Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
This is a slow-cooker sandwich dinner with very little hands-on work. The roast cooks until it pulls apart, then goes onto rolls with some of the cooking juices served alongside for dipping.
Use the HKT Beef Au Jus Gravy Powder as the first choice: https://www.homegrownkitchentable.com/all-recipes/beef-au-jus-gravy-powder . Lipton onion soup mix is an alternative when that is what you have. Use one seasoning option, not both.
Adapted from the supplied printed Slow Cooker Easy French Dip Sandwiches recipe, with Natasha’s handwritten soup-mix substitution and her requested homemade au jus option.
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, fully thawed and trimmed of large hard pieces of fat
2 cups water, plus a little more after cooking if needed for dipping
2 tablespoons HKT homemade Beef Au Jus Gravy Powder OR 1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix (choose one)
8 hoagie rolls or sturdy sandwich buns
A little oil or cooking spray, for the slow-cooker insert
Instructions
Lightly grease a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker. Place the thawed beef roast inside.
For the homemade option, whisk 2 tablespoons HKT Beef Au Jus Gravy Powder into the 2 cups water. For the Lipton option, stir 1 envelope onion soup mix into the same 2 cups water. Pour the chosen mixture around the beef. Do not add both seasoning options.
Cover and cook on LOW for 8–11 hours or HIGH for 5–7 hours, until the beef pulls apart easily with two forks. Check tenderness rather than relying on the clock alone. Keep the lid on during cooking.
Lift the beef onto a tray and shred it with two forks, removing any large pieces of fat. Keep the cooking liquid. Skim off excess fat from its surface, then taste. If it is too salty or too thick for dipping, stir in hot water a little at a time.
Return enough shredded beef to the slow cooker for the meal, adding a little cooking liquid to keep it moist. Toast the split rolls if you like. Fill each roll with beef and serve hot cooking juices in small bowls on the side for dipping.
Refrigerate leftover beef and cooking liquid in shallow containers within 2 hours. Use within 3–4 days, or freeze for up to 3 months for best quality. Reheat beef and juices to 165°F. Assemble sandwiches after reheating so the bread does not sit in the liquid.