Guess what??! It's time for the next installment of Slow Cooker Thursday! Did you miss it? Yes! SLOW COOKER THURSDAY is back...and better than ever! How so, you ask? Well, because I now have a brand new Crock-Pot! So So SO excited about it! My "old" Crock-Pot still worked just fine, though sometimes I wondered if she was getting tired. I'd had her for a very long time, and she was always a faithful friend! I'll be passing her along to a friend who was needing a replacement - so my old friend will still be doing "her thing" but for another family :-) My new Crock-Pot is beautiful - nice and shiny, and 1 quart bigger than my old one. I love that it has a timer on it for 4, 6, 8 or 10 hours (corresponding with high and low settings). I'm used to three choices...off, high and low. A little bit of adjusting for me, but in a very good way. There's also a warming feature, which I love.
My first meal with my new Crock-Pot for Slow Cooker Thursday was Beef in Beer Pot Roast. With turkey season upon us, shaking it up with a roast is always a good thing! I found the recipe in my Best of Bridge Slow Cooker Cookbook, and figured, beef, beer...my husband will love it! I also liked the mix of sweet potatoes and potatoes, a nice change. Here is the recipe:
Beef in Beer Pot Roast
4 carrots, peeled and chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2 inch cubes
3-4 potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1 boneless roast (the recipe calls for beef chuck, blade or cross rib roast) - 3-4 lbs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
1 medium-sized onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons flour
1 bottle (12 oz/341 mL) beer (light-coloured)
1 cup beef broth
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup peas, frozen
1 tablespoon brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
Chopped fresh parsley (optional, to taste)
In a 5 to 6 quart slow cooker, combine carrots, sweet potato and potatoes. Season the beef well with the salt and pepper. In a large skillet, heat half of the oil over medium heat. Add the roast to the skillet, brown on all sides. Once browned, transfer to the slow cooker. Reduce heat in the skillet, add the remaining oil. Add in the onions, garlic, thyme, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4-1/2 teaspoon pepper and tomato paste. Cook, stirring frequently for 5 minutes. Add in the flour, whisk in the beer, broth and Worcestershire sauce. Stir to scrape up the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, remove from heat and pour over the roast (which is waiting in the slow cooker). Cover and cook on low for about 7-8 hours or on high for 3 1/2-4 hours, or until the roast is cooked to your liking (good thing for trusty meat thermometers - we tend to cook our roasts for less time so they have plenty of time to rest and stay tender). Transfer the beef to a cutting board, cover with foil and allow to rest. Now this is where the original recipe and I differ. The recipe suggests leaving the roast to sit for 10 minutes, whereas I left my roast to sit for the last 20 minutes while the rest of the recipe was prepared. Once the roast has been removed from the cooker, add in the peas, brown sugar and balsamic vinegar into the slow cooker. Add in salt and/or pepper as needed (taste, taste, taste!). Cover and cook on high for approximately 20 minutes, or until the peas are hot. Slice your roast across the grain or pull apart into chunks. Serve topped with vegetables and gravy. Garnish with parsley as desired.
VERDICT
As expected, my husband loved this dish. Pretty sure he said it was his favourite slow cooker dinner yet. The kids were so-so about it. I enjoyed it, I liked the added "something" that came with the addition of the beer to the mix. We will make this again :-)
Disclosure - I received product in exchange for my honest opinion. The views expressed in this post are solely my own.
