I have to thank my mom for this recipe. She made this several years ago for us, and I thought it was so good. My mom is the kind of cook who has a gift for throwing ingredients together, and it coming out great. I improvise some, but I am more of a follow the recipe kind of cook. So, I remember when I asked for this recipe that she had to think about how much of each ingredient she had put in it. I think it makes a great summer meal with summer sides like potato salad, watermelon, deviled eggs, etc.
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| French Dip Subs |
2-3 lb beef chuck roast
1 cup water
1/4 c. soy sauce
2 1/2 TB oregano
1 envelope Lipton onion soup mix
1 TB thyme
1 TB rosemary
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 pkg. hoagie buns
Cook for 8-10 hours on low in crockpot. Gently scrape any seasoning off top of roast. Remove roast from crockpot onto a plate to rest for 5-10 minutes. Strain juice from crockpot in strainer. Put juice in freezer for about one hour to cool. You can use the refrigerator, but I find the freezer cuts down on my waiting time. Meanwhile, shred beef using two forks and put in a plastic bag or tightly sealed container to lock in the juices. Take juice out of freezer and skim the cooled fat off the top. Toast hoagie buns under broiler in oven. Pour au jus sauce into ramekins or small dipping bowls. Serve beef sandwiches with au jus sauce.
To freeze the roast beef and au jus sauce for later
Pour a few ounces of au jus sauce into each cup of a muffin tin and freeze. Pop frozen juice out of muffin tins and freeze in plastic bag. Freeze roast beef in plastic bag or freezer container. Each frozen circle of au jus sauce fits perfectly into a ramekin. To serve just heat up roast beef in microwave and reheat au jus sauce in ramekins.
Other tips/ideas
- I love to serve my sandwiches with horseradish sauce on them. I think it gives them a little kick.
- Leftover frozen au jus sauce circles can be used to add a real beef flavor to gravies and soups.
- I think this recipe is better if you make it ahead of time. Since the cooking time is so long and you have to wait to skim the fat off the au jus, it is hard to do all of it in a day and have it ready for dinner. I have done it, but you have to start early.
- My mom serves hers with sourdough buns, butters the insides of the bread and grills the buns in a skillet to get them toasted. Also very yummy!