It’s Raining, It’s Pouring the Instant Pot is Not Snoring, it’s Cooking Pot Roast

It’s chilly, it’s raining, it’s just downright dreary.  How to combat this scenario?

Couch potato:  Snuggle on the couch and watch a movie or read a book. What, couch too far? Ok, stay in bed with a good book and a cup of tea.

Kitchen Diva: It’s the holidays, you’re supposed to be filling the house with the aroma of butter, cinnamon, sugar and all things delicious.  Let’s get ready to BBAAAKKKKEEEEE.

Outdoor Warrior:  Put on those stomping boots and raingear and hit those puddles!

Ok, I’m only feeling Option 1 or 2.

So, I decided on doing a combo, I spent the day baking cookies, cruising the internet and watching Netflix.  Right around 5pm my stomach grumbled and sent a signal to my brain “what’s for dinner?”

Here is the criteria for today’s dinner:  it should be easy to make, comforting and of course delicious. I pull out my Instant Pot, check off easy.  Take out the chuck roast I had bought the day before, check off comforting. Rummage through my crisper and pantry and pull out onions, carrots, potatoes, check off delicious.

Yep, pot roast on a rainy, dreary day…sounds like a plan, Stan. Sitting down at 6:30 to dinner.  Yahoo, thanks Instant Pot.

What’s better than pot roast for dinner? Pot roast the next day!

Print Pin

Pot Roast a la Instant Pot

Decide at 5pm to have Pot Roast for dinner. I know, what am I thinking? Pull out the Instant Pot and damn, by 6:30 I'm sitting down to a delicious bowl of meltingly tender chunks of beef, carrots, and potatoes over steaming hot white rice.  Adapted from Damn Delicious.

Course Main Course

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 10 minutes minutes

Servings 4 people

Ingredients

• 1 3-pound chuck roast
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 1 1/2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 yellow onion chopped
• 3 cloves garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1/4 cup dry red wine
• 3 cups beef stock
• 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 sprig fresh rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 pounds baby red potatoes
• 4 large carrots cut diagonally into 2-inch pieces
• 1/2 pound fresh assorted mushrooms sliced, optional
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1-2 tablespoons soy sauce or fish sauce optional kicks up the flavor, check for saltiness before adding

Instructions

• Set a 6-qt Instant Pot® to the high saute setting.
• Season beef with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Heat oil; add beef and cook until evenly browned, about 2-3 minutes per side; set aside.
• Add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until translucent, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in garlic and tomato paste until fragrant, about 1 minute.
• Stir in red wine, scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot.
• Stir in beef stock, Worcestershire, thyme, rosemary, bay leaves, potatoes, carrots and mushrooms. Top with beef. Select manual setting; adjust pressure to high, and set time for 60 minutes. When finished cooking, quick-release pressure according to manufacturer’s directions.
• Remove beef, potatoes and carrots from the Instant Pot®; shred beef, using two forks.
• In a small bowl, whisk together cornstarch and 1/4 cup cold water; set aside.
• Select high sauté setting. Bring to a boil; stir in cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring frequently, until slightly thickened, about 2-3 minutes. If the mixture is too thick, add more beef stock as needed until desired consistency is reached.  If using mushrooms, sauce may be a bit thin, reduce before adding cornstarch slurry.
• Serve beef, potatoes and carrots with juices immediately accompanied by rice or buttered noodles or a nice crusty bread to sop up the sauce.