Pressure Cooker Pot Roast

Steps

1. Pat the beef pieces dry and

   season (how to season to taste)

   Season to taste Add salt (and pepper or acid) bit by bit, tasting as you go, until the food tastes fully of itself. 1. Season meat and vegetables before cooking, holding the salt high so it falls evenly.2. Taste the dish near the end with a clean spoon.3. If it tastes flat, add a pinch of salt, stir and taste again.4. If it tastes heavy or dull, a squeeze of lemon or a splash of vinegar brightens it.5. Stop when another pinch wouldn't make it better. Done when: The flavors are clear and bright, not flat and not salty. Safety: Don't taste dishes that hold raw meat, poultry or eggs; season them by the recipe's amounts and adjust after cooking.How to season to taste: mistakes to avoid

   them all over with the salt and pepper.
2. Set the pressure cooker to sauté on high and add the oil.
3. Brown (how to brown)

   Brown Cook food in a hot pan until its surface turns brown, which adds rich, roasted flavor. 1. Pat the food dry; for ground meat, let the pan get hot first.2. Add a little oil and spread the food in one layer.3. Leave it alone for a few minutes so the bottom browns, then turn or break it up.4. Work in batches if it won't fit in one layer.5. Pour off extra fat if the recipe says to. Done when: Most surfaces are brown, not gray, and the bottom of the pan has browned bits (they are flavor, not burn). Safety: Hot oil spatters: dry the food first, lay it in the pan moving away from you, and keep a lid nearby. Never put water on an oil fire; slide the lid over it and turn off the heat. Browned outside doesn't mean cooked inside: ground beef needs 160°F, poultry 165°F.How to brown meat and vegetables: mistakes to avoid

   the beef in two batches, turning once, then move it to a plate.
   ⏱ Brown beef: 8 min
4. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it softens a little.
   ⏱ Onion: 3 min
5. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook until fragrant.
   ⏱ Tomato paste: 1 min
6. Pour in the broth and scrape the bottom of the pot until no browned bits stick. This prevents a burn warning.
7. Stir in the Worcestershire, thyme and bay leaf. Return the beef and its juices to the pot.
8. Lock the lid and set the valve to sealing.
9. Cook at high pressure. (The pot takes about 10 to 15 minutes to come up to pressure before the countdown starts.)
   ⏱ High pressure: 1 hr
10. Let the pressure release naturally.
    ⏱ Natural release: 15 min
11. Turn the valve to venting to release any pressure that remains, then open the lid away from your face.
12. Add the potatoes and carrots on top of the beef. Don't stir.
13. Lock the lid, set the valve to sealing and cook at high pressure.
    ⏱ High pressure: 4 min
14. Quick-release the pressure by turning the valve to venting, then open the lid away from your face.
15. Move the beef and vegetables to a platter. The beef should be fork-tender, well past the safe 145°F (63°C). Throw away the bay leaf.
16. Set the pot to sauté. Stir the cornstarch and water together, stir it into the liquid and

    simmer (how to simmer)

    Simmer Cook liquid just below a boil, with small bubbles breaking the surface now and then. 1. Bring the liquid up over medium-high heat.2. As soon as bubbles rise steadily, turn the heat down.3. Adjust until only a few small bubbles break the surface every second or two.4. Stir now and then and check that it hasn't crept back to a boil. Done when: You see lazy, small bubbles, not a rolling boil. A "bare" simmer has just a bubble here and there. Safety: Steam burns fast: lift lids and foil away from your face, tipping the far edge up first.How to simmer: mistakes to avoid

    until thickened.
    ⏱ Thicken gravy: 2 min
17. Pull the beef into chunks and serve with the vegetables and gravy.

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Tips

• If the beef is still firm, lock the lid and cook at high pressure for another 10 minutes.
• Cooking the vegetables in a second short round keeps them from turning to mush.
• Braised beef is safe at 145°F, but chuck only turns tender once it goes much higher (around 200°F), so cook it by tenderness, not by the thermometer.
• Use a separate cutting board for raw meat, and wash hands, boards and knives in hot soapy water after handling it.

Storage

Refrigerate in an airtight container within 2 hours, up to 4 days. Store the beef in its gravy. Freeze up to 3 months.

Cook once, eat twice: Double it (12 servings instead of 6), eat half and freeze the other half. It keeps 3 months frozen, by the storage note above. Print a freezer label · More freezer meals

How long leftovers keep, and freezing and reheating: leftovers and storage. In season: carrots (September to March), potatoes (August to November).