Help!!! Question Re: Slow Cooker Pot Roast

Gramps

New member
Help please! I had defrosted a very lean 5 lb "top round roast" (an oven roast) for cooking yesterday, but I ended up out all afternoon and then eating out at a restaurant. When I got home late last night, I decided to prepare the now-defrosted oven roast as a pot roast by cooking it all night on low heat in a slow cooker... something I had never tried before on my own.

I seared the meat first and then added all the usual things from the cookbook: carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, leftover spaghetti sauce (in lieu of chopped tomato and tomato paste I didn't have), beef broth and assorted spices. It filled the slow cooker completely... right to the top.

When I got up this morning, I found that the slow cooker had remained essentially full of liquid and had even overflowed slightly onto the counter. I noticed as I cleaned up the mess that the spilled fluid was orange in color (from the carrots?) and very greasy to the touch. I also noticed that the top of the slow cooker seemed to hold the same greasy orange fluid (no surprise).

The bottom line is that I am confused about where to go from here with this thing. I had to go out this morning so I left it on low heat. When I got back, the fluid level had dropped only very slightly, but the orange, greasy stuff was still on top. I don't know how far down it goes. It could all be like that.

Question: Is this "orange greasy stuff" fat that I should try to spoon off and throw away? Or is it normal for a slow cooked pot roast and something I shouldn't worry about... i.e., just part of the juices/gravy?

Thanks in advance!

Take care,
Tom
 

ChowderMan

Pizza Chef
Super Site Supporter
yup, spoon / ladle / skim off the excess fat and chuck it.

color: the carrots may be innocent. if it was a commercial sauce - or even home - likely some spices in there that create the orange color - paprika / turmeric and such comes to mind; other pepper types like cayenne produce similar color in fats.

if I'm reading correctly, you started the roast in the slow cooker
last night" and have continued "this morning" - so it has definitely had enough time to cook.

I've found that pretty much any frozen meat cut gives up a lot of water when thawed / cooked. how much "fat" / greasy stuff is generated is highly dependent on the cut and the trim - you said it was a lean cut - so I suspect most of the fat is coming from the sauce - and potentially vegetable fats/oils versus "beef fat"

fat "rendering" out meat is entirely "normal" - fat is less dense than water, so it is "standard" science that the fats will rise to the surface.

otoh, just because fat exists one does not really mean one must consume all the fat - so getting rid of some is not an outrageous idea.

good luck!
 

Fisher's Mom

Mother Superior
Super Site Supporter
I've had this happen to me, too, Gramps. Some cuts of meat seem to be much fattier and that happens. I have learned to add very little liquid to my slow cooker because of this. I just skim off the fat. Sometimes I take the liquid and reduce it down into a thick sauce for the roast.

BTW - the really fatty ones seem to end up being the most tender and flavorful so your roast will probably be wonderful!
 

Gramps

New member
Thanks very much folks. I finally took matters into my own hands and skimmed off a good amount (although probably not enough) of that top layer. I had a very hard time figuring out where the bad ended and where the good began. I'm sure there is some neat trick to it, but I couldn't find it.

Once I refrigerate it, I'm sure it will be very easy to identify and remove the rest! :)

Take care,
Tom
 
Help please! I had defrosted a very lean 5 lb "top round roast" (an oven roast) for cooking yesterday, but I ended up out all afternoon and then eating out at a restaurant. When I got home late last night, I decided to prepare the now-defrosted oven roast as a pot roast by cooking it all night on low heat in a slow cooker... something I had never tried before on my own.

I seared the meat first and then added all the usual things from the cookbook: carrots, potatoes, onions, garlic, mushrooms, celery, leftover spaghetti sauce (in lieu of chopped tomato and tomato paste I didn't have), beef broth and assorted spices. It filled the slow cooker completely... right to the top.

When I got up this morning, I found that the slow cooker had remained essentially full of liquid and had even overflowed slightly onto the counter. I noticed as I cleaned up the mess that the spilled fluid was orange in color (from the carrots?) and very greasy to the touch. I also noticed that the top of the slow cooker seemed to hold the same greasy orange fluid (no surprise).

The bottom line is that I am confused about where to go from here with this thing. I had to go out this morning so I left it on low heat. When I got back, the fluid level had dropped only very slightly, but the orange, greasy stuff was still on top. I don't know how far down it goes. It could all be like that.

Question: Is this "orange greasy stuff" fat that I should try to spoon off and throw away? Or is it normal for a slow cooked pot roast and something I shouldn't worry about... i.e., just part of the juices/gravy?

Thanks in advance!

Take care,
Tom

You were wise to defrost the meat first, & sear. The orange grease is probably a combo of the spaghetti sauce & fat. I only fill my CP 3/4 of the way, & use about 1-2 cups of liquid -- unless I add pasta at the end. A defatting cup might help next time.
 

AllenOK

New member
I agree with CaliforniaCook. The fat is from the meat, and probably a little from the tomato/spaghetti sauce. The tomato product is also the culprit for the color.

Again, I agree with CC about the "defatting cup", which many of us also know of as a gravy separator. Basically, think a 4-cup measuring cup, with a spout, only the spout attaches at the bottom of the cup. You pour your fatty liquid into the body of the cup (some good ones have a strainer that fits over the top, to strain solids before it hits the cup). Let it sit a few minutes. The fat will rise to the top, while the liquid is as the bottom. CAREFULLY pour the liquid off, since the spout drains the cup from the bottom. Once the fat starts coming through, stop pouring, and dispose of the fat. Repeat as needed. NOTE: on the initial pour of fatty liquid into the separator, it is normal to ge a little fat in the spout. Don't worry about it.

I feed two adults and five rapidly-growing children, so I may have to fill the separator two or three times, depending on the amount of sauce I've made. I will usually reduce / boil down the defatted sauce to concentrate flavors before tightening into gravy, then salt to taste.

Always go lite on the liquid when doing a pot roast. The meat will render out it's own natural jus, as will the veggies. Also, if I know I'm going to be doing a really long cook, I will only start with the seasoned meat; the veggies go in a couple of hours before service time. This keeps the veggies from overcooking.
 
Mods can this be cross-posted in the slow cooker catagory? Recent queries have come up re same, & there's some great info here for folks that have similar questions re slow cooking. TIA
 

Lefty

Yank
Mods can this be cross-posted in the slow cooker catagory? Recent queries have come up re same, & there's some great info here for folks that have similar questions re slow cooking. TIA
Good idea.

I moved this to the slow cooker area. I left a thirty day redirect in the old area.


Rick
 
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