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When I put a lamb roast on, I rub it in salt, put a few dabs of garlic and pour two glasses of red wine in, and leave it in the slow cooker for 8 hours. Everyone who has never tried this before says it is the most amazing lamb roast they've ever tasted. People who have tasted this before, say this is the 'standard' way to do a lamb roast. (assume 2kg leg of lamb).

When I try the equivalent with a beef roast (2kg leg, rub in salt, 2 glasses of red wine, leave to roast for eight hours) the result is ok, but leaves something to be desired. The result is a little dry on top, and soggy at the bottom. I feel like there is a 'standard' way to cook a beef roast that I'm missing. (My mother suggested perhaps it needed some beef stock).

rumtscho
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hawkeye
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  • Recipe requests are unfortunately off-topic here. If you alter your question to be more specific - 'How can I improve the flavour and texture of slow-cooked beef' for example - it will be more likely to remain open and get decent answers. – ElendilTheTall Oct 07 '14 at 11:50
  • Thanks, that's helpful. I've taken your advice and updated the question. – hawkeye Oct 07 '14 at 12:30
  • I think Elendil gave you the correct direction, but his suggestion wasn't meant to be taken literally. The wording "how to improve roast" is way too broad and would be closed. I changed the title to reflect the only concrete problem you mention in the text. If you are experiencing more problems, you can edit them in there. But a general invitation for "it's OK, what can I change nevertheless to make it better" is not accepted on the site. – rumtscho Oct 07 '14 at 13:01
  • Why add so much liquid??!!! your are roasting, not braising; if for the sauce, then add the wine to the pan when the roast is resting. – Max Oct 07 '14 at 14:47
  • Thanks Max - could you help me understand why it is different to a lamb roast? – hawkeye Oct 09 '14 at 01:33

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Lamb meat is tougher and more fatty than your typical beef roast. 2 cups of red wine is a lot of acidic liquid and that can eat away at the meat as to tenderize it.

Your mother may be right, some beef stock to thin out the alcohol may in fact do the trick. Also, rotating the roast would be a good idea as well since a beef roast will dry out at the top because it's not as fatty as lamb. I would typically rotate my roast every now and again if I'm not using an electric rotisserie. I definitely recommend an electric rotisserie for beef roasts.

Chef Pharaoh
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  • Sorry - one more question - should I wrap the Beef in foil in the slow roaster - or can it live without it? – hawkeye Oct 10 '14 at 02:51
  • I wouldn't bother with foil, but if you don't want to rotate it you could do that or put a perforated tray or rack under the roast to prevent the sogginess. And the foil would kind of take away from the effect of having the 2 cups of wine in there. – Chef Pharaoh Oct 10 '14 at 02:57
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    I should've added, lamb and beef are not very interchangeable, so what works for one may not work for the other. – Chef Pharaoh Oct 10 '14 at 03:06