Beef · Slow cooker

Kent Rollins Crock Pot Roast (Slow Cooker)

Kent Rollins talks you through a bottom round roast he tenderises with lime juice and a paprika rub, then sets to simmer in the crock pot with russet potatoes, carrots, and onions until the meat falls off the spoon. The broth at the bottom is the real prize: strain it, thicken it, and start on the bread first.

R By Richard · Adapted from Cowboy Kent Rollins · Published 23 June 2026
👁 335.3k source views ❤️ 13.7k source likes
⏱Prep 25 min
🍲Slow cook 8 hr (Low) / 6 hr (High)
🍽Serves 6
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An old family tradition from Kent Rollins: a bottom round roast rubbed with lime juice and a smoky paprika blend, studded with garlic cloves, and rested in the fridge before searing. It goes into the crock pot on a bed of broth with russet potato spears, carrots, onions, bay, and a chopped dried red pepper. Started on high, then dropped to low, the roast cooks until the meat gives way on a wooden spoon. The leftover broth strains down into a proper gravy with a splash of cornflour slurry.

Ingredients

Main
  • 1.76 kgbottom round beef roast
  • lime juice
  • garlic cloves, peeled, to embed in the roast
  • 480 mlbeef broth
  • 15 mlvegetable oil, for searing
Seasoning rub
  • smoked paprika
  • celery salt
  • garlic powder
  • Red River Ranch Original seasoning
  • coarse ground black pepper
Vegetables
  • 3 largerusset potatoes, skin on, halved then quartered into spears
  • 6carrots, peeled, topped, chunked (halved if large)
  • 2onions, chunked, not finely sliced
Aromatics
  • 2bay leaves, crumbled into the broth
  • 1dried red pepper, chopped fine

Method

  1. Rub the roast all over with lime juice to tenderise the meat.

    ~2 min

  2. Mix the smoked paprika, celery salt, garlic powder, Red River Ranch Original, and coarse ground black pepper into a seasoning blend. Rub most of it into the roast, holding back some for the vegetables later.

    ~3 min

  3. Poke three to nine holes into the roast with a knife, taking care not to push all the way through. Embed a peeled garlic clove into each hole.

    ~3 min

  4. Cover the roast with a plastic bag and rest in the fridge for at least 3 hours so the rub can work in.

    ~180 min

  5. Bring the roast out 30 minutes before cooking to come up to room temperature.

    ~30 min

  6. Pour 480 ml beef broth into the slow cooker and switch it on to high to preheat while you sear the roast.

    ~2 min

  7. Heat about a tablespoon of oil in a frying pan until it shimmers. Sear the roast fat side down first, then rotate to brown every side until a good crust forms.

    ~10 min

  8. Transfer the seared roast to the slow cooker, fat side down. Pack in the potato spears, carrots, and onion chunks around it. Crumble in the bay leaves, scatter the chopped dried red pepper across the top, and sprinkle over the reserved seasoning.

    ~5 min

  9. Lid on. Start on high to bring it up to a simmer, then turn down to low and cook for 6 to 8 hours, or stay on high for 5 to 6 hours, until the meat falls apart on a wooden spoon. Avoid lifting the lid; every check slows the cook down.

  10. Lift the vegetables and roast out to a serving pan. Strain the broth into a small saucepan, whisk a little cornflour with cold water into a slurry, and stir it in to thicken into gravy.

    ~10 min

Frequently asked

Why rub the roast with lime juice?
Lime juice is a natural meat tenderiser. It breaks down elasticity in the muscle without masking the beef flavour, which matters for a leaner cut like bottom round.
Which cut of beef works best?
Kent uses a bottom round for its marbling, flavour, and lower price. Chuck, sirloin tip, rump, top round, or inside round all work too. Flatter cuts like chuck will cook a bit faster and fall apart sooner.
Do I need to sear the roast first?
Yes. Slow cookers steam rather than brown, so a hard sear in a hot frying pan builds the crust and depth of flavour you can't get inside the pot.
How long should I cook it for?
Six to eight hours on low, or five to six hours on high. Kent ran his on high for five hours and finished on low for another hour and a half once the carrots had a little tooth still left.
Will the broth dry out?
Not with two cups of beef broth in there from the start. The roast also releases its own juices as it cooks. The extra broth is what gives you enough liquid to make gravy at the end.
Extraction notes (transparency): Quantities not stated in transcript and left null: lime juice (rubbed all over), smoked paprika, celery salt, garlic powder, Red River Ranch Original, coarse ground black pepper, garlic cloves (three to nine holes mentioned). Servings not stated; 6 is an estimate based on a 1.76 kg roast plus vegetables and is flagged for review.