You might have noticed I haven’t posted an Instant Pot recipe in a while. I was in Georgia, visiting over the holidays, and no Instant Pot. Honestly, I went through withdrawal! But when I got back, and met a friend at Panera, I knew exactly what I wanted to make next! A 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast Medium Rare. So I could copycat the famous Panera Steak & White Cheddar Panini.

Or so I could make a few other things! This was the same friend I cooked with when we made the Roasted Sweet Potato and Brussels Sprouts and the Broccoli, Ham & Cheese Quiche. The best thing we did that day was recreate Panera’s Steak & White Cheddar Panini. And then later in the week, I made French Dips (a childhood fave!) The French Dips are included in the recipe, below) and they were pretty awesome, too.

About 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast:

First, before we could make either sandwich, we needed the beef! Let’s talk about the 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast. It’s like the “Mother” recipe and the Panini & French Dip, the “child” recipes, so making this roast was really utilizing planned leftovers.

While we’re mentioning leftovers, there are lots of other ways to refashion your Leftover Beef, too. Leftover Roast is like the gift that keeps on giving, if you know how to use it and work with it. If you’re interested, make sure you click that link!

But back to this roast. Rump Roast was on sale, two for one, so it was an obvious no-brainer. The Rump usually isn’t my first choice in a roast. It’s a little dense, it’s lean, and if it’s not perfectly cooked and on the rare side, it can be dry, tough & chewy. On the plus side: the price was great, and when cooked just right, it can be fantastic. And as you can see, the Instant Pot cooks up that roast just right.

French Dip Sandwiches from 30 minute Instant Pot Roast Beef

Cooking 30 Minute Total Time Instant Pot Roast:

There is no peeking with the Instant Pot, so it helps to have a little flexibility in your expectations. There’s a range of doneness when a roast comes out of the Instant Pot, but if rare isn’t your thing, slice and immerse those slices in the au jus in the bottom of the pot to gently cook a minute or two longer in the residual heat. That will gently cook it to your desired wellness and still keep it tender.

When pressure cooking, the timing isn’t just about weight, it’s also about shape. Thicker roasts will be less rare than smaller ones, even when cooked for the same amount of time. It’s really counter-intuitive – you might expect that a thicker roast would be rarer. After all, it would be if it were cooked in the oven.

This timing and method for Instant Pot Roast will work for a wide range of roasts, though I haven’t made one that was over about 4 1/2″ inches thick. Just follow the instructions in the recipe closely.

The Roast:

Let’s talk first about the on sale Rump roast I used. The Rump Roast is a cut from the Bottom Round, found on the rear leg of the cow. That’s a pretty big muscle. You have basically three options for cooking:

• Braise it, like this Slow Cooker Barbacoa, in a slow or pressure cooker or in the oven until it is literally falling apart.
• Slice it and pound the heck out of it, like I do for several recipes for other parts of the Round, for instance Chicken Fried Steak & Beef Roulades. (See my Beef menu.)
• Sear it, roast it (or in this case, pressure cook it) until it’s just medium rare. You can go rarer, but going to the point of medium or over is going to give you dry, tasteless beef. Sharpen up those knives and slice thinly against the grain.

As you can see, The Instant Pot came to the rescue, turning out a gorgeous, medium rare roast. In minutes. And along with that beef came a flavorful, onion-y au jus for dipping and caramelized onions to lay on top of the French Dips. I was very happy with the way my Instant Pot turned that cheap cut into something gorgeous: my Instant Pot Roast Beef.

30 minute Instant Pot Roast, medium rare

Saving Money:

Since these roasts were about 6 pounds, I divided the one I used into two. You’ll generally want to count on about 6 ounces per person, and a little less when refashioning into something like sandwiches. Two &  half pounds = 40 ounces. Divided by 6 ounces per person, it’s 6 1/2 servings. Three pounds would be 8 servings.

That’s enough for a meal and a few leftovers especially if those meals/leftovers are cost conscious like my French Dips and Panera Copycats were.. And leftovers let you “cost average” the price of this beef over two meals. That’s economizing for the win!

While sales on beef sometimes happen sporadically, there are times of the year when you might expect to find some great sales. And FYI, that is generally NOT going to be in the summer months when the more inexpensive areas of the beef that would normally be cut into roasts are often used to meet the summertime’s increased demand for ground beef.

• Look for good pricing in the fall, after the cattle go to market. Beef is seasonal and the fall pricing reflects that.
• The other great time to look for these cheaper roasts is after holidays when ‘fancy” roasts are featured. Look for great sales on cheaper roasts in January after the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays. They have to do something else with the rest of the beef.B

Bottom line to save money, get yourself a freezer and pay attention to the cycyles of sales. Stock up at a low.

30 minute Instant Pot Roast, medium rare (mostly)

30 Minute (total time) Instant Pot Roast Medium Rare

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• Author: mollie kirby
• Total Time: 40 minutes
• Yield: varies
• Category: Main Dish Beef
• Method: Instant Pot

Ingredients

Scale 1x2x3x

I apologize that I call this a 30 minute roast, because I realized after the post was all done and set that you need a few additional minutes to saute & bring up to pressure. So it’s more like a 38 minute roast!

• 1 small rump roast, 2 1/2 to 3 pounds
• Montreal Steak Seasoning or another seasoning blend of choice
• 2 tablespoons oil
• 1 onion, sliced thinly
• 1 cup strong beef broth, au jus or Consommé, divided; reserve the rest of the can for serving (see note)

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Instructions

Rub roast with Montreal Steak seasoning, as little or as much as you’d like.

Add oil to Instant Pot and turn to Saute, High. When hot, add roast and brown on all sides. Remove roast, add broth and scrape any bits off the bottom. Add onions in a pile, do not stir. Add the roast on top, centering it in the middle, right on top of the onions.

Cancel out the Saute function, add lid, seal and turn Instant Pot on to High Pressure, using the Manual function, for 4 minutes. Do not choose (or else cancel out) the Keep Warm function.

When the four minutes of pressure cooking time is up, leave the roast in the pot, and set a timer for 20 minutes. (Most IP’s will not “count up” as they usually do because the keep warm function is not selected, so you will need to manually time.) If there is any remaining pressure after the 20 minutes is up, do a quick release. (Remove the roast immediately when that 20 minute time is up; do not let it sit any longer in the IP.)

Rest for several minutes and carve. If the roast is rarer than you’d like, add the slices back into the hot au jus to gently cook to the desired doneness. Turn the instant pot back on to Saute and choose Low if the au jus needs to be heated.

Serve with au jus. If more au jus is desired, add the remainder of the broth from the can.

Note: I love scratch cooking but there’s no shame in adding what’s needed to get an intense flavor for the au jus. I like to add a little Johnny’s French Dip au Jus. Just a touch, by taste. Any remainder can be divided into ice-cube trays and frozen for the next roast.

French Dip Sandwiches:

• 4 small French Baguettes or 1 large baguette cut into four portions, wrapped in foil and warmed in 300-degree F. oven for about 10 minutes if desired
• 10 to 12 ounces thinly sliced roast beef, above (basically as much or as little as you’d like)
• Cheese, if desired, one to two slices per sandwich, Provolone is great
• Au Jus from roast

If more au jus is desired, add extra broth to the onions and sauce in the instant pot.

Dip roast beef into warm au jus in Instant Pot. If you’d like your Roast Beef cooked a little more, leave in the au jus until the desired doneness. Lay on sliced French Baguette. Add cheese on top of hot beef if desired. Add onions from the au jus on top of the beef.

Divide au jus among 4 bowls and serve with sandwiches.

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I’ll be linking up this week at Fiesta Friday 208. Be sure to stop by and see all the posts. 🙂