces of chuck steaks and made sure each piece was roughly 2 inches thick.
Pressure cooking time is mostly dependent on the meats thickness, so regardless how much they weigh, as long as theyre 2 inches thick, results will be very similar.
We also made sure each piece was similar in weight. They weigh from 598 grams to 608 grams . Close enough Again, weight is not the most important factor for determining the best cooking time, the thickness matters the most.
To ensure the experiment is as accurate as possible, we repeated the exact same steps for each piece of chuck steak in the pressure cooker.
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Tip : Allow Extra Cooking Time For Coming To Pressure And For Cooking Freezer Meals In The Instant Pot
Weve found that freezer meals take almost twice as long to come to pressure than a thawed meal does. Make sure you allow for that time when prepping or youll have a hangry family. I wish there was a one size fits all pattern to freezer meal cooking times in the Instant Pot but there just isnt.
One trend we see is that the longer it takes a meal to come to pressure, the less additional time you need to add to cook a frozen meal. It seems counterintuitive, I know. Youll just have to trust us on this one. So for example, in our recipes for a large batch of soup, we dont add any additional cooking time when cooking from frozen. On the flip side, we add 10+ minutes to a small chicken recipe.
Cook Time For Pressure Cooker Pot Roast
As per the Instant Pot cooking chart, you need 20-25 minutes to cook a pound of a large chunk of beef for pot roast. So you can adjust the time based on this.
Ive had great results using 20 minutes per pound, so I stick to that time.
I prefer to add the potatoes and carrots towards the end because Im not a fan of mushy vegetables.
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Do I Have To Sear The Meat
While you dont technically have to sear the meat, its going to greatly affect the outcome.
Searing the beef helps lock in the moisture. It gives it a nice crust that enhances the flavor.
Skipping this will leave the instant pot sirloin tip roast a little boring and it will taste like its missing something.
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Making Pot Roast In Advance
Storing and reheating: Leftovers keep well for 3 days. If you have enough space in the fridge, you can store roast in an inner pot with a silicone lid. Then reheat right on the stove or in Instant Pot by pressing Saute.
Freezing: I would freeze the roast itself but not the potatoes in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
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What Is Pot Roast
Pot roast is more of a method than a specific cut of meat. To make it, sear a large cut of beef until browned on all sides, and then cook it with aromatics like herbs, onions, carrots, and broth until its melt-in-your-mouth tender. You can make this in a Dutch oven on the stove-top, in the oven, in a slow cooker, and a pressure cooker. In this recipe, we are using a pressure cooker to make the pot roast. A pressure cooker takes the cooking time down dramatically.
How Long To Cook A Roast In The Instant Pot
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Ever forget to put the Sunday pot roast in the oven or slow cooker? Been there, done that! Thankfully with modern-day cooking technology, we have a miraculous gadget called the Instant Pot to save us time, dishes, and energy when it comes to cooking beef roasts. In this article, were sharing ALL you need to know about how long to cook a roast in the Instant Pot!
Weve been around the block and back again when it comes to testing and developing recipes for cooking in the Instant Pot. After all, we have written two cookbooks full of them, with TONS of feedback from recipe testers and readers like YOU. We are so excited to share all the details about cooking a roast in the Instant Pot and more in this post!
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