I try to find a small roast, maybe 1.5 pounds and not much bigger. I cook it with one large potato, a couple packages of those baby carrots, one full red onion. Occasionally, I'll toss in a full container of sliced mushrooms, or a full frozen package of Brussels Sprouts. Those last two items are always last minute whims and if they're available. The first three are always.
Prepare the roast as usual then thoroughly sear all sides in the very hot cooker, in small amount of olive oil, lid ajar. Remove roast to a plate, put the basket in the bottom of the cooker, return roast and surround it with all the cubed veggies. All the time, the cooker is sitting on a very hot stove (heat is key), so this needs to be done rather quickly, meaning everything must be ready in advance. Now, pour about 2 or 2.5 cups of hot water over all of it, seal the lid and put the rocker on top.
With the heat on very near the highest stove setting, watch the cooker until the rocker begins to gently rock, slowly reducing heat, but never much below the highest setting. You want the rocker to rock back and forth, not dance all over the lid. When the rocking starts, I start the timing. For a roast done just the way I like it, I give it about 12 minutes per pound. Less time will produce more rare, more time more done. So the 1.5 pound roast I do gets only about 18 minutes, usually a little less. Remove immediately from the stove burner and place on a cold burner. It will typically take 15 to 20 minutes for the cooker to cool enough to cause the safety lock to drop.
That's the earliest you can open the lid. The cooking takes place all the while it is cooling. Remove the roast and veggies. Here's a tip from Neeka: Tent the roast tightly under a foil cover and make gravy. The roast and veggies can sit in a warm oven while gravy is made. Slice roast and enjoy. Hope I haven't left anything out. This is the way I do it. |
