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.
A Little Liquid Is All You Need
The sauce for this pot roast is a blend of dried herbs, tomato paste, Dijon mustard, red wine that gets reduced down, and a measly half-cup of beef broth. The user manual for your Instant Pot probably says that you need a minimum of one cup of liquid for pressure cooking, but trust us that you really only need a half-cup here. Theres just enough so that you dont get the dreaded burn message, and the beef and veggies quickly release a ton of liquid during the cooking process. Youll be pleasantly surprised when you open up the cooker and see lots of tasty sauce that gets thickened up with a cornstarch slurry at the end.
The Ultimate Hearty Meal
Anyone else out there feel themselves craving hearty meals in the colder months of the year?! Here in Minnesota, were all about those savory meaty meals like this Instant Pot pot roast that will leave your entire kitchen smelling amazing + its ready in a fraction of the time of a traditional oven-cooked pot roast because its made in a pressure cooker.
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Can I Use Frozen Beef For This Recipe
When I cook from frozen, I do 1 1/2 the original cook time. Where this roast already has a longer cook time, I didn’t find it necessary to cook it quite that long. See the recipe below for directions. For a roast, the most important thing is to have it cut into 2 3 pound chunks before you freeze it instead of one solid 4 6 pound chunk. It will cook much more evenly and be more tender and juicy throughout.
Why Is My Roast Tough In The Instant Pot
To avoid a tough pot roast from the get-go:
- Make sure you are using good quality meat
- Look for a roast with even marbling of fat throughout
- Cook for an appropriate amount of time
If you end up with a tough roast, there are a few things you can do to help it
- Cut it against the grain and put it back into the pot juices to soak up some moisture
- Pressure cook it for another 10 15 minutes
- Put chunks into a food processor and pulse to shred it. This works good if you’re using it for quesadillas, enchiladas, etc
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About The Vegetables In An Instant Pot Beef Roast
One of the big challenges of making a pot roast in the Instant Pot is avoiding mushy vegetables. Many recipes put them in with the roast, which leads to disintegrated onions, mushy carrots, and mashed potatoes. Other recipes wrap the veggies in foil to protect them a bit, but those too get reports of mushy veggies. Plus, I like to have my carrots and potatoes soak up the wonderful flavor of the beef broth and onions. They wont get that wrapped in foil. I also am not the biggest fan of pressure cooking foil with my food, although I do occasionally do so.
My solution is to pressure cook the beef roast first, remove it to a plate and tent it with foil, add the vegetables to the broth, and pressure cook for 5 minutes. Use 2-3 minutes for firmer vegetables and 8-10 for softer. It doesnt hurt the meat to rest a bit like that anyway. I do cook initially with onions as well, but I add more at the end to have some firmer onions in the mix.
My 5 Simple Tips To Make The Perfect Instant Pot Beef Pot Roast
- Brown the beef: Browning = flavor, definitely worth the extra 10 minutes! You want all those browned bits, known as fond stuck at the bottom of the pot, thats the good stuff.
- Saute the aromatics: Continue building up that flavor by sauteing the onions and garlic. You can also choose to add celery and mushroom along with the onions and garlic.
- Deglaze the pot with red wine or broth: Deglazing removes the caramelized bits that are stuck at the bottom of the pot and thereby imparts that deep, complex flavor to the pot roast. It will also prevent any potential BURN error.
- Natural pressure release for at least 10 minutes: Do not do a quick release when it comes to meat. Quick-release is known to make the meat tough. Allow for a natural pressure release for a minimum of 10 minutes before doing a quick release.
- Meat still tough after the specified time? If you find that beef is still tough, it may just need more cooking time. Put the lid back on and pressure cook on high for an additional 15-20 minutes with a natural pressure release.
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Frozen Roast In The Instant Pot
If you plan an impromptu pot roast supper and forgot to thaw the meat, the good news is that you can still make this Instant Pot pot roast.
You may skip the browning process, and add about 30 minutes extra cooking time to the 1 hour specified in the recipe, i.e 10 minutes extra/pound for frozen beef roast. The flavor wont be the same, but it will work in a pinch. I highly recommend using thawed beef.
Keep in mind that the Instant Pot will take more time to pressurize if you use frozen roast beef, so plan accordingly.
Cooking Time For Instant Pot Pot Roast
The Instant Pot website lists the cooking time for small chunks of beef roast at 15-20 minutes per 450 grams or 1 pound and large chunks at 20-25 minutes per 450 grams or 1 pound. I prefer roasting a large roast that is not cut into chunks to avoid accidentally overcooking or drying it. That also assures that the collagen is spread through the whole roast. I cook at 25 minutes per pound and typically use a three pound roast. So 75 minutes is about perfect for that. You will see some suggest 90 minutes for any roast, but I have seen reports of overcooked roasts with that length of time, and a generic time that does not consider the weight of the roast is not very helpful. However, overcooking usually wont harm things too much other than causing a loss of flavor and some drying.
Very small roasts can be tricky. I suggest adding more time, even perhaps doubling it, than the normal 20-25 minutes per pound for a small roast.
Natural Release is also key to a good Instant Pot roast. If impatient, give the natural release at least 15 minutes. My full natural release took 25 minutes. Doing so helps lock in the juices and keep the meat moist. It seems that many times when a person reports getting a tough roast they either pressure cooked it for too short of a time, or they used quick release. So, once quick release is used, your 3 pound roast will actually take longer, around 100 minutes.
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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.
Sear The Chuck Roast Until Well Browned
Once its displays, HOT, add 1 tablespoon of oil and place the roast seasoned side down in the pot, brown on one side for 4-5 minutes. Do not try to move the beef, let it sear undisturbed. Season the other side with 1 teaspoon kosher salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder.
Flip and brown the other side for another 4-5 minutes.
Set the roast aside on a plate.
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The Ultimate Instant Pot Mississippi Pot Roast
This Instant Pot Mississippi pot roast is the most delicious five-ingredient meal Ive ever made! I cant take credit for this recipe because I found it in a Facebook post. But, Ive since incorporated it into our household staples.
During my graduate school years, I was always on the hunt for recipes that were quick and easy. Between full-time work during the day and full-time school at night, I needed to make sure my family meals were prepared well in advance. So when I stumbled upon this recipe online, I knew it would be a frequent meal in our home.
How Much Meat Can You Cook At One Time
The answer depends on the size of your Instant Pot. For a 6 quart size, you can fit 5-6 lbs of meat. This doesnt leave room for broth, wine, veggies, and other additions though. For this recipe, try to keep it less than 4 pounds. This way, there will be plenty of room for the other yummy ingredients.
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Make It In Your Crock Pot
Yeap, you can make this a slow cooker beef pot roast instead because sometimes nothing but your slow cooking will do.
Ultimate Pot Roast Recipe
This Ultimate Pot Roast Recipe gives you tender meat, flavorful vegetables, and a scrumptious gravy! Easy tried-and-true instructions for the slow cooker, instant pot, or oven methods resulting in melt in your mouth roast each and every time. It’s the perfect dinner recipe the whole family will love!
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Get That Perfect Sear
But were not done with that trusty sauté function just yet! Once youve removed the onions, garlic and leeks, Use the sauté function to sear each side of your chuck roast.
Start by adding olive oil to your Instant Pot, and then sear each side of the chuck roast for 3-4 minutes per side. The goal here is to get the outside of your roast nice and brown.
Why do you sear the roast before pressure cooking? This gets those delicious meaty juices in your roast flowing and starts the meat tenderization process. Plus, by searing before pressure cooking, you avoid having to take EVERYTHING out of your Instant Pot to sear at the end.
Pressure Cook The Roast
Close the lid of the Instant Pot. Set the valve to SEALING. Pressure cook on high for 1 hour. It will take some time for the pressure to build up , after which the timer will begin.
I used a 3.5 lb chuck roast, so the actual time needed would be 70 minutes. I pressure cooked it for 60 minutes and saved the last 10 minutes to add the potatoes and carrots. So, adjust the cooking time depending upon the weight of your beef roast.
Eg: 4 pounds : Pressure cook for 1 hour 10 minutes + NPR for 10 minutes + add potatoes and carrots + pressure cook for another 10 minutes + NPR for 10 minutes.
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Cut Up The Chuck Roast Joint
This tip depends entirely on the size of your beef chuck roast and the size of your pot. If you have only a small beef joint then you can cook it whole.
If you have a big lump of meat then cut it into 2 or 3 smaller beef chunks so they can fit inside the pot. They can then be easily browned and present maximum surface area for all the seasoning you are going to be adding in.
Pressure cooking the meat more fully in the beef broth can also result in more juicy tender meat.
What To Serve With This Instant Pot Pot Roast
Given the fact that this pot roast is rather hearty, I would pair it with a light salad! This simple tossed green salad would be the perfect appetizer.
You could also serve with a side of steamed broccoli to add a little color. Crunchy broccoli will contrast nicely with the tender meat!
You might also consider serving your roast beef over a bed of creamy mashed potatoes to help soak up all that gravy, or you could use a good crusty bread! Pick up your favorite baguette at the store or make these quick and easy homemade breadsticks!
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What Is The Best Cut Of Meat For Pot Roast
Any tougher cut of meat is good as pot roast because of the way it is cooked. This is because these cuts are full of connective tissue, which is broken down during the roasting into rich, succulent flavourful meat. Oh and the resulting gravy is just wow. Lets look at three types of meat that you can use.
What Are The Best Cuts Of Meat To Use
The best cuts of beef for pot roast are tougher cuts of meat like chuck, brisket, and round.
Traditionally, the beef cooks at a low temperature for a long time. Its because of this that tougher cuts of beef work so well. When I say tougher cuts of meat, Im talking about the leaner cuts with lots of connective tissue.
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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.
Cooking Tips For Shredded Mexican Beef
- THE MEAT this is a prime example of when to use a tougher cut of meat like a chuck roast or shoulder. No need to buy expensive sirloin tips or anything.
- BROWNING adds a ton of flavor, but isnt absolutely essential. I love to brown my beef pieces, since I love that extra deep flavor it adds but Ive made this several times without taking that extra step, and it still tastes delicious.
- CHIPOTLES IN ADOBO the secret to this amazing barbacoa is in the chipotle peppers. You can find cans of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce in the ethnic section of most grocery stores and they are PACKED with flavor.
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A complete pot roast Sunday dinner in the pressure cooker in just 60 minutes? Yes, please! And the meat, potatoes, carrots and flavorful gravy all come together in ONE POT for the easiest clean up ever. Plus, the meat comes out so amazingly tender!
Happy Friday!
I already feel like the weekend is happening so I am making Sundays pot roast for dinner tonight.
2 reasons why.
Not only that but this Sunday meal comes together in the IP in just one hour.
Thats it!
The meat comes out amazingly tender, and the gravy is just spot on.
Sometimes I just skip the meat altogether and smother my carrots with the gravy.
Carrots have beta carotene! Now I dont know what beta carotene is but apparently its good for you.
But more importantly, today is the third and final Instant Pot giveaway! So go ahead and try your luck at your third chance to win the Duo 60 7-in-1 Instant Pot .
And if you havent already entered giveaway #1 and #2, go ahead and leave a comment on Monday and Wednesdays giveaways here and here.
All you have to do to enter the giveaway is to leave a comment below answering the following question: what is your favorite spring dish?
Start With Smaller Steaks
The heart of a pot roast lies, of course, in the beef. Inexpensive beef chuck makes great pot roast because its extremely flavorful, but even in the fast-cooking environment of a pressure cooker like the Instant Pot, it needs a bunch of time to get tender. To speed up the process, cut the chuck into a few steaks first, and then sear them to get those tasty browned bits that add deeper, more savory flavor. Thinner pieces mean faster cooking only 35 minutes under high pressure and since youll shred the beef into big chunks at the end anyway, keeping it whole isnt necessary.
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