Slow Cooker Balsamic Glazed Roast Beef – Recipe Review – Closet Cooking

While perusing through Pinterest, like I spend much of my day, I found a delicious looking recipe for Slow Cooker Balsamic Glazed Roast Beef. I pinned it, and kept it in mind for about two weeks before I finally went to the store and got the ingredients. 


I got a crock pot for Christmas last year, and not counting this meal, only used it once, so I was interested in trying out the recipe and excited to try a slow cooked pot roast. The meat came out nice and tender, and I found the recipe easy to follow with not too many ingredients called for. 


This would be a good recipe for a cold night. I felt like it was missing a little something. Perhaps if I did remake it, or something similar, I might make some white rice and just throw the carrots into the crock pot with the meat.

Feeds: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 9.5 hours of Slow Cooking

Ingredients:
     – 3 lbs Beef Roast – I used a Beef Chuck Pot Roast Boneless found at my local Publix. Was about $20 for it.
     – 4 cloves of garlic, chopped
     – 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
     – 1 cup beef broth – I used Swanson’s 100% Natural Beef Broth (of a 32oz)
     – 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar – I used Progresso’s Traditional Style Balsamic Vinegar (of a 12 oz bottle)
     – 2 tbsp soy sauce – We have a bottle in our fridge, but I would think you could also get away from with packets
     – 2 tbsp brown sugar
     – 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
     – 1 lb [baby] carrots
     – 1 lb mini potatoes
     – 2 tbsp cornstarch + 2 tbsp water

Ingredient Notes:
     Beef: Confession – I had no idea was a beef roast was… Hehe. But my boyfriend is very good at picking out meat and grilling so was no trouble for him when I told him what I needed. He’s says look at the color when choosing, and look for one without a lot of fat (among a few other things that I can’t remember at the moment).
     Balsamic Vinegar: Another confession – I had no idea was this was either! I found myself in the salad dressing aisle looking for a salad dressing that said “balsamic vinegar” on it, hehe. Right next to the salad dressing was the collection of vinegars, and here’s where I found the right one.
     Carrots: The recipe calls for baby carrots, but I just used half a bag of regular carrots, and cut them up to about baby carrot size. Keep in mind, the thicker the carrot, the longer it may need to cook.
     Potatoes: I found a box of garlic herb mini potatoes that were washed and ready to be cooked. They came in a container with a film across the top, and were meant to be microwaved. I just opened the container and threw them in the crock pot without the seasoning. Very convenient.
     Cornstarch: If you aren’t familiar with this, it’s found near the pancake and cornbread mix stuff.
     Additionally, the recipe calls for a large onion but since Todd doesn’t like onions, I omitted it as well as the 1 tbsp of oil since I did not brown my meat beforehand.


*All items not already in my pantry, were purchased from my local Publix. Not a sponsored post.

You’ll Also Need: 
     – Crock Pot – Mine is a 4 quart (tiny)
     – Spoon for Stirring
     – Knife for Chopping
     – Measuring Cup and Spoons
     – Sauce Pan for the Glaze
     – Skillet for Browning Meat
     – Slow Cooker Balsamic Glazed Roast Beef Recipe by Closet Cooking Recipe Notes:

     I did not brown my meat first – I just threw it into my crock pot, and started at Step 3. My crock pot is a small one meant for 2-4 people, so I had to cook my meal for about 9.5 hours to get everything to cook through all the way. I started on low for 8 hours, then switched to high and cooked for another hour and a half. At the 8 hour mark, the meat was pretty tender, but the carrots and potatoes still needed more time.

I transferred my potatoes, carrots and meat to a casserole dish while I tried to do the glaze with the cornstarch, but I didn’t find it thickening, and I was tired of waiting so I just poured the juices into the casserole dish with everything else.

I found the meat to fall apart, and the carrots and potatoes to be so soft and delicious, however, Todd didn’t end up eating much of the carrots and potatoes because they soaked up the vinegar, and he didn’t like the taste. He described it as vinegar exploding in your mouth when you bit into the carrots and potatoes. I didn’t find it to be as such, but if I were to make this dish again, I would omit the balsamic vinegar. 

I also would suggest when storing, to keep the juice in a separate container. You can always warm up and pour over your meat and veges – I did not like the combo together after spending the night in the fridge.

Overall, good basis for starting out with the crock pot.

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