Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches

Crockpot French Dip Sandwiches

3-4 lb Roast *

Salt, pepper & garlic powder

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 onion sliced **

2 Tablespoons minced garlic

2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 package Au Jus 

12 oz beer

1 1/2 cups beef broth

Sub rolls

Provolone cheese

Directions: Season the roast all over with salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet to medium heat, then put the seasoned roast carefully into the pan.  Sear the roast on all sides to form a nice crust (this will take maybe 2-3 minutes per side).  If the roast is a triangle shape, I sear each surface that I can.  Remove the roast and put in the crock pot.  While the pan is still at medium heat - no need to wash or even wipe out - add the sliced onion, minced garlic, worcestershire sauce, beer & Au Just packet. Stir it all together and scrape up browned bits from the bottom of the skillet.  Simmer for a couple of minutes and then add to the crock pot with 1 1/2 cups beef broth.  Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Once the roast is done, shred with a couple of forks and put the shredded beef back into the gravy in the crockpot.  

To fix the sandwiches:  Layer shredded beef on the sub rolls, & top with provolone cheese.  Put under the broiler in the oven for just long enough to melt the cheese and crisp the rolls, and serve with the gravy in a little bowl for dipping.

NOTES: For the roast, the original recipe calls for chuck roast.  I don't like a chuck roast, it has too much fat, & I think ends up grisly or greasy.  My favorite is Pikes Peak Roast, but you can also use a round roast or sirloin tip roast.  

For the onion, I like the 1015 onions or Vidalia if they are in season.  If I don't have either of those, a plain yellow onion works just fine too!

For the beer, I use a bottle of Shiner Bock, I love the flavor of that in this meal. 

For the minced garlic I buy organic garlic and then mince it in the Pampered chef garlic press.  But I have also used the organic garlic in a jar and it works just fine.  I teaspoon of the garlic in a jar = 1 clove of garlic. 

The au jus packet is just a little packet of dry seasoning, I usually buy McCormick's "Au Jus Gravy" 

This recipe does make a little bit of a mess with the prep; you have to slice the onions, brown the beef and simmer the gravy.  But - if you want to eat at 7 pm, you can start all of that around 10 or 11 a.m.  As soon as you get the meat into the slow cooker you can clean your kitchen, throw everything in the dishwasher, turn it on and be out the door before noon!

I'm posting this today so you can get the ingredients, and I'm making it tomorrow.  I'll try to post pictures - if anyone makes this please comment and share your photos and thoughts too.  Enjoy!