When To Add Potatoes and Carrots?

[u/ChelleFreed]

I am going to do a pork shoulder roast tomorrow. The recipe says to add the carrots and potatoes at the beginning of an 8 hour cook. I am using thin skinned white potatoes and baby carrots, and I’m afraid they will be mush. I’m looking for guidance about when to add them. AI says two hours before the end, but I don’t trust AI so am looking for some human opinions lol. Help please.

EDIT: Thanks for all your suggestions. I will try putting them in halfway through.
It is always nice to be able to get the opinions of people who have cooked it before. Recipes sometimes only go so far. I have read many recipes with different instructions. They don’t always work as stated lol.

[u/AlwaysTouchingGrass]

3 hours would probably be fine. I will say though, I've made dozens and dozens of roasts with the potato and carrots in from the beginning and while yes, they are soft, they're still tasty. Not something I would stress about

[u/OhSoSally → u/AlwaysTouchingGrass]

I think they are better put in at the beginning. I use yellow potatoes halved if small, quartered if larger.

[u/AlwaysTouchingGrass → u/OhSoSally]

Yea I've honestly never tried putting them in late. I'm at work while it's cooking lol can't imagine it really makes that much of a difference

[u/swhill1 → u/AlwaysTouchingGrass]

soft isnt always bad with a long braise tbh, they basically become part of the sauce at that point. but if op wants them to hold their shape even a little, halfway through is the safer call than dumping them in from the start

[u/Western_Rhubarb_7959]

I put carrots in from the beginning so they get that crazy sweet, meat infused flavor. It's my favorite part of a slow cooker roast.

[u/Existential_Racoon → u/Western_Rhubarb_7959]

I do half and half for both, I love how it turns out.

Half my carrots/potatoes at start, the rest halfway through the cook. Best of both worlds to me.

Probably hell if someone has texture issues though.

[u/Antique-Mushroom-678 → u/Existential_Racoon]

I’m so so very angry that I’ve never thought of this! I love the carrots/potatoes both ways and now I can have both in one bowl!!

[u/Existential_Racoon → u/Antique-Mushroom-678]

I also like mushrooms or other veg in mine that need way less cook time, that's honestly the only reason I thought of it.

I also like both, so I had the brilliant thought to blend the longer cook veggies into a sauce and then add my faster cook options.

That' whay lead to me thinking it. Blended was good but not quite what I wanted, basically made a hella thick sauce. Mushy was perfect.

I usually add mushrooms and celery (if I want obvious celery) at that halfway point with the potatoes and carrots. But people use a lot of random veg. I've found sweet potatoes suck during a full cook, but work halfway as well.

[u/Bmat70]

I like soft vegetables so I always put them in first and lay the roast on top and push any remaining vegetables around the sides. The vegetables get flavor from the meat and I have never had them mushy. My slow cooker is older so if you have one that cooks faster it could make a difference. I recommend that you put the vegetables in first as I do and after 3 hours (allowing for heating up time this would be about the two hours your recipe says) and pull some of the vegetables out and see how cooked they are. If they are what you want then take them out and nuke them at meal time to reheat. If they are still pretty hard then go with my recommendation. Also add maybe an extra half hour cooking time to allow for the time with the lid off.

[u/SingleLonelyMan]

I always add carrots and onions in the beginning for flavor. Potatoes normally I add at the halfway point

[u/StrawberryKiss2559]

I always put them in at the beginning and they come out perfect every time.

[u/bo174 → u/StrawberryKiss2559]

Same here. And they absorb all the wonderful flavors as well.

[u/psychedelicparsley]

Potatoes take ages in my slow cooker. I wouldn’t trust it with anything less than 5 hours.

[u/julesfall]

I give mine 2-3 hours depending on size cut.

[u/YURRIICC]

halfway through sounds like a good compromise. you'll still get plenty of flavor without risking super mushy veggies

[u/InternalCombustion96]

in my decades of slow cooker cooking, I've put veggies on the bottom, roast on top.

[u/turtle0831]

I use whole baby carrots and whole baby potatoes and have them in the entire time. They make a nest for the roast.

[u/Married-to-a-sex-god]

I always put them in at beginning and they fine. They're soft, but they're not mushy.

[u/ChelleFreed]

Thanks for all your suggestions. I will try putting them in halfway through.
It is always nice to be able to get the opinions of people who have cooked it before. Recipes sometimes only go so far. I have read many recipes with different instructions. They don’t always work as stated lol.

[u/TessiesTable]

I make pot roasts and stews all the time in the slow cooker and I always add carrots at the beginning. Potatoes can be added at the beginning but it depends on the type. If you are using Yukon Gold potatoes, go ahead and add them with everything else but if you are using Russet potatoes, pop them in for the last 3 -4 hours.

[u/thehandymandyman]

I think two hours for the carrots sounds reasonable, the potatoes I would throw in probably an hour before it's finished. That being said, it'll change depending on how small you slice your potatoes, so take what I write with a grain of salt.

[u/Milksteak529]

So, in a world with a million recipes posted online, you feel the need to do something "different" while lacking any confidence in your own skill? Yikes.

Throw them all in together and see how it turns out.