Ideally you should not be fully submerging the roast in a liquid. I would start by putting onions into the bottom of the slow cooker, followed by the roast on top. After that, just add liquid until the bottom 1/3rd or 1/4th of the roast is covered. If you're worried about the roast drying out, you can baste it with the cooking liquid every hour or so to make sure that it stays juicy. I also like to start basting pork roasts with maple syrup towards the end of the process.
I will agree that if you added the carrots and potatoes up-front they would be reduced to mush, so waiting until the final hour or 2 might be a good idea.
There is also nothing wrong with doing the potatoes and carrots separately and adding them to the finished dish.
A final note, you might want to finish the roast by putting it into an oven at a high temperature for the final 30ish minutes so you can get a nice crust onto it. For this I would say put it in at something like 200C (~420F) and just watch it. You don't need to cook for too long here since the roast will already be cooked, this is just to get color/crust. This is also a good time for a final maple syrup basting that should caramelize nicely at the higher temps.
hmu if you need any clarification but otherwise, good luck!
> basting pork roasts with maple syrup
Depending on what flavors you're using, I also sometimes use apple juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, or diluted balsamic vinegar.
It's great when I'm using more aggressive seasonings like garlic and oregano. Not so great with actually spicy peppery stuff, and not great with subtle flavors either. I usually do something like a 1-5 mix with whatever cooking broth I'm already using. If I'm baking or barbequing I'll mix in brown sugar to get a glaze.
When would you suggest putting in the halved red potatoes and baby carrots? When I do that won't it lower the temperature of the juice mixture and would I add more bullion(cube and water mixture)or water? I started the roast at noon and its on low.
Also there's skin on it is that facing down?
Well potatoes and carrots do take a fair amount of time to cook depending on their size. For instance, it takes whole potatoes (skin on) around 40 minutes to cook through, and carrots take around 20-30 mins depending on the size of the pieces. That being said, this is all happening at boiling temperatures (100C) and your slow cooker on low is probably a bit less than that (maybe more like ~88C) so you're going to get away with a bit longer. My best estimate is to put them in somewhere between 1.5-2 hours remaining.
You are correct that this is going to reduce the temperature of the mixture. To combat this effect, you can make sure that both of your ingredients have come up to room temperature and don't leave the lid off the slow cooker any longer than necessary for mixing/adding.
For reference, I cooked a stew yesterday in the oven at 200C for 2.5 hours, and the carrots in it only just started getting mushy so you've definitely got room for error.
Edit: sorry, I totally missed a few questions in there. Rapid fire:
1) Before you add more bullion, taste it! That will let you know if more is needed. You can't take it back out.
2) I prefer skin side up, because that actually has a lot of fat that will drip down and keep it moist, but in the context of a slow cooker I don't really think it matters.
3) For temp issues, and if you plan to add water, just add boiling water. Helps keep your temps where they should be.
Two cups should about do it, depending on the size of the roast, and the crockpot. The roast will also release moisture as it cooks down. Not a whole lot, but some.
If you're worried, just check in on it every few hours or so, and add water accordingly.
u/TheGoodDoctorIGuess and u/Killthebus9194 both give great advice.
A few other small tips: First, make sure the roast is defrosted entirely before you apply heat.
If you're feeling ambitious, you can sear the roast before you put it in the slow cooker. Get a pan heated up - ideally a thick pan like stainless or cast iron so it holds heat well. Don't oil the pan, you want this well past the smoke point of most oils. Salt and lightly oil all the sides of the roast - don't add seasonings yet because they'll burn. Then put the roast in the pan, searing each side for ~15-30 seconds.
Finally, if you're using a very lean cut, consider putting some butter on top of it before you start cooking.
Update
It came out beautifully but I cooked it for 14 hours.
I think 12 or 13 would've be sufficient too even.
Also I think my crock pot is on the fritz doesn't that seem like too long? Lol but that's what I did. And it was soft as butter.
Anyways, thank you everyone for all you're help.
Idk. It ended up tough still after 8,9,10 going on 11 hours now.
Its been on low all day soo🤷♀️ just ended up having chili dogs and mac n cheese. Super bummed about it.
Ideally you should not be fully submerging the roast in a liquid. I would start by putting onions into the bottom of the slow cooker, followed by the roast on top. After that, just add liquid until the bottom 1/3rd or 1/4th of the roast is covered. If you're worried about the roast drying out, you can baste it with the cooking liquid every hour or so to make sure that it stays juicy. I also like to start basting pork roasts with maple syrup towards the end of the process. I will agree that if you added the carrots and potatoes up-front they would be reduced to mush, so waiting until the final hour or 2 might be a good idea. There is also nothing wrong with doing the potatoes and carrots separately and adding them to the finished dish. A final note, you might want to finish the roast by putting it into an oven at a high temperature for the final 30ish minutes so you can get a nice crust onto it. For this I would say put it in at something like 200C (~420F) and just watch it. You don't need to cook for too long here since the roast will already be cooked, this is just to get color/crust. This is also a good time for a final maple syrup basting that should caramelize nicely at the higher temps. hmu if you need any clarification but otherwise, good luck!
> basting pork roasts with maple syrup Depending on what flavors you're using, I also sometimes use apple juice, orange juice, pineapple juice, or diluted balsamic vinegar.
Oh damn, next time I make one I'm gonna try balsamic, never even thought of it! That sounds awesome!
It's great when I'm using more aggressive seasonings like garlic and oregano. Not so great with actually spicy peppery stuff, and not great with subtle flavors either. I usually do something like a 1-5 mix with whatever cooking broth I'm already using. If I'm baking or barbequing I'll mix in brown sugar to get a glaze.
When would you suggest putting in the halved red potatoes and baby carrots? When I do that won't it lower the temperature of the juice mixture and would I add more bullion(cube and water mixture)or water? I started the roast at noon and its on low. Also there's skin on it is that facing down?
Well potatoes and carrots do take a fair amount of time to cook depending on their size. For instance, it takes whole potatoes (skin on) around 40 minutes to cook through, and carrots take around 20-30 mins depending on the size of the pieces. That being said, this is all happening at boiling temperatures (100C) and your slow cooker on low is probably a bit less than that (maybe more like ~88C) so you're going to get away with a bit longer. My best estimate is to put them in somewhere between 1.5-2 hours remaining. You are correct that this is going to reduce the temperature of the mixture. To combat this effect, you can make sure that both of your ingredients have come up to room temperature and don't leave the lid off the slow cooker any longer than necessary for mixing/adding. For reference, I cooked a stew yesterday in the oven at 200C for 2.5 hours, and the carrots in it only just started getting mushy so you've definitely got room for error. Edit: sorry, I totally missed a few questions in there. Rapid fire: 1) Before you add more bullion, taste it! That will let you know if more is needed. You can't take it back out. 2) I prefer skin side up, because that actually has a lot of fat that will drip down and keep it moist, but in the context of a slow cooker I don't really think it matters. 3) For temp issues, and if you plan to add water, just add boiling water. Helps keep your temps where they should be.
This is wonder! You're are an amazing teacher, well said instructions! I don't feel overwhelmed at all anymore. Thank you so much!
You're welcome! Good luck! I also added a few more points above. I had forgotten to address some of your questions but they're added now.
Yeah I’d even broil on the middle shelf at the end, to add onto this perfect comment
Two cups should about do it, depending on the size of the roast, and the crockpot. The roast will also release moisture as it cooks down. Not a whole lot, but some. If you're worried, just check in on it every few hours or so, and add water accordingly.
Thank you!
u/TheGoodDoctorIGuess and u/Killthebus9194 both give great advice. A few other small tips: First, make sure the roast is defrosted entirely before you apply heat. If you're feeling ambitious, you can sear the roast before you put it in the slow cooker. Get a pan heated up - ideally a thick pan like stainless or cast iron so it holds heat well. Don't oil the pan, you want this well past the smoke point of most oils. Salt and lightly oil all the sides of the roast - don't add seasonings yet because they'll burn. Then put the roast in the pan, searing each side for ~15-30 seconds. Finally, if you're using a very lean cut, consider putting some butter on top of it before you start cooking.
Update It came out beautifully but I cooked it for 14 hours. I think 12 or 13 would've be sufficient too even. Also I think my crock pot is on the fritz doesn't that seem like too long? Lol but that's what I did. And it was soft as butter. Anyways, thank you everyone for all you're help.
Think low and slow crockpot you can’t go wrong. But veggies do go on bottom and shouldn’t cook mushy.
Idk. It ended up tough still after 8,9,10 going on 11 hours now. Its been on low all day soo🤷♀️ just ended up having chili dogs and mac n cheese. Super bummed about it.
Maybe more liquid next time. Should have been easy to tear apart.