Nearly ruined Christmas dinner because I never browned my roast first

I've been making pot roast for about 10 years now, always straight from the package into the slow cooker with some broth and veggies. My brother-in-law came over for dinner last month and watched me dump a raw chuck roast in the pot. He just stared at me and asked 'you're not gonna sear that first?' I laughed it off but he insisted I pull it out and brown it in a cast iron skillet for 4 minutes per side. The difference in flavor was insane, like night and day. The meat had this deep crusty layer that melted into the gravy and my kids actually finished their plates for once. All those years of bland pot roast and I never knew I was skipping the most important step. Anybody else have a family recipe they found out they were doing completely backwards?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantw321mo ago

Funny how something so simple makes that big a difference. I did the same thing for years until my neighbor called me out on it. Now there's no going back to that pale, blah pot roast.

roberts951mo agoMost Upvoted

Oh man, that's exactly the kind of thing I've been wondering about! @diana_west27 makes a good point about people sticking to old habits (I'm guilty of that myself sometimes). So what exactly did your neighbor say that finally clicked for you? Was it just pointing out how pale and unappealing it looked, or did they give you some specific tip about searing or bringing the meat up to temp first? I've got a buddy who swears by doing a quick sear in the same pot before adding liquid, and he says it's a total game changer for both color and flavor.

diana_west271mo ago

Past tense? What made you stop before the neighbor said something? Was it just habit or did you honestly not know any better? I swear people get set in their ways and refuse to try anything new until someone practically forces them to. What did your neighbor say to finally get through to you?