Why You Shouldn't Just Toss Your Meat In For A Pot Roast (It's Costing You Flavor)

Pot roast is one of those home-cooked meals that warms the soul. While it may elicit nostalgia, it's still an easy, flavorful, and popular meal today. The soft potatoes and carrots infused with unctuous gravy and meat that melts in your mouth after falling apart with a simple pull of the fork is pure, warm Americana. A great slow cooker pot roast recipe isn't difficult, but missing a simple extra step is one of the mistakes everyone makes with pot roast. Just as you shouldn't forget to trim some of the fat, you need to brown your roast before you let it slow cook or simmer with the broth and veggies.

Searing your uncooked pot roast in fat or oil in a hot pan helps with the Maillard reaction, a chemical process that happens when high heat meets water, sugar and protein — all of which are on the surface of the meat. It creates a flavorful crust and a wonderful brown color that gives the finished roast more savory goodness and adds depth to the gravy. If you place your pot roast directly in the slow cooker, it will turn gray and still be edible, even tasty, but just not as full of flavor.

The best meat for pot roast is usually a tougher cut with a lot of connective tissue such as chuck, which comes from the well-worked shoulder, or Julia Child's favorite pot roast cut, rump roast. The connective tissue will cook down, adding flavor and softening the meat. If there's a lot of exterior fat (fat cap), you'll want to trim it. You don't need to cut it all the way to the red meat. A little extra fat will enhance flavor and tenderize it, but you don't want it too greasy.

Now, it's time for the searing. You'll need to pat the meat dry with paper towels. While you need some water for the Maillard reaction, you don't want it dripping wet. Liberally salt and pepper it on all sides to bring out the flavor. Some recommend dusting all sides with flour to fortify the crust. For the cooking fat, you can use olive oil, oil and butter, bacon fat, ghee, or almost any cooking oil. Heat the oil in a pan over medium-high heat, and toss in your roast when the oil is hot. The simple rule is to cook it on all sides until browned, but it should cook for at least a minute and up to three minutes per side. The longer you brown it, the more crust will form, but you don't want to cook it so long that it'll burn. Searing your meat first will bring the best out of your roast, and you'll definitely taste it in the results.