# Why isn't my roast tender? :( :( :(



## Harmony96 (Jun 3, 2005)

Ok, so I love cooking w/ a crock pot b/c it's very convenient, just pop the stuff in in the morning and dinner's ready in the evening. Most of the stuff I put in there turns out ok, but I have the most terrible time with roast. I like the roast when you can stick a fork in there, twist it 90 degrees, and pull out a big ol' bite of meat that has just fallen apart so tenderly and loosely from the rest of the roast. But mine never turns out that way. I don't know what I'm doing wrong.

In the past, I had put in the carrots and potatoes in the bottom, then put a roast on top (since my crock pot instructions say that meat takes less time to cook than veggies). Then I sprinkle liberally with worchestershire sauce or however you spell it. But then my vegetables are barely done and the roast seems way overdone.

We had some roast a while back at a get together and I had mentioned to someone how my roast never turns out so nice and tender, and she said that if I put it in beef broth then it'll be tender. I was like "that's it?" And she confirmed that I didn't need to do anything else. So today I put the veggies in by themselves with 1 can of beef broth and let them cook on low for a few hours, then I added the roast and another can of broth and a little water to make sure everything was covered, and cooked on high for an hour or so and on low for 5 hours.

Now I'm hungry and ready to eat... but the roast is not tender!!!! AARRRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!!! What am I doing wrong?



































Is a tender roast really too much to ask for?







I've put it back in the pot on high for 1.5 hours so we'll see what happens at the end of that time. I'm not holding out much hope though.


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## Daisie125 (Oct 26, 2005)

Granted this is against crockpot "rules" you aren't supposed to start from frozen, but I always do, and nobody has died yet.

You may want to cut your veggies smaller if they aren't done when your roast is... it's some trial and error. We love our Vidilia quick chop for the crockpot.

Put in your frozen roast Cook on high for two hours

Add your veggies and 1.5-2 cups broth or water (I actually like to use a can of crushed tomatoes) then on low for another 6-8 hours.

Super tender every time!


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## kallyn (May 24, 2005)

I think that maybe something acidic, like wine or vinegar or tomatoes, would help to tenderize it. Also, I would probably cook it for 8 hours. To make extra sure my roasts get tender, I remove it from the pot at the end, shred it with a fork, and put it back in the pot for like 30 min. I guess that wouldn't work if you prefer slices, though.


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## jocelyndale (Aug 28, 2006)

Definitely add acid. Even a little red wine will do wonders.

That said, I like roasts tender, too. That's why I use the pressure cooker. A three pound roast cooks for 50-55 minutes at pressure (my cooker has just one setting, probably 10lbs, if yours is fancier, you can probably get by with more pressure, less time). That's not long for a falling-apart-tender hunk of cow flesh. Yum.


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## Harmony96 (Jun 3, 2005)

Well, I posted here and on a few other boards, and the overall consensus is that I'm not cooking it long enough and I need to add an acid.

The concoction has been on high since my last post and I just checked it. I didn't cut it open but it's still so solid. I flipped it over. It is brown all over so it "looks" done, which is confusing to me. I just can't get past the thought that if I cook it even MORE at this point, how can it possibly get tender?

I tried to go look what exact "type" of roast I have, but that part of the package is no longer accessible. The part that I did see again said "slow roast w/ carrots, potatoes and onions for Sunday lunch" or something. lol. It's a small-ish cut of roast, 2 lbs or so.

The whole ensemble is in a 6-qt pot and it's full, and everything is underwater and has been since the beginning of the cooking. I've added some leftover spaghetti sauce (for the acid) and turned it back down to low and am going to let it cook all night. In the morning... I'll either have my tasty, tender, falling-apart roast that I'm wanting... or I'll have a big mess. lol.


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## PugMom4Now (May 3, 2004)

We haven't managed to make a tender roast either -- DH always says that they are dry (I'm vegetarian). We've made them in the slow cooker and in the oven and he says the same thing. I'm going to have to find out info on making it in the pressure cooker...


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## Harmony96 (Jun 3, 2005)

Well someone on another board mentioned that it's "done" before it's "tender-done"... so I cooked it all night on low and it's great this morning. I can pull it apart with my hands now. lol


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## shantimama (Mar 11, 2002)

When I make a roast for my family I put it in the crock pot over the vegetables and add some red wine and tomatoes to keep it moist and the acid does help. I don't eat it myself







: but it always falls apart after cooking on low all day in the crock pot.


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