Slow Cooker Carbonnade Beef Pot Roast

This recipe is a modification of a Belgian Beef Stew and is perfect for dinner on a cold Winter's day.  This recipe combines a few of my favorite things beef, beer and bacon.   The recipe takes about 45 minutes of prep time and about 8 hours in the crock pot.  I suggest serving this pot roast on bed of mashed potatoes and it makes excellent leftovers as a hot open face sandwich.  This recipe serves about 8 hungry adults and I suggest serving it with dark beer or a bold red wine. 

Carbonnade Beef Pot Roast served on bed of Mashed Potatoes

Slow Cooker Carbonnade Beef Pot Roast
Ingredients:
	4 Slices Bacon, thinly sliced
	2 TBSP (30ml) Butter
	4 Sweet Onions, thinly sliced
	1 Cup (250ml) Brown Ale or Porter Beer
	1 TBSP (15ml) packed Light Brown Sugar
	5 Cloves Garlic, Minced
	1/2 TSP Salt
	1/2 TSP Pepper
	3 lbs (1.35kg) Beef Pot Roast (Top, or bottom blade, or Crossrib)
	1/2 Cup (125ml) Sodium-Reduced Beef Broth
	3 TBSP Cornstarch
Steps:  (Note onions can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days.)
	1) In a large fry-pan, cook bacon pieces over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until crisp, about 4 minutes.  Remove bacon pieces and set aside in paper towel to remove excess grease.  Remaining bacon fat drain from fry-pan in to an empty can and discard.
	2) In same fry-pan now add 2 TBSP of butter and let melt at medium-high heat.  Add thinly sliced onions and let cook until softened, about 5 minutes.
	3) Add brown sugar and beer; cook, stirring occasionally , until no liquid remains and onions are golden brown on medium heat.  This takes 30 to 35 onions.  (You are caramelizing the Onions.)  Stir in bacon pieces at the end.
Steps: (Making the Roast)
	4) In a large bowl combine minced garlic, salt and pepper.  Take beef roast and dry with paper towels.  Add roast to bowl and rub with seasonings.
	5) Add roast to crock pot.  Pour Onions/Bacon mixture on top of roast.  Add beef broth.
	6) Set crock put on low and cook for 7 to 8  hours, until beef is tender.
	7) Remove roast from pan and set on cutting board.  Tent with aluminum foil for 10 minutes prior to slicing.  Leave beef juices in crock pot to make gravy.
	8) Turn crock pot to high.  In a cup mix 1/2 cup of cold water with 3 TBSP Cornstarch.  Add to crock pot.  Whisk gravy and cook for 10 minutes on high until gravy has thickened.
	9) Serve beef as 1 cm thick slices with gravy poured on top.  I suggest serving it on top of a bed of mashed potatoes.

Leftovers will keep easily 3 days in the refrigerator.  I suggest storing the gravy and beef separately, reheating separately for the tastiest leftovers. 

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Beef Carbbonade

Steps 2 and 3: Making Caramelized Onions

Step 3: Onions are cooked down and now Caramelized

Step 4: Seasoned Roast in the Crock Pot

Step 5: Roast in the Crock Pot covered in Caramelized Onions and Bacon

Step 9: Roast after cooling 10 minutes and prior to Cutting

The Finished Product

What I've learned in making this stew:

• Beef slow cooked in juices over a long period of time comes out very similar to pulled pork; it just falls apart in a good way.
• The caramelizing of the onions (step 1 to 3) can be used as a topping in other recipes such as on burgers, sausages, steak or on back-bacon sandwiches.

Comments, thoughts or suggestions?  Please add them below.

Spicy Bucatini with Bacon Recipe

This is a tasty recipe that I have modified for the "servant-less" kitchen and the fact that pancetta costs 4 times more than the tastiest of meats known as bacon.  Like Homer, I'm amazed that bacon, ham and pork all come from one magical animal.  This recipe is perfect for any Pastafarian:

Spicy Bucatini with Bacon

This recipe makes two dinner size portions as a main entree or 4 portions as a side.  I'd suggest serving this with a glass of Chianti and a great starter prior to this is my White Cannelini Bean soup.  This recipe takes about 45 minutes to make and is best served immediately.  You can roast the tomatoes and bacon earlier in the day if necessary.  

Spicy Bucatini with Bacon
Ingredients:
	2 Cups Cherry/Grape Tomatoes halved
	2 TBSP Olive Oil
	1 Pinch Pepper
	4 Strips of Sodium Reduced Bacon
	2 Cloves Garlic minced
	1/2 TSP Hot Pepper Flakes
	6 Kalamata Olives, pitted and Coarsely Chopped
	6oz (170grams) Bucatini Pasta
	2 TSBP Coarsely Chopped Fresh Basil
	1 TBSP Grated Parmesan Cheese
Steps:
	1) Pre-Heat oven to 325 Degrees.
	2) In a small bowl, toss together tomatoes, olive oil and pinch of pepper.
	3) Place tomatoes cut side up on foil lined baking sheet (or non-stick) and bake tomatoes for 25 minutes until shriveled and starting to brown.
	4) Meanwhile, boil a large pot of salted water and add pasta approx 10 minutes before tomatoes are expected to be ready.
	5) In a non-stick fry pan, cook bacon over medium high heat until crisp about 6 minutes.  Remove bacon and set aside.
	6) Drain excess bacon grease.  Add garlic, black olives and chili flakes.  Cook for 2 minutes until fragrant.
	7) Combine fry pan with drained pasta, and roast tomatoes.  Toss in basil.
	8) Split pasta on two dishes.  Sprinkle with bacon and Parmesan cheese.

Substitutions:

• The original recipe calls for 3 oz of pancetta diced.  Bacon works fine and cost 1/4 of the price.  Pancetta is salted and smoked pork belly.  
• You can add another 1/4 tsp of chili flakes if you prefer the dish hot rather than a medium spice.
• I tried this recipe with Penne once and it worked.  But, I would use Bucatini or Tagliatelle as my second choice.  Bucatini I have found both at Longo's and Loblaws, but prior to this recipe I never had it before.

Ingredients for Spicy Bucatini with Bacon

Step 2 - Getting Tomatoes ready to Roast 

Step 2 and 5 - Frying the Bacon and Tomatoes Ready to go in the Oven

Measuring the amount of Bucatini Pasta Required

Step 6 - Frying Chili Flakes, Black Olives and Minced Garlic.

Step 7 - Finishing the Pasta

Step 8 - Pasta plated and served.

What I learned:

• Pasta need not have a tomato or cream sauce.  Roasted vegetables and other toppings can beautifully punctuate pasta.
• Olives taste best packed in oil and out of jar.  Canned olives have a tinny taste and a different texture.  Further, olives in a jar taste better if you pit them yourself, rather than get pre-sliced.  Oxo sells for reasonable price a cherry and olive pitter that is dishwasher friendly.
• A kitchen scale is great for measuring quantities by weight (grams, ounces and lbs.) Make sure it has a tare function.