Most roasts can be pot roasted but not all roasts can be oven roasted.
Roasts that can be oven roasted are:
Top Round, Back Rump Roast, Eye Round Roast, Sirloin Tip Roast, Tri Tip Roast, Rib Roast, Fillet Mignon and Bnls Sirloin Roast.
Roast that should be pot roasted are Bnls Chuck Roast, Bone in Chuck Roast, Beef Brisket, bottom Round Roast and Shoulder Roast.
Cooking Times
Oven Roasts Rare 15-18 Min/lb @325 ºF
Medium 18-22 Min/lb @325 ºF
Well 22-26 Min/lb @325 ºF
Pot Roasts 30-40 Min/lb @325 ºF Covered in Oven
90 Min/lb in Slow Cooker
Do I want a pot roast or an oven roast? Do you prefer your roasts sliced thin with a crisp crust or do you prefer a roast that falls apart when you touch it with your fork? Solid lean muscle roast like round roasts can be oven roasted and can be sliced thin when cooked as an oven roast. Chuck cuts that have several muscles and more fat to them can be pot roasted and should become fork tender, have a tendency to shred and have the most flavor as a pot roast. Pot roasting and oven roasting are basically methods of cooking. To pot roast is to slow cook your roast with liquid in the pan which is covered tightly. This can be achieved in a covered pan on top of the stove or in the oven in a covered pan, or in an oven bag which will also work very well for this as does slow cookers. If the roast is cooked slow enough this method can tenderize the tougher cuts of meat to the point that they will fall apart and because these cuts usually have more fat they have more flavor as a pot roast than the leaner roasts do. But even better cuts (cuts that can also be oven roasted) can be pot roasted. Round roast like top round or back rump roast are lean roast that can also be cooked as an oven roast but they can also be pot roasted but will not shred or be as flavorful as a chuck roast would be. The advantage to cooking one of these roast is that they appeal to people looking for less fat and if marinated can still have flavor and be juicy. All the well known holiday roasts are meant to be oven roast, like Prime Rib, Fillet Mignon, boneless New York strip roast and boneless Top Sirloin Roast.
Oven roasts are roasted open in an oven without any liquid being added. Oven roasts can be seasoned with black pepper, your favorite rub or a coarse salt. For a nice crisp outer crust you can preheat your oven to 500 ºF, when the oven reaches full temp place the roast in an open pan in the oven for fifteen minutes, after fifteen minutes turn the oven down to 325 ºF and finished cooking the roast. When calculating the total time needed for your roast included this first fifteen minutes in your total cooking time. If you’re the type of cook who feels the need to constantly check your roast as it cooks you will have to increase the time that the roast will need to cook. You are much better off leaving the oven door closed to keep the meat cooking evenly
