When you're making pot roast, do you take off all visible fat?

[Rebecca VA]

I recently started making pot roast for the first time in my life. It was just never something I ate growing up, and I had no idea how to make it. It wasn't until I saw someone making it at their home that I decided it was doable.

 

Anyway, when I buy the meat at the store, three sides are lean and the fourth side has a thick layer of skin and fat. The fat is about 1/4 inch thick with even thicker chunks of lard-like fat here and there.

 

Should I remove the fat before cooking the meat? That's what I'm currently doing, but I wonder if that's what other people do.

[Holly IN]

No I do not cut off the fat before cooking. The fat is very good for cooking as it keeps the meat very moist especially with pot cooking. If you do not want to eat the fat then take it off AFTER you cook the meat. ;)

 

Holly

[nukeswife]

Well first off if you're buying this at a typical grocery store, it shouldn't have any skin on it at all, maybe that's just hardened fat. As to if you should trim it off. I don't, I usually make my pot roast in the crock pot and just chuck some cut up potatoes and carrots in the bottom, toss in the hunk of meat and mix 2 packets of lipton onion soup mix with about a cup of beef stock and pour that on top. Cook on high for about 4 hours or until it falls apart.

[WiseOwlKnits]

Yes, I always cut the fat off the bottom. It makes for a leaner roast.

[Matryoshka]

I don't know that you're "supposed" to - I think conventional wisdom was what the PP said: that the fat made it tasty and moist - but I can't stand the thought of cooking it with all that fat, so I cut most of it off. My pot roasts still come out tasty and moist. :D

Edited April 16, 2011 by matroyshka

[Swirl]

If there is a lot of marbling I cut it off. If not, I leave it.

Edited April 16, 2011 by Swirl

[Gratia271]

It there is a lot of marbling I cut it off. If not, I leave it.

:iagree: It adds flavor and can be trimmed prior to serving.

[Swirl]

Are you cooking in the crockpot or oven?

[Matryoshka]

Are you cooking in the crockpot or oven?

 

I would posit that if it's in the oven, it's roast beef, not pot roast. ;)

[Veritaserum]

I cut it off for the crock pot, but leave it on and trim it before serving if I roast it in the oven. :)

[Swirl]

I would posit that if it's in the oven, it's roast beef, not pot roast. ;)

 

In my neck of the woods you can make "pot roast" in a dutch oven or a crock pot. Also, not all roasts are beef. ;)

[OLG]

If there is a lot of marbling I cut it off. If not, I leave it.

 

 

This.

[TheAutumnOak]

No I do not cut off the fat before cooking. The fat is very good for cooking as it keeps the meat very moist especially with pot cooking. If you do not want to eat the fat then take it off AFTER you cook the meat. ;)

 

Holly

 

:iagree: This was my answer!

[MamaT]

No I do not cut off the fat before cooking. The fat is very good for cooking as it keeps the meat very moist especially with pot cooking. If you do not want to eat the fat then take it off AFTER you cook the meat. ;)

 

Holly

 

That is how I do it, too.

[Rebecca VA]

OK, here's what I'm currently doing. Please let me know if this sounds weird to you.

 

I take a 1-1/2 to 2 lb. hunk of roast meat and cut all visible fat off (within reason -- at some point it feels as though I'm tearing the meat apart). Then I sear all the sides in my Dutch oven. I put in one cup of dried assorted beans and one cup of long-grain brown rice, along with some sauteed onions. I then add 32 oz. of beef broth and bring it all to a boil.

 

After the mixture boils, I put it in the oven at about 300-350 degrees. It cooks for a few hours with the cover on. Then I put in sliced carrots and celery, salt, pepper, and oregano. I let it cook another hour or so, checking to make sure the roast isn't drying out. Then I slice the roast and serve it with the vegetables, rice, and beans.

 

Please critique this recipe and let me know what you think. I'm sort of basing it on what my friend did when she was making roast one day.

[cjzimmer1]

While I'm sure that would work to make a tasty meal, it's not at all what I would call pot roast. Pot roast is beef (usually a chuck roast but I know a few other cuts work as well), potatoes, carrots and onions (or onion soup), and something for salt (onion soup mix, beef boullion, seasoning salt, etc). On rare occasions I have seen celery with it. But rice, beans and oregano for seasonings are not things that would go in a traditional pot roast (again not saying it will taste bad but then it's stew or something else not pot roast).

[Karen in CO]

I always brown my meat on all sides, no matter how awkward it is to get it to stand on that funny corner. It adds to the flavor and takes care of big, icky fat pieces.

[chickenpatty]

I know it's bad, but I leave the fat on. It tastes so much better that way. (Although, if it's a big ole hunk of fat, which, it wouldn't be anyway, cuz I wouldn't have bought it like that, I'll cut it off.) :)

[Matryoshka]

In my neck of the woods you can make "pot roast" in a dutch oven or a crock pot. Also, not all roasts are beef. ;)

 

You're right! I didn't even consider the Dutch oven possibility, as I've never done that - I use either the crock pot, or a pot on the stove for pot roast. I use a different cut of meat for an oven roast (and just roast it in a pan, not a pot, that's why I have this false dichotomy) :)

 

I've used meats other than beef in the oven (roast ______), but not for pot roast... When I think pot roast, I think beef.

[Matryoshka]

I always brown my meat on all sides, no matter how awkward it is to get it to stand on that funny corner. It adds to the flavor and takes care of big, icky fat pieces.

 

:iagree: You have to sear/brown the meat. I usually do it in my big honkin' cast iron fry pan and then transfer the meat to the pot to cook the rest of the way. The searing keeps the juices in (and that way you can cut the fat off and still have a tender roast...)

[Desert Rat]

I don't remove the fat but I do braise the meat in a pan first.

[JFSinIL]

My dad taught me to leave the meat fat side up when roasting - think of it as a built-in baster. We do trim it off before eating, though.

Dad used to sear the meat on all sides, too, before roasting - I find that if I have the meat on a rack in a low pan (just to catch drips) instead of a big pot or covered roasting pan I get the same nice brown effect all over the meat with far less mess and fuss over searing it first. I tend to roast to medium, too, and slice thin - we like our roasts pink inside.

Dad's pot roast in a covered dutch oven was always gray through and through - tasty, but hubby prefers the way I roast it.

Edited April 17, 2011 by JFSinIL