CrockPot French Dip Sandwiches

Day 186.

Happy Fourth of July! If you are looking for some easy and delicious recipes for a backyard barbecue, try these:

corn on the cob
beans and weenies
barbecued ribs
sweet and spicy chicken wings
chili
frito candy

Or, you can make French Dip Sandwiches. These sandwiches are completely and totally American, because they call for The Two American Ingredients: beer and red meat.

But this isn't just any ordinary beer---it's gluten free! I finally tracked down some Redbridge beer at a local Beverages and More. Redbridge's website has a zipcode tracker, but none of the locations were close enough. A quick email later, and Lindsay from Anheuser-Busch confirmed that both our Beverages and More and Whole Foods carry the line. Awesome.

Redbridge is made from Sorghum, so it's completely gluten-free.

Jenny from Lipstick and Laundry shared this recipe with me, and it's fantastic.

The Ingredients.

This is Jenny's Recipe:

4 lbs beef roast, I actually buy Beef Round Sandwich Steak, (meaning it is already sliced)
1 (10.5 oz) can of beef broth
2 (10.5 oz) cans of Condensed French Onion Soup
1 (12 oz) bottle of dark beer (I only use 1/2 the bottle)
1Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp garlic powder
6 French Rolls (I like Sara Lee)
Butter

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To make it gluten free, I changed some stuff around. I can't find a gluten free canned French Onion soup, so I used the recipe that I made earlier in the year.

This is my version--use whichever one works best for your family!

- 2 lbs thin pieces of steak meat
- 1/2 T sugar
- 2 T butter
- 3 cups beef broth
- 12 oz bottle of Redbridge beer
- 1/2 t black pepper
- 1/4 cup cooking sherry
- 1 yellow onion, cut in rings
- 3 cloves smashed and chopped garlic
- 1 t gluten free Worcestershire sauce

The Directions.

Put the butter into the bottom of the crockpot and turn on. Add the meat, garlic, and onions, and swirl around in the butter.

Pour in the broth, beer, and cooking sherry. Add pepper and Worcestershire sauce.

Cover and cook on low for 7-9 hours.

If your meat is still in large chunks, remove it carefully, and slice. Return the meat back to the broth.

Serve on rolls. I made rolls from the Whole Foods 365 bread mix, and added some cheddar cheese to the sandwiches. Traditionally, gruyere is used.

Dip the sandwich into the broth before each bite for a nice juicy flavor and consistency.

The Verdict.

These were so much fun and tasted marvelous! And Very American.

Thanks, Jenny, for the idea. Jenny also has a good tip about slow-cooking in hot climates. We're lucky here in that it never gets terribly hot, but we used to live where summertime temperatures were well over 100 degrees daily.

Jenny shares her tips: "I set the crockpot on an outdoor table and cook outside, I have an outlet right by my sliding glass door, so I cook on our patio, and I can keep an eye on it, then my kitchen doesn't heat up... You can also set it on a workbench in the garage. Just some useful things I personally do for the summer crock potting!"