Follow This Cooking Method For Delicious Slow-Cooker Pot Roast And Veggies Every Time

When you cook something like a steak, potatoes and carrots make great sides because their flavors and textures let the meat take center stage. But a pot roast is different; the ultimate pot roast recipes need every ingredient to sing in harmony. When you finally take your fork to it after eight hours of cooking, not only should the meat be so tender that it falls apart, you want the carrots to have soaked up the deep, savory notes of the meat, the meat to have taken on a bit of the carrots' sweetness, and the herbs and spices to have worked their magic in building layers of flavor that bring the whole meal together. And bringing together this pitch-perfect plate isn't hard: all you need to do is follow one simple step.

Christina Musgrave created a fall-worthy rump roast Crock Pot recipe for Tasting Table, in which she suggests this simple tip to get the deep, rich flavors that make this such a winter favorite. After seasoning the roast with salt and pepper, place the cut of meat in your slow cooker. Next, add your potatoes and sliced carrots, along with rosemary, thyme, and balsamic vinegar for that hint of acidity. Finally, pour in some beef stock, close the lid, and cook your roast at a low temperature for eight hours, allowing enough time for a magical intermingling of flavors while the protein slowly breaks down. You're guaranteed rich, fork-tender bites every single time.

While most of the magic happens when the meat and veggies are sealed in the slow cooker, you can definitely amp up the flavor with two simple, connected steps. In fact, skipping these two steps is one of the 13 biggest mistakes everyone makes with pot roast. The first is to sear the meat in a pan before moving it into the pot. Once in the crock pot, you'll cook the meat at 180 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit — too low for the Maillard reaction to kick in and release the sugars in your meat. Browning the meat in a pan will give you a delicious, caramelized crust.

The second step is to deglaze the pan once you've moved your beef to the crock-pot. The process of deglazing involves adding a liquid to the hot pan to release bits of meat that have stuck to the bottom during searing, and then cooking it until it forms a rich, sauce-like texture. Add this to the crock pot along with the herbs, vegetables, and stock. You can use either beef stock to deglaze the pan or an acidic element, like red wine or vinegar.

If you want your vegetables to take on more flavor from the meat, you might want to layer them at the bottom of the slow cooker and place the meat on top. This way, all the juices released by the meat flow down onto the bed of vegetables, while also reducing the chances of your meat getting caught on the bottom of the pot during the long hours of cooking.