This Instant Pot pot roast turns a tough chuck roast into tender, pull-apart beef in 70 minutes under pressure. The roast is seared, then cooked with beef broth, onion, carrots, fresh thyme, and a splash each of soy sauce, fish sauce, and Worcestershire for deep, savory flavor. It's a hearty supper for the cold nights around Samhain. Below the recipe, you'll find why beef belongs on the Samhain table, what each ingredient brings magically, and how to set a place for the ancestors.
Why Pot Roast Belongs on the Samhain Table
Pot roast belongs on the Samhain table because Samhain was the old season of the beef harvest. In Gaelic tradition, it was when cattle were brought down from the summer pastures and the animals that wouldn't make it through the winter were slaughtered. Fresh meat, a full table, and a warm fire marked the turn into the dark half of the year.
A slow-cooked roast carries that same feeling of plenty before winter. It's also an easy dish to share, which makes it a good choice for a dumb supper, the silent meal many practitioners hold for the dead on Samhain night, when the veil is thin.
Pot roast is made by slow-cooking a tough cut of beef in moist heat until it turns tender. Chuck roast is the classic cut. In the US, it's also called Yankee pot roast and is usually served with carrots, potatoes, and onions. A pressure cooker does in 70 minutes what an oven does in about 3 hours.
Magical Properties of the Ingredients
Everything in this pot leans toward grounding, protection, and strength for the winter ahead. Here is what each ingredient brings.
- Beef is for strength, prosperity, and abundance. A roast on the table is a sign that there's plenty to go around.
- Thyme is for courage and for honoring the dead. It has long been tied to remembrance, which makes it a fitting herb for Samhain.
- Carrots are for grounding. They grow down into the dark earth, the same direction your attention turns at this time of year.
- Onion is for protection. In many kitchen traditions, people set out cut onions to absorb negative energy.
- Olive oil comes from the olive tree, a symbol of peace since ancient Greece. Practitioners use it for peace and blessing.
- Salt is protection and purification.
- Black pepper is a fire spice for protection and for clearing away what you don't want to carry into winter.
- Soy sauce, fish sauce, and Worcestershire sauce are all fermented, and fermenting is a slow transformation. They give the broth its depth.
For a fuller Samhain table, serve this alongside our beef and butternut squash stew, a vegetable pot pie, or a bowl of pumpkin soup.
How to Make Pot Roast in the Instant Pot
To make pot roast in the Instant Pot, season a chuck roast with salt and pepper, sear it on the sauté setting, add beef broth, onion, carrots, thyme, soy sauce, fish sauce, and Worcestershire sauce, then pressure cook for 70 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.
Instant Pot Pot Roast
Ingredients
- 2 ½ to 3 pounds chuck roast
- salt and black pepper to taste
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cups beef broth
- 3 to 4 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 onion quartered
- 6 to 8 carrots cut into 2-inch pieces
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
Instructions
- Season the roast with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil on the Sauté setting and sear the roast for about 4 minutes per side, until browned.
- Pour in the beef broth and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom so the Instant Pot doesn't show a burn warning. Add everything else to the pot.
- Close the lid, set the valve to sealing, and pressure cook on high for 70 minutes.
- Let the pressure release naturally, about 20 minutes.
- Serve the roast with the carrots and the cooking liquid.
Notes
- Remove the thyme stems before serving. The leaves will have fallen into the broth.
- The cooking liquid makes a good gravy. Simmer it on the Sauté setting until it thickens, or stir in a cornstarch slurry.
- Leftovers keep for 4 days in the fridge and make good sandwiches.
- Homemade Instant Pot bone broth works anywhere this recipe calls for broth.
How to Set a Place for the Ancestors
You can make this pot roast part of a Samhain supper that honors your ancestors by setting a place for them at the table. Here's how.
- Set an extra place before you serve. Add a plate, a fork, and a glass for those who came before you. A photo or a candle can sit at that place too.
- Name who you're cooking for as the thyme goes in. Thyme is tied to remembrance, so it's a good moment to say the names of loved ones who have passed.
- Serve the first portion to the empty plate. While you set it down, recite:
Root and roast and fire's glow,
welcome home the ones we know.
- Leave the plate out overnight. In the morning, set the food outside for the wildlife or return it to the earth.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Long Do You Cook a Pot Roast in the Instant Pot?
You cook a 2 1/2- to 3-pound pot roast in the Instant Pot for 70 minutes on high pressure, then let the pressure release naturally for about 20 minutes. Allow about 1 hour 45 minutes from start to finish, including searing and the time it takes the pot to come up to pressure.
Do I Have to Sear the Roast First?
No, you don't have to sear the roast first, but it adds a lot of flavor. Searing browns the outside of the meat, and those browned bits flavor the whole pot.
Why Did My Instant Pot Say "Burn"?
Your Instant Pot said "burn" because browned bits from searing stuck to the bottom of the pot. Pour in the broth right after searing and scrape the bottom clean with a wooden spoon before you seal the lid.
What Is the Best Cut for Pot Roast?
Chuck roast is the best cut for pot roast. It's a tough, well-marbled cut from the shoulder that turns tender with slow, moist cooking. Bottom round and short ribs also work.
Can I Add Potatoes?
Yes, you can add potatoes. Use waxy potatoes like Yukon Gold, cut into large chunks, so they hold their shape through the long cook.
A warm pot of beef on the darkest nights of the year is a way of saying there's enough, for the living and for those we remember.
