Pressure-Cooker Pot Roast

pressure cooker pot roast with dates olives and orange blue white serving tray
Photo: Marcus Nilsson
Yield:
6 to 8 Serves

With an Instant Pot or pressure cooker, the classic Sunday afternoon pot roast can be on the table in under two hours -- without ever turning on your oven. We seasoned this one with North African ingredients -- dates, olives, and oranges -- but remained loyal to the traditional American chuck roast, which, like other inexpensive cuts, braises well. This recipe appears in our cookbook "Martha Stewart's Pressure Cooker" (Clarkson Potter).

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

  • 1 boneless beef chuck roast (about 3 pounds)

  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

  • 2 garlic cloves, smashed

  • 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour

  • 3 cups chicken stock, homemade or store-bought

  • 1 pound carrots, cut into thick rounds

  • cup pitted oil-cured olives

  • 10 dates, pitted and chopped

  • 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

  • 1 dried bay leaf

  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds

  • Finely grated zest and juice of 1 large navel orange

Directions

  1. Heat oil in a 6-to-8-quart pressure cooker over medium-high, or in an electric pressure cooker set to saute. Pat beef dry and season with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add beef and cook until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes; transfer to a plate. Pour out all but 2 tablespoons fat (or add enough oil to equal 2 tablespoons). Add garlic and flour, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Whisk in stock, carrots, olives, dates, thyme, bay leaf, cumin seeds, orange zest and juice, and 1 teaspoon salt. Return beef along with any accumulated juices to pressure cooker.

  2. Stovetop: Secure lid. Bring to high pressure over medium-high heat; reduce heat to maintain pressure and cook for 60 minutes. Remove from heat, quickly release pressure, then remove lid.

    Electric: Secure lid. Manually set cooker to 90 minutes and let it come to pressure. Once time is complete, turn off, quickly release pressure, then remove lid.

  3. Let beef stand in liquid 10 minutes. Skim any fat from surface. Transfer beef to a serving platter. (Discard bay leaf.) Spoon sauce over and around beef and serve.

Cook's Notes

If your chuck roast has enough fat on it, you can omit the oil for searing.

Serve with potatoes (mashed or boiled and buttered), egg noodles, or couscous.

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