Melt in your mouth delicious, this unique collection of ingredients makes the most wonderful pot roast! Serve with mashed potatoes and carrots on a bed of steamed spinach for a wonderfully simple mid-week meal. This dish is great comfort food for a chilly day. It was a family favorite growing up – we made it in the slow cooker and as an adult I adapted it for the instant pot.
Ingredients
-
- 1 medium onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 4-5 pound boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 4-6 pieces
- 1-2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup Hoisin Sauce
- 6 pitted prunes, halved or 3 medium fresh plums, sliced
Set your Instant Pot to the sauté function, and when the indicator reads HOT, add the vegetable oil. Sear/brown the beef chunks in the oil for about 2 minutes, in batches if necessary, to avoid overcrowding the pot. Add the onion pieces on top of the meat once it is browned. Combine water and hoisin sauce and pour over all. Top with prunes (or plums). Place the lid on the Instant Pot and cook on high pressure (make sure the steam release handle is in the “sealing” position for 30 minutes. After the cooking is complete, allow a natural release of the steam for 10 minutes, then push the steam release handle to the venting position (using a long handled spoon if too hot to touch) to allow the remaining steam to completely release before you open the pot.
(Garnish with something green like parsley or chives if you like)
Note: If you prefer to make this recipe in the slow cooker, brown the beef on the stove (cut roast in half, not into 4-6 pieces), then add to the slow cooker on top of the onions. Pour water/hoisin sauce mixture over all and top with the dried plums. Cook, covered, on the low slow-cooker setting until meat is tender, approximately 8 hours.
