Beef Roast in Crock Pot

Tripalot wrote:
I plan to do a roast in my crock pot and am wondering when I should put potatoes and carrots in. I will be cooking the roast on low setting for 8 hours. Should veggies go in at the start or a few hours before the anticipated done time.

How do you do it?

Since you plan on cooking on low you'll be fine putting the meat and potatoes, onions and carrots in at the same time.

However if you plan to add fast cooking veggies like peas or corn just add them in the last 30-60 minutes.

Now you're making me want pot roast, LOL.

Brown the roast on all sides in a pan. Put the vegetables in the bottom of the slow cooker, then the roast on top of the veggies. Then cook.

DW just puts the roast in the cooker, puts in seasoning of choice (varies time to time), puts potatoes, carrots, and onions around the roast, and cooks it. Never failed yet.

I cook the vegetables that are going to be served separately so they dont get over cooked and I think they look better. With Roast Beef, I usually serve with mashed potatoes and gravy.

I DO put the roast on top of onions and carrots but I am going to blend or mash everything together and strain for the gravy.

Yes, I do all this camping.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Browning makes more mess to clean up in the RV so I think I will skip that. I will put the carrots and potatoes in the bottom, add a package of onion soup mix and then pour a cup of apple juice in for gravy. Can't wait to try this.

I'm not by any means a crackerjack cook, but I haven't died from my own cooking - yet.

I like pot roast and I often do it at home in my crock pot. My method is pretty simple. A pot roast, two 303 cans of Veg-All Country cut veggies and a package of slow cooker pot roast or Yankee pot roast seasonings. Dump it all together in the crock pot (roast on the bottom), set it on low in the morning and I'm ready for a great diner that nite - with a cold beer or some red wine.

Browning a beef roast can be messy and smelly. I have found that the easiest way to brown one is on the grill outside. I typically will put the grill on high and brown all sides. It helps keep the beef moist and tender. Consider using a rub of your choice to enhance the flavor.

SARTracker has good advice.

I agree with browning the roast, and outside, as Bzeitham suggests, makes a lot of sense. Also, agree with the posts about putting the vegetables in at the same time (if on low). I cut them larger than bite size, like cutting potatoes in half instead of dicing. For me, I've found it works better serving that way...everyone gets half of or two halves of a potato and a few carrots when serving. Fresh vegetables are MUCH better than pre-packaged or frozen. I also add celery sometimes, because I like celery (not everyone does). Also, unless you really like the taste of onion soup or similar, I'd just use salt and pepper, maybe a little garlic (or garlic powder) and fresh onion (as opposed to a soup mix). Fresher is almost always better, whether it's the ingredients or the seasonings. Browning the roast adds another dimension, carmelizing the meat if you will. Can't get that on low heat. I used to make a pot roast about 3 - 4 times a month, in various ways. Low heat with a few vegetables is hard to beat.

Agree on browning before putting in crockpot. We do this outside on the grill so no extra mess.

The ingrediant's mentioned are all good....enjoy.

Good idea you have to brown the roast outside. And you put the meat right on the grate? No pan should be needed?