How Golden Corral Achieves Its Perfectly Tender Beef Pot Roast

Pot roast is one of those dishes that many people love but few have the time to cook (and that's not even getting into the price of a beef roast these days). As much as people love pot roast, very few restaurant chains include it on the menu. It's not like fast food pot roast is a thing. Among those casual chains that do offer pot roast, though, Golden Corral has proven to be a fan favorite. When Tasting Table covered the five chains serving up the best pot roast, Golden Corral made the list, and diners had some clear reasons why.

Golden Corral's online order page says the pot roast is "slow-cooked overnight for awesomeness," and this is the key to making a pot roast that people can't get enough of. The pot roast is famous for being so tender it falls apart on the fork, while also being full of rich, beefy flavor.

A good pot roast is normally made from a tough cut of meat like a chuck roast. Using a more tender, expensive cut is actually a mistake with pot roast, since it will not contain as much collagen as a tougher cut. The slow cooking process is essential to achieve the best texture and flavor by breaking down the collagen until it turns to gelatin. This is what makes the meat so soft that it falls apart. It also makes the roast rich and savory. When vegetables and seasonings are added, the juices and any gravy you make will have more depth of flavor when cooked overnight, which is just what Golden Corral achieves.

Some Golden Corral copycat recipes pressure cook the roast for about three hours to try to achieve the same results in less time. Others try to match the same texture and flavor through slow cooking. A quick Google search will turn up dozens of these recipes. One that purports to be as close as possible to Golden Corral's requires eight to 10 hours of cooking.

Reviews for the restaurant's pot roast are usually very positive. One Facebook user who said it was just like their mom's pot roast added, "Can hardly keep it on a fork[.] It's so soft!" A Tripadvisor review focused almost solely on the pot roast said, "Love love love the pot roast! You have to try it."

Customers can order the pot roast as an entree served with celery, carrots, potatoes, gravy, and two sides. Sides could be anything from baked beans to corn on the cob to sweet potato casserole. Golden Corral offers a selection of 16 side dishes on the website. You can also get pot roast in the restaurant at the buffet. If you go the buffet route, you need to be aware that it could have been sitting out for a little while, which could result in drier pot roast that doesn't taste as good. If you can't get to a Golden Corral at all any time soon, don't worry. We have some pot roast recipes you can try that are pretty easy and will ensure a delicious meal.