What do you do when you you have leftover rolls and a chuck roast in the freezer? My hubby instantly “suggested”, (more like begged), for his favorite. French Dips. Though he requests them often, I suddenly became deaf and quickly overrode that idea and my brain scrambled for anything that I could think of based on using the excuse of, “But honey, we really need to use up “these” {insert anything you can think of here}!” It’s not that I don’t like them, they’re just a so-so thing for me.

He needed some cheering up, so I totally caved. 😉 But I definitely needed some creative room. I get bored easily when I make something more than even just a few times. (Sometimes even just once).

Soooo, while poking my head into the nice, cool, refrigerator, I spied an open bottle of red wine, a carton of fresh mushrooms, and knew that I had carrots in the freezer…. I even had bacon down in there somewhere, already cooked! 😉

So why not try to make a “beef bourguignon” french dip? And even do most of the cooking in the ol’ slow cooker so that I didn’t heat up the house any worse than it already was. I was on to something here… 😉 And an evil plan was hatched!!! 😀

 

 

 

 

I cut the chuck roast into nice, larger-than-bite-sized chunks, knowing that beef shrinks when it cooks, and I wanted to end up with fairly decent-sized pieces when it was all done. I trimmed most of the excess fat away, too.

It received a light coating of seasoned flour, got a browning in a pan with the carrots, and into the crockpot it went with most of the rest of the ingredients! Easy, right? 😀

The broth was then strained and popped into the fridge to let the fat rise to the top, and solidify, so that it could easily be removed.

The mushrooms were sautéed in a little butter and fat from the crock, then folded into the beef.

 

 

 

 

There’s a wee bit more to it than that, but that’s basically, mostly all there is to the beef part! It really is easy! I promise!

 

 

 

 

Lastly, I toasted the rolls that were slathered with a little butter on the insides, piled them with the AMAZING-tasting beef mixture, then topped them with another layer of shredded extra sharp white cheddar cheese!! They got a second quick trip under the broiler and….tadaaaaa!!

 

 

 

 

These were flipping AWESOME. We really enjoyed the flavors just as they were, but if you would like more of a wine taste, use more wine and less broth. Also use a very full-bodied wine. I went a little light on the wine, as my hubby is very sensitive to the flavor of it in foods. And it ended up working really well for both of us!!

I was relieved that he loved it, and, I had a new way to play with French dip sandwiches!! A win-win situation all the way around!

So if it’s hot and humid where you are too, and you’d like a GREAT tasting sandwich that makes enough to last a few days that requires minimal work….well…you just found it. 😉

These Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon French Dip Sandwiches are a cut-above the regular ol’ french dip, and are the perfect weekend meal that will last into the week! Enjoy!!

 

 

Yield: 6 - 8 sandwiches

Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon French Dip Sandwiches

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Ingredients

• 2 Tbl. flour
• 2 tsp. regular table salt
• 1/2 tsp. coarse ground black pepper
• 2 Tbl. high-quality butter (*I use Minerva Dairy Amish Butter)
• 1 Tbl. bacon fat (can use all butter or sub with vegetable or olive oil)
• 3 lbs. stewing beef such as chuck roast, cut into 1 1/4" cubes and chunks, trimming away most of fat
• 1 (3 oz.) bag baby carrots, sliced (1/2 cup after slicing)
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef broth or stock
• 1 (10 1/2 oz.) can French Onion Soup
• 1 Tbl. tomato paste
• 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme, crush between your fingers when adding to release the flavor
• 1/2 tsp. dried parsley or 1 Tbl. fresh, finely chopped
• 1 fresh basil leaf rolled up lengthwise and finely sliced crossways (chiffonade)
• 1 crumbled bay leaf
• 2 Tbl. more butter
• 4 strips thick-cut bacon fried crisp and chopped into small pieces (6 oz. before cooking)
• 1 more Tbl. butter
• 2 Tbl. skimmed fat from crock pot
• 1 (8 oz.) container fresh baby bella mushrooms, quartered or sliced
• 6 Italian rolls, split-open (oil or butter insides) and broiled until toasted

Instructions

In small bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and pepper.

Cut the beef into larger than bite-sized chunks, as beef shrinks when it cooks, trimming away fat as desired. Pour half of flour over meat, toss to expose un-floured surfaces and add rest of flour. Toss again to distribute and coat evenly.

Heat frying pan with 1 Tbl. bacon fat and 2 Tbl. butter over medium heat until hot and bubbling. Add floured meat and sliced carrots. Sear meat on all sides, stirring as needed. Transfer meat and carrots to a crock pot.

Add wine to frying pan and deglaze pan scraping up any bits. Pour into crock pot. Add rest of ingredients expect bacon, the last 1 Tbl. butter, and the mushrooms.

Place on lid and, set crock pot to High, and cook for 5 hours.

*When there's just 30 minutes left, fold in crisp cooked chopped bacon.

After 5 hours, and the meat is fall-apart, fork tender, turn off crock and with a large spoon, skim off fat on top. Reserve 1 Tbl.

Add last tablespoon of butter along with 1 Tbl. reserved fat from crock to a small frying pan, and sauté mushrooms until lightly seared and browned. Fold into crock pot.

Pour off most of liquid (leaving some behind on beef to keep it moist) into a glass measuring pitcher and pop into the fridge, or freezer, just until chilled. Remove any last solidified fat from top. Save and reheat for "au jus" for dipping.

Slice open italian rolls, spread butter or oil on insides, and broil until nicely toasted.

With a slotted spoon, pile beef mixture onto toasted rolls draining well. Serve with the broth from the crock for dipping as an "au jus". *You can also strain this first through a fine mesh strainer if preferred. I didn't bother and it was wonderful just as it was!

Notes

*I didn't know whether an addition of melted cheese was going to be too much, or add another wonderful layer of flavor. Believe when I say, add that cheese! This was one INCREDIBLY delicious French Dip! (*To add cheese, toast inside of roll under broiler, pile with drained beef mixture, top with a generous handful of shredded cheese, then broil again until cheese has melted and lightly browned on top!) SO good! Enjoy!!