Instant Pot Roast

Every year at Thanksgiving time, our church hosts a Thanksgiving and Praise dinner.  It's always the Sunday before Thanksgiving and we boycott all turkey dishes so we're not tired of it on actual Thanksgiving day.  Instead, we make massive amounts of Pot Roast.  Huge, tender, fall apart roasts.  And they are delish.  That is where I got this recipe and it's eeeeeverything.  I choose to make mine in the Instant Pot because it literally melts in your mouth but if you don't have one you can easily make it in the oven or crock pot using the same recipe.  You would just need to adjust cooking times accordingly.  But seriously, just go getcha an Instant Pot.  You won't be sad.

1 (3-5lb) roast

1 packet of dry ranch dressing mix

1 packet of dry brown gravy mix

1 packet of dry Italian dressing mix

1 cup of beef broth (or water)

Olive oil

First, take our roast out of the fridge and let it get the chill off.  You want the meat to be a little chillier than room temp but not strait out of the fridge cold.

Set your Instant Pot to Sauté and let it get screaming hot.

While it's heating up, mix together all three packets of mixes until well combined.  

Rub the meat down with the spice mixture until it's well coated.  Really press it in there.  Try to use as much of it as you can.

When your Instant Pot is hot, drizzle a generous amount of olive oil in the bottom of the pot, making sure the bottom is completely coated (it will smoke...this is Ok).

Place the meat in the hot pot and sear the entire surface of the roast.  Top, bottom, sides...the whole thing.  Sear each side 3-5 minutes so you get a nice crust.

Once the meat has been seared, remove it from the pot and let it rest on a plate.  

Now take your cup of beef broth and carefully pour it into the hot pot and deglaze the pot, making sure you scrape all of the brown bits off of the bottom.  This will give you some incredible flavor but it will also let the Instant Pot come to pressure.  If you leave the brown bits on the bottom, your pot will never pressurize. 

Add the roast back into pot and if you have any leftover seasoning mix from when you coated the roast, dump it in there on top of the roast.  Don't waste a bit of it...it's so good!  Secure the lid, and place the valve to the Sealing position.  

Process on Manual, High pressure for 40 minutes.  Once the 40 minutes is complete, allow it to Natural Pressure Release for at least 20 minutes but you can let it go until it's completely released if needed.  (Avoid Quick Releasing at all costs.)

Remove the roast from the pot and allow it to rest for a few minutes before serving.  If you would like to make a gravy from the drippings (which you should) simply mix 2 tablespoons of cornstarch with 1/2 cup of water or milk and whisk it into the pot juices.  Turn the Instant Pot to the Sauté feature again and allow it to simmer until thickened.  I love serving this with a mixture of roasted potatoes, carrots, and onions.  Serve the gravy over the meat and veggies.