Instant Pot Pot Roast Recipe - The Cookie Rookie® (2024)

FAQs

Why is my pot roast still tough in the Instant Pot? ›

If your roast is tough in the Instant Pot, it likely needs to be cooked longer. Chuck roast will become more tender the longer it cooks, so extra time may be needed. However, you can overcook beef in the Instant Pot, so keep an eye on it if you add extra time.

The Instant Pot won't come to pressure without a bit of liquid. We found 1 cup was just enough to avoid stewing the beef. Don't throw out the sauce at the end. It's amped up with flavor from cooking with the beef and is absolutely decadent spooned over medium-rare slices.

In a few words, yes! You can also undercook it, too. Overcooking the meat would result in a very dry tasting pot roast.

Unfortunately, once you overcook a piece of meat in the pressure cooker, there's no going back. You'll be left with a pile of dry, crunchy, tasteless fibers and no amount of additional pressure cooking is going to put that moisture back into the meat. Earlier, I explained how ingredient size affects the cooking time.

Yes, pot roast absolutely becomes more tender the longer it cooks. Roasts are generally made from tougher cuts of meat, such as chuck or brisket, which contain a lot of collagen, connective tissue, and fat. These tougher tissues require a long cooking time to break down and for the collagen to converts into gelatin.

PRO TIP: It's better to cook pot roast on the low setting rather than the high setting when it comes to pot roast. Your meat will be tender and delicious every time.

As the ingredients cook under pressure, their flavors are concentrated, resulting in a richer taste. Tenderization: Pressure cooking breaks down tough fibers in meats and other ingredients, making them more tender and juicy.

And when the heat is kept low, as it is in slow cooking, the proteins in the muscle are less likely to overcook, so the meat stays moist as well as tender. Flavors are also more developed, but the process takes considerable time. If you have a pressure cooker and a slow cooker, we encourage you to try both.

The cross rib roast is part of the chuck, but there are some differences between the two cuts. The cross rib roast is taken from the part of the chuck just before the prime rib, so this part naturally has a higher fat content. The chuck tends to be tougher and leaner, which is why it is so often slow-cooked.

While you may cover meat almost completely for a conventional braise, use just enough liquid for the cooker to reach pressure – during pressure cooking the meat will release it's own juice and braise in that flavorful liquid, instead.

Why is my pot roast not getting tender? ›

There are several reasons why this could have happened even after so much cooking. First, your choice of a rump roast could be a factor since cuts from the hind quarter are very muscular and, since muscles are the most resistant to breaking, this cut is quite stubborn when it comes to becoming tender.

The moist heat in a pressure cooker tends to turn connective tissue into gelatin. You need to let the meat cool down for a few minutes after cooking, to give time for moisture to be reabsorbed, before releasing the pressure. Otherwise, the meat will likely be tough.

Thick-slice the roast (1/4 in thick or so), then cut the slices into bite-sized cubes. Put these in a deep pan and add a can of beef broth (about a cup), a cup of water, and a half-cup of red wine. Heat this to a simmer over low heat and cover the pan, stirring occasionally.

You may need some sweetness and acidity to bring up the tough meat. Simmer in liquid. Just like for burnt meat, if your meat gets tough and dry then you can simmer it in a little bit of broth for a couple minutes. Don't allow it to overcook again but just allow the liquid to penetrate the meat.