I finally bought a crock pot just after Christmas. My MIL had purchased a beef roast while she was here and it ended up in the freezer. I have never cooked a beef roast before. I decided that I would cook it the crock pot today. Shoe leather would have tasted better. Yuck, it was the worst meal I've ever prepared.

I followed the directions, here is a brief overview:

Sliced onions and potatoes (cut in half) at the bottom of the pot. Brown roast on all sides. Put roast on top of potatoes. Add: beef stock, brown sugar and a bunch of other spices. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or high for 5 hours.

Since I started at 1 pm I cooked it on high. I noticed at one point the liquid was boiling at the bottom of the pot so I turned it down.

If I had followed the directions the roast would have cooked until 6 pm, however at 4:30 I looked at it and it looked way over done so I turned it off.

It was dry and horrible, the potatoes tasted like glue.

Is there a better way or is this what it is too eat a roast from a crock pot?

By Luvn29 on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 07:30 pm:

I make roast in the crock pot all the time. I don't make it any other way. And everyone loves it! I just get the cheapest roast and put it in a crock pot. I always get a large one. I then buy two packs of pot roast or beef stew seasoning and one pack of brown gravy. These are all three powder form.

I mix those with about two to two and a half cups of water and pour it in and cook it all day long. Once it is cooked all the way, I keep cooking it and this makes it just fall apart. And the liquids turn into a brown gravy.

I make mashed potatoes with it and it is just delicious! You can't go wrong making it this way! And there is plenty of liquid in it, so it is okay for it to bubble and simmer.

By Vicki on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 08:04 pm:

When I make a roast in the crock pot, I put it in there with water and a envelope of Lipton onion soup mix. I always start it in the morning (8 to 9ish) and cook it on high until about 1 or so. 90% of the time it is put in frozen. I then put the potatoes in and turn it to low. We eat about 5ish. Usually the longer you cook it the better and the cheaper the cut of meat the better.

By Kate on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 08:22 pm:

Vicki...you can put frozen meats in a crockpot?? Is there a method or formula to this??

By Kateg on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 08:28 pm:

I just cooked a roast in the crockpot today. It was frozen & put it in about 10 a.m. or so & I let it cook until about 6 p.m. I seasoned it with cooking red wine, garlic, salt, pepper & onions & about 1 cup of water. It was incredible & falling apart when we had it a little bit ago. The additional taste of the red wine was very subtle & scrumptious. Our roast was one we had bought from a meat locker when we bought a cow for the freezer.

By Reds9298 on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 08:43 pm:

Haven't read the other responses. I can't imagine why yours wasn't good Heaven. There are a very FEW things I've ever made in the crock that we didn't like and those were mostly taste, not cooking issues. LOVE crock pot roast! I've never browned one though, and I'm like Adena, always buy the cheapest roast. I've also never put brown sugar in with one but that might just be me. Mine are almost always frozen when I put them in also. They are always falling apart and so juicy and tender they melt in your mouth. It's the best meal! I add large chunks of potato, onion powder, garlic, salt, pepper, beef gravy, and water.

Always frozen in crock for me - almost always. I defrost and brown chops but that's about it.

By Vicki on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 08:48 pm:

Always frozen in the crock pot for me too. Unless I am out of roast or something and I buy it one day to make the next. I have used just about every meat frozen you can think of in there. No method, just put it in!!

By Heaventree on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 09:10 pm:

Ugh, I don't know, it was so disappionting! If I would have known I could have put it in frozen I would have cooked the d**** thing 2 days ago instead of letting it defrost in my fridge!

I will not put potatoes in there again. Maybe I didn't cook it long enough. I'll have to try something else in the crock pot before I cook a roast again.

I just bought, chicken breasts, chicken thighes, pork roast, whole chicken, pork chops and a bunch of ground beef, any suggestions?

By Andi on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 09:11 pm:

Like everyone else I use my Crock Pot once or twice a week and I love to cook a roast in it.

The only thing I can think of is maybe it wasn't cooked long enought. Maybe it needed more time to get tender.....3.5 hours isn't long enough.

By Kaye on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 09:23 pm:

With roast, if it doesn't taste good, cook it longer, it looks done, well before it is. You probably did add the potatos too soon.

By Heaventree on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 09:27 pm:

But Kaye, all the recipies I've looked at say to put the potatoes in first then put the roast on top. Maybe it was the type of potatoes. I only every buy the smaller/medium sized red potatoes.

Next time I will try to cook it on low longer, rather on high for a shorter time. My crock pot did not come with the best instructions and I don't get the knob, it has a low setting and a high setting then a higher setting. I should post a photo so you can see what I mean.

Is liquid supposed to boil in the crock pot on the highest setting? This seemed strange to me.

By Reds9298 on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 09:53 pm:

My potatoes are in for as long as my roast, and always on the bottom. I LOVE the potatoes from the crock, too! I also slice my roast a few times while it's cooking, until I get it into smaller pieces. It really soaks up the juices that way.

Other than slicing up the roast while it's cooking, I never even look in there once I start it. I just open it at the end of the day and voila! Yummy food. I couldn't tell you if it's boiling or not. Also if I do a roast on high, it's 5-6hrs I think.

By Yjja123 on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 10:14 pm:

I have never had luck trying to cook a roast on high. I think it dries the meat out. I think crockpots are really meant for slow cooking.
On low temp (or slow cooking) nothing boils. The meats I put in, and let slow cook all day long, are always tender. I generally put a roast in at 9-10 AM and we eat around 6:00 PM. I have never used anything frozen but I do not freeze meat. I buy fresh and cook with-in two days.

By Luvn29 on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 10:45 pm:

If you and your family like barbeque sauce, you can put pork chops in with lots of barbeque sauce. After they are almost done, drain what's on it (it will be very thin because of the juices mixing in) and put fresh barbeque sauce on top. Cook a little longer and they will be delicious!

You can cook chicken breasts and thighs in the crockpot a lot of different ways. If you want kind of basic recipes, you can ball up aluminum foil and place it on the bottom of the crock pot and then season your chicken however you like and place it on the foil. Then cook it all day and you will have "baked" chicken that is very moist and good. Or you can put a can or two of cream of chicken soup in and cook it with it. I do boneless chicken this way, then shred it in the gravy when it is finished and make dumplings! Voila! Chicken and dumplings!

I just cooked a turkey breast in my crockpot for the very first time a couple of days ago. You know, the kind with the bone still in... I actually just seasoned it very well and placed it in the crockpot with lots of butter around it. It was SO tender and juicy. When I tried to lift it out of the crock pot with forks, it literally fell off of the bones! We will never again eat turkey out of the oven! I would imagine you could do the whole chicken this same way, only you may want to use chicken broth instead of butter...

By Marcia on Thursday, February 1, 2007 - 11:07 pm:

I make lots of stuff in the crockpot, but have never followed a recipe. I tend to just throw in frozen meat, seasoning and water. I add gravy mix later, and put the veggies in about half way through. I also do the bbq sauce thing, but I don't drain it off. I make rice, and use that as a sauce.
I did ribs in there yesterday, and they fell off the bone as I was serving them. Amazing!!

By Tonya on Friday, February 2, 2007 - 10:30 am:

I nver put my potatoes in until 60-90 minutes before my meal is done. I make a cheap roast in my crock all of the time. I put the roast in cover it with lawreys seasoning and then fill it 3/4 full of water. turn it on low from 8am until we get home from work at 5pm. It is always awesome!!

Add small potatoes cut in half and baby carrots at 5pm eat dinner at 6-6:30pm.

By Jjb on Friday, February 2, 2007 - 12:55 pm:

You all got me motivated to get my crockpot out today! Thank you! So many good ideas (which are all making me very hungry). It's such a great feeling to have most of your meal done before lunch.

By Conni on Friday, February 2, 2007 - 01:53 pm:

Ditto...I only cook my roasts on low in the crockpot. I put a layer of potatoes (sliced) on the bottom, then the roast (i put mine in thawed, but will certainly try it frozen next time, that's wonderful!! ), then onion (sliced) and water, beef broth, salt, pepper, tad of garlic powder...

I add carrots and celery toward the end of the day.

I put mine in the crock in the morning and it is done before dinner time...but by then the crock has kicked off and is on the *warm* mode.

By Andi on Friday, February 2, 2007 - 03:34 pm:

I just put some Pork Chops in the CP for dinner tonight...YUMMY!!!

By Tsa on Saturday, February 3, 2007 - 12:59 am:

Have you ever had Coke Roast? It is super yummy and Very Easy. Potatos, Roast then a can of coke and a package of onion soup mix. Yummy Yummy Yummy.

By Tunnia on Saturday, February 3, 2007 - 08:31 am:

I haven't read all the other posts so I'm sorry if I repeat anything, but have you checked the temperature of your crockpot? Maybe it runs hot. I have heard of that happening before, but have never had that problem. I have, however, had a problem with my roasts being dry. Typically, when that happens, it's because I cooked it too long and I seem to have the problem more if I cook on high. Also, make sure you have enough liquid in your crockpot and don't take the lid off while it's cooking. I also put all my veggies in the bottom and put the meat on top so that the veggies get cooked properly.