Meat and Potatoes... and Beer (Dude Food) in the Crock Pot

Today is the first day of autumn! YAY! It also is getting up to 90 degrees. BOO! I would normally braise the chuck roast with the aid of the oven but there is no way I was about to make my poor air conditioning work that hard; therefore, I decided to use my crock pot. Are there any beef and beer lovers out there? If there ever was a "dude food", this would be it. Serve this with crusty bread and Au Jus.



Ingredients:

• 2.5 to 3 lb chuck roast
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
  
• 1 large onion, sliced
  
• 1 clove garlic, minced
  
• 12 oz beer
  
• 8 oz beef broth
• 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
  
• 4 Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
• 1 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
  
• 1 bay leaf
  
• Sea salt, to taste
  
• Freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
  

Directions:

• Season the chuck roast generously with salt and pepper.
  
• Over medium-high heat, heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet. Add the chuck roast to the skillet, sear on all sides and set aside to rest.

• Using the same skillet, turn the heat down to medium. Add the onions and cook until they just become tender. Add the garlic, cooking and stirring for about a minute.
  
• Pour in the beer and deglaze, scraping up the brown bits from the pan.

• Add the beef broth.

• Whisk in the brown sugar and bring to a boil. Remove from heat.

• Add the potatoes in the bottom of the crock pot. Season with salt, pepper, parsley and bay leaf.
  
• Place the chuck roast on top of the potatoes. Pour the contents of the skillet over all. Season again with salt and pepper, if desired.

• Cover and cook on low setting for 8 hours, until fork tender. Don't forget to remove the bay leaf!
  
• Serve with crusty bread and Au Jus.
  
• Enjoy!