Slow Cooker Pot Roast

I've made pot roast in the crock pot before and it is still, by far, my most popular post ever.  That version had a lot of liquid, as do most pot roast recipes I've seen.  But this recipe from Martha Stewart has only a few tablespoons of liquid.  I turned it on before work and, to be honest, I worried all day that it would be all dried out when I got home.  But slow cookers are magical things.  Lots of juices came out of the roast and made a lovely jus that kept the meat moist and was delicious over the meat.  

Here's all you need:

Guinness Pot Roast

This was our St. Patrick's Day dinner.  I wanted to make something with Guinness so I adapted this Epicurious recipe for short ribs but used pot roast instead.  I loved the curry spice mixture and the beef turned out beautifully.

I'm attending the Food Bloggers of Canada conference in April and a nice perk is getting to try out some new products.  Nordic Ware sent me some cookware to try.  This braiser pan looks similar to my beloved enameled cast iron pot, but is a little shallower and much, much lighter.  The interior is non-stick and the pan is light enough to easily lift out of the oven even when full.  It worked great for this recipe.  

Crock Pot Pot Roast

I roast beef all the time but haven't done much pot roast. I haven't always been interested because I can usually buy a premium beef roast for the same price as a pot roast and just assumed regular roast beef would be better.  How wrong I was!  Pot roast is a completely different world, and so delicious!  Cooking it in the crock pot while I'm at work all day makes it a super easy week night dinner.  

I used a boneless beef cross rib pot roast, onions, carrots, potatoes, beef stock, tomato paste, salt, pepper, rosemary and thyme. 

In the morning, before work, I sprinkled the roast with a little salt and pepper... 

...and browned it in hot oil for a nice crust.

I added the onions and carrots to the bottom of the crock pot.

Then added the mini potatoes. I peeled a little strip off each potato in an unlikely burst of energy just to let the gravy soak into them a little more. Then topped them with the herbs.

Then I popped the roast on top and poured the beef stock and tomato paste over the whole thing.

I turned the crock pot to low and let it simmer all day, 8 to 10 hours until the roast was tender and the veggies cooked.  

Once it has simmered all day remove the meat from the crock pot and tent with foil. 

Remove the veggies and set in a warm oven to keep warm.  You can either thicken the gravy right in the crock pot on high heat, or strain the liquid into a small pot on the stove. Whisk in a bit of flour mixed with water and allow it to thicken for a few minutes.

Slice the pot roast and smother it in gravy to serve with veggies and potatoes.  I also added steamed green beans.

Make sure you serve it with lots of extra gravy because you'll want it all over the potatoes. The meat is tender and flavourful and takes very little effort.  The perfect meal for a cold winter night.

This is another Canadian Beef post to enter in their Eat, Write, Retreat contest. I am so excited about the chance to go to Washington DC and learn more about blogging and food photography.  Best of luck to everyone who entered!