Does This Taste Like A Pot Roast?
This slow cooker beef does NOT taste like a pot roast! My intent with this recipe was to create a slow cooker beef recipe that doesn’t taste like every other beef pot roast out there – and it doesn’t! It’s incredibly delicious and works amazing in all sorts of manners – in stew, tacos, etc. BUT, if I called it a pot roast, you would expect it to taste like one. So no, it doesn’t taste like a pot roast.
Can I Use Another Cut of Beef?
You could, but one of the reasons we are using Chuck Roast is because it’s cheap and full of flavor. Lean cuts of beef actually tend to dry out in a slow cooker.
My Slow Cooker Has a Low and High Setting. Which Should I Use?
Set your slow cooker to the low setting. Depending on your slow cooker, it may take an additional hour or two to finish.
Can I Add Carrots and Potatoes?
You sure can! But it won’t necessarily fit into a low-carb or keto diet if you choose to eat them! However, I don’t know how much you should add or how it would chance the flavors – so it’s uncharted territory!
Slow Cooker Beef
This slow cooker beef is incredibly easy to make with simple ingredients and works incredibly well on its own, with veggies, in tacos, etc.
Ingredients
- 4-5 lbs Beef Chuck
- 1 large onion (white or yellow)
- 8-10 Cremini mushrooms (aka baby bella mushrooms)
- 18 cloves of garlic
- 4-5 cups warm water
- 3 tbsp Better than Bouillon, Beef Roast
- 3 tbsp Dutch process cocoa
- 4-5 tbsp kosher salt
- 4-5 tbsp black pepper
Instructions
- Remove meat from refrigerator and pat dry. Remove any extra fat of silver skin, then heavily coat with kosher salt and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes. If you have a cooling rack, it helps if you place the meat on these as it will increase the airflow, allowing you to dry the meat more evenly.
- Rough cut the onions. into half rings
- Peel and smash the garlic cloves.
- Clean the mushrooms and slice.
- To a large pouring container of large bowl, add the warm water, better than bouillon, cocoa powder, and 3 tbsp of kosher salt and mix well.
- If the slow cooker has the equivalent of a "browning" option, turn that on. Otherwise, use a skillet on high for the next step.
- After the meat has sat for 30 minutes, pat it dry again. Add a little oil to the slow cooker/pan and sear the meat on all sides. Once nicely browned, remove the meat from the heat.
- Add the onions and a pinch of salt and allow the onions to begin to brown and start to become soft.
- Add the mushrooms and let them render some of their moisture.
- Add the garlic and let it become aromatic.
- If you were cooking everything in a pan that wasn't the slow cooker, transfer the mix to the slow cooker.
- Place the meat into the slow cooker. so that it lays flat atop the vegetables.
- Add the black pepper to the meat. Be generous with it.
- Add the broth to the meat. If it doesn't fully submerge the meat, add more water so that it does, however, it can have some iceberg action.
- Cover with the lid and let the meat cook for 6 hours. If it is not fork tender at that time, let it cook for another hour.
- Remove the meat from the slow cooker and set aside. Separate the broth from the other goodies with a strainer, see below to make the gravy.
- Serve the meat alongside the goodies and gravy, save the broth to make rice with or veggies!
To make the Gravy
- To a blender, add 1.5 cups of the mushroom/onion/garlic mix. Add a 2 tbsp unsalted butter, 1.5 cups of the broth, and 1/8 tsp xanthan gum (or 1 tbsp corn starch).
- Blend until it is a nice smooth mixture.
- Enjoy
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Nutrition Information
Yield 12 Serving Size 6 oz beefAmount Per Serving Calories 526Total Fat 30.9gSaturated Fat 13gCarbohydrates 4gNet Carbohydrates 3gFiber 1gSugar 0gProtein 34.1g
The meat was really juicy and tasty, however, I felt like the pepper in the dish was way too overpowering. I used 5 tablespoons and would probably drop down to half of that next time.
There might be some different potency across some pepper variants. Or, maybe I just really like pepper lol