Beef roasts are the most underrated cuts, in my humble opinion! They are really quite simple to prepare when you have the right process. The shredded roast beef provides endless options to us in a variety of beef based meals, or is simply delicious all by itself. Montreal Roast beef was inspired by our love for McCormick’s Montreal Seasoning on steaks we grill in the summer months. The robust flavor does not disappoint, so I figured why not try to bring it to a roast? Needless to say, it was a hit! I hope you try it. 

You will need:

• 3 pound beef roast, defrosted
• 1.5 cups water OR beef broth
• ¼ – ½ cup, or one envelope, Montreal steak seasoning (McCormick)
• 1 sliced yellow onion

Be sure to remove your beef roast from the freezer 2-3 days before cooking it. You can safely defrost the roast by placing it in the refrigerator, I set it in a 9×13 pan on the lowest shelf in our refrigerator. 

Time to get this roast cooking! First you will slice up a large yellow onion. You do not have to slice it up too terribly small, it is simply to help bring additional flavor to the roast. Once you have the onion sliced, place it in the bottom of the slow cooker. 

After you have the onion in the slow cooker, place the defrosted roast on top of the onion. Now you will add the liquid. Water brings more than enough flavor to this recipe, in fact you will be left with a flavorful broth base when it is done. However, if you have beef broth on hand that can also be used for the liquid base. 1-1 ½ cups of liquid is more than enough. 

Finally, you will shake the Montreal seasoning over the top of the roast. We typically buy a large shaker size container of this seasoning at Sam’s Club, but I know you can buy it in a smaller envelope at most grocery stores. The McCormick brand is our favorite! 

If you plan to cook this roast in your pressure cooker, follow a similar process. Place the roast in the pressure cooker liner first. Top with the onion, liquid, and Montreal seasoning. You will need to be sure to use 1 ½ cups of liquid for this recipe in the pressure cooker. To cook, place the lid on top and set to ‘sealing’. You will pressure cook for 2 ½ hours and let the pressure naturally release.

Okay, back to the slow cooker. Once you have added the seasoning, place the lid on the slow cooker, set it to low and walk away! This roast will be ready in eight hours. When time is up, remove the roast from the slow cooker and place on a cutting board or a sheet pan. Use two forks to shred the beef, it should fall apart fairly easily. Add some of the onions and some of the drippings in with the beef for additional flavor. 

If you are going to enjoy the beef another day, save the drippings in a separate container and store in the refrigerator. You will notice as it cools that the fat separates to the top. Before you warm the shredded beef, remove that excess fat and add the drippings in with the beef. This will bring moisture and flavor into the meat and send it over the top with flavor! 

We LOVE this roast beef with a side of mashed potatoes or served on ciabatta rolls. It is a farmer-favorite harvest field meal as well.