How To Prevent Roast Beef From Becoming Tough In Your Instant Pot

Every home cook looks forward to a tender and juicy meat dish when preparing roast beef in an Instant Pot. This small kitchen appliance does everyone a big favor by cutting down the long wait of preparing pot roast into a blissful brief hour (or less) of cooking. But if your beef ends up tough, dry, and unappealing, now that's not something to look forward to. To prevent a chewy beef steak, you need to avoid using too much high-pressure heat.

Of course, start with pressure cooking your roast (that's why you're using the Instant Pot anyway), but keep that high-pressured phase to a few minutes only. Then once your dish heats up and starts cooking, allow the natural release of the pressure, during which time your meat continues braising at a slow pace. To ensure this balance is achieved, cook your meat at high pressure for two to three minutes and then allow a natural release for 20 to 30 minutes. With that, you can easily achieve a juicy, medium-rare chuck roast.

This strategy works to prevent overcooking your chuck roast, which is one reason why your beef could end up chewy. Otherwise, if your meat ends up tough due to undercooking, that's easy to fix; just return the beef to the pot and let it cook a little longer.

Tenderizing your meat doesn't only happen during the cooking phase. Way before you switch on your Instant Pot, there's something you can do to set yourself up for a tender and juicy dish. The trick is in selecting the perfect cut of meat for pot roast.

Cuts with extensive fat and connective tissue distribution are the best for this low and slow style of cooking, as the fat keeps the whole chunk of meat moist, unlike leaner beef. So while at the grocers, we recommend you purchase beef chuck, brisket, or bottom round. The fact that these happen to be the cheapest and toughest cuts of meat makes preparing roast beef even more convenient and affordable.

So with your tough meat ready and your choice of vegetables assembled, you can pull out your Instant Pot and get ready to whip up a nice and tender dish for dinner. Just remember what we've discussed about avoiding excessive high-pressure heat, and your Instant Pot roast will be as tender as you like it.