Slow-Cooker Porter Pot Roast

From Beth

Ingredients

  • 5 strips applewood smoked uncured bacon, 1" dice
  • 1 boneless beef chuck roast (approx 2 lbs)
  • Pan searing flour
  • 2 medium yellow onions, halved, thinly sliced
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 (12 oz) bottles Great Lakes Brewing Company Edmund Fitzgerald Porter
  • 6 Bay Leaves (or 2 dried)
  • 2 (8 oz) containers Food You Feel Good About Demi-Glace (Wegmans meat dept)
  • 1 (.25 oz) package thyme
  • Salt to taste
  • Carrots

Directions

  1. Add bacon to braising pan on medium. Cook 5 minutes, until crispy. Remove bacon from pan (don't discard bacon fat). Transfer to slow cooker.
  2. Dust beef with pan searing flour; pat off excess. heat braising pan on medium-high until bacon fat faintly smokes; add beef. Turn beef over when edges turn paper-bag brown about one-quarter of the way up sides, 5-7 minutes per side. Transfer beef to slow cooker.
  3. Reduce heat to medium. Add onions to braising pan. Cook 2 minutes, stirring to loosen browned bits in pan. Add garlic. Stir to combine. Cook 3 minutes, until onions begin to soften.
  4. Add beer, stirring to loosen browned bits in pan; bring to a simmer. Add bay leaves, demi-glace, and thyme; bring to a simmer.
  5. Add beer/onion mixture to slow cooker. Cover; cook 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.
  6. Add carrots or other vegetables in the last 2 hours.
  7. Transfer beef to clean serving platter. Discard bay leaves and thyme stalks from juices. Season juices with salt to taste; serve over beef.