Rye Whiskey Rump Roast

Posted on by Jeff the Chef

The rye whiskey in this rump roast gives it a great flavor – very special, distinctive, and delicious. I served it with green beans and roasted squash, in addition to the potatoes and carrots I cooked it with. Quite a meal! Plus, loads of delicious leftovers!

Rump Roast
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Rump Roast

Recipe by Make It Like a Man!Course: Dinner
Makes

9

servings
Prep time

16

minutes
Cooking time

2

hours 

10

minutes
Total time

2

hours 

26

minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 cup beef broth

  • 3 cloves garlic, minced

  • 2 Tbs Worchestershire

  • 2 tsp rosemary

  • 2 tsp thyme

  • 1 tsp onion powder

  • 1 rump roast, 1½ lbs.

  • ¾ tsp Kosher salt

  • ¼ tsp coarse black pepper

  • 2 Tbs olive oil

  • ½ cup rye whiskey

  • 4 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 2-inch segments, larger segments halved width-wise

  • 1½ lbs. baby yellow potatoes

  • 8 oz. button mushrooms, sliced

  • 1 Tbs cornstarch

  • 2 Tbs cold water

  • 1 generous Tbs tomato paste

  • 1 generous tsp spicy brown mustard

  • Parsley, chopped, for garnish

Directions

  • Stir together the broth, garlic, Worchestershire, rosemary, thyme, and onion powder. Set aside.
  • Set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ, more (20 minutes). Meanwhile, dry the roast thoroughly with paper towels. Mix the salt and pepper together, and use all of it to season the roast all over. When you get the “hot” indication on the Instant Pot, add oil. Lift the inner pot and swirl it around so the bottom is fully coated with oil, put it back into the outer pot, then sear the roast on all sides, about 5 minutes each for the top and bottom of the roast, and about 6 minutes to work your way around the sides. Remove the roast from the pan and immediately add the rye. Vigorously and thoroughly deglaze the pan, then immediately add the broth mixture and CANCEL the sauté.
  • Add the roast back to the pan. Surround and top it with the potatoes, carrots, and mushrooms.
  • Set the pot to MEAT/STEW, more (15 minutes), high (pressure); Natural Release for 15 minutes. Remove the roast from the pot with long-handled tongs, and place it on a cutting board, same-side-down as it was in the pot. Pour the remaining contents of the pot into a sieve that is resting in a large mixing bowl. Turn the roast upside down and return it to the pot. Remove and set aside the carrots, if they’re done to your liking. Return the rest of the sieve’s contents as well as all the liquid to the pot.
  • Set the pot to MEAT/STEW, more (15 minutes), high (pressure); Natural Release for 15 minutes. Remove the roast from the pot with long-handled tongs, and place it on a cutting board, same-side-down as it was in the pot. Pour the remaining contents of the pot into a sieve that is resting in a large mixing bowl. Turn the roast upside down and return it to the pot. Remove and set aside the potatoes, if they’re done to your liking. Return the rest of the sieve’s contents as well as all the liquid to the pot.
  • Set the pot to MEAT/STEW, more (15 minutes), high (pressure); Natural Release for 15 minutes. Is the roast fork tender? If not, flip it, and re-set the pot once again for MEAT/STEW, more (15 minutes), high (pressure); Natural Release for 15 minutes. Repeat this step until the roast is fork tender.
  • Remove the roast to a cutting board. Set the Instant Pot to SAUTÉ and accept its default settings. Mix the cornstarch with the water. Spoon in ¼-cup of the liquid from the pot, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring thoroughly after each addition. Whisk the cornstarch mixture into the pot and continue to whisk vigorously until the mixture thickens to a gravy. CANCEL the sauté. Stir in tomato paste and mustard. Season to taste. Use two forks to rip the roast into large, one- or two-bite pieces and stir them back into the pot. Ladle some of the gravy onto the potatoes and carrots, toss, and add them to the pot. Close the lid, and allow the KEEP WARM function to reheat the carrots and potatoes. Garnish servings with parsley.

Notes

  • I developed this recipe for a six-quart Instant Pot. If using a different size or type of pot, you may need to make modifications.
"Rye Whiskey Rump Roast," from Make It Like a Man!

Social Learning

Once you’ve made this recipe, and figured out just exactly how much time it takes to get the carrots and potatoes right for you, you can adjust the length of the first two Instant Pot cooking segments to your preferences. I like my carrots to still taste like carrots, and I try to avoid having them as soft as baby food. I like the potatoes to be “creamy,” but not disintegrating.

Beautiful leftover. Use kitchen shears to snip everything into bite-size pieces, microwave it, then toss with a bit of butter and a small pinch of salt.

Cooking advice:

Be patient! The roast will be tough until it finally isn’t. If you can’t easily pull it apart with two forks, it needs more cooking.

Once you have the potatoes and carrots out, you may be tempted to do the rest of the Instant Pot time in one fell swoop, but I suggest you do it in fifteen-minute segments, so that you can flip the roast. It’ll be more tender this way. As an alternative, I think you could double the gravy ingredients, which would submerge more of the roast in the cooking liquid, which would result in a more tender roast. But I think that twice as much gravy is too much. Although you could ladle out the extra gravy and repurpose it. Lots of options.

Understanding the Instant Pot

The Instant Pot’s “Less,” “Normal,” and “More” settings are confusing, because their function changes depending on the cooking program. For programs that don’t involve pressure, such as Sauté, Keep Warm, Slow Cook, and Yogurt, they adjust temperature. So, you might use Sauté “Less” for simmering, thickening, or reducing liquids; “Normal” for general sautéing; and “More” for stir-frying or searing. For pressure cooking programs, “Less,” “Normal,” and “More” are time presets. “Meat/Stew” is one of these. If you dedicate its “Less” setting to smaller cuts, or meat that you want to be “less done,” and dedicate “More” to lager cuts, or “falling off the bone,” then once you got the timers set where you want them, they’ll become the defaults, and you can cook you next, say, pot roast with the press of a single button, more or less. 

There is some nuance, however. “Smart Programs” like Meat/Stew have a subtle difference in how the cooker heats up and maintains pressure. Meat/Stew is specifically programmed to use a heating cycle optimized for breaking down tough proteins. This supposedly involves a slightly different temperature maintenance or ramp-up phase than the generic “Pressure Cook” function.

​Many experienced Instant Pot users tend to use the “Pressure Cook” button for almost everything, but I tend to like to use the Smart Programs

"Rye Whiskey Rump Roast," from Make It Like a Man!
Rye Whiskey Rump Roast

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32 thoughts on “Rye Whiskey Rump Roast”

  4. I agree, I like my carrots to taste like carrots and my potatoes not too mushy. Also, that was a great tip for using kitchen shears to cut up the roast in preparation for reheating. Genius!

    Reply

  6. I love cooking with all variety of whiskies — they do add great depth and flavor. This rump roast is on the list for us. I love how you say that it is tough until it suddenly isn’t! SO true!

    Reply

  10. Wow, that rye whiskey addition sounds incredible! I love how thorough you are with the Instant Pot steps, it makes even a tricky roast feel totally doable. Definitely bookmarking this for a weekend dinner when I want something rich, hearty, and a little boozy!

    Reply

  12. Wow! What a perfect meal for the weather! I can just imagine digging into this while it snows lightly outside. I really like the way you break down the Instant Pot features, well done and easy to understand why you chose the specific programs.

    Reply

  14. Very warming and yummy, Jeff. When I make a roast, I usually just do it without veggies, potatoes…just meat. And sometimes when I have to add veggies there, they usually end up in the bin.

    Reply

    1. Thanks, Angie. I know what you mean – especially if the reason you toss them is that they get overcooked.

      Reply

  15. Oh now this is my kind of comfort food! This looks like the perfect plate (bowl?) for a snowy Chicago weeknight. And the rye whiskey twist is a fun one. I’m pretty sure we have a bottle or two of rye on the shelf. 🙂

    Reply

    1. I’m telling you, the rye is a great flavor for the roast. Definitely try it with any roast. And yes, thanks for noticing that bowl! It’s a shallow pasta bowl that is indeed almost but not quite a plate.

      Reply

  16. Hola, gracias por tu comentario en mi Blog. Esta guiso tiene un color espectacular, lo que indica que su sabor debe estar delicioso. Ese toque de whiskey es todo un acierto para potenciar el sabor. Saludos.

    Reply

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