300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (21 page)

Chuck roast is usually cheap, and it's very flavorful. Add mushrooms and onions, all that jazz, and it's a party in your mouth.

2 pounds (900 g) chuck roast

2 tablespoons (28 g) bacon grease

1 pound (455 g) sliced mushrooms (I used criminis.)

1 medium onion, sliced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

4 cloves garlic

12 fluid ounces (355 ml) light beer

1 can (8 ounces, or 225 g) tomato sauce

3 tablespoons (45 ml) lemon juice

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

Put your big, heavy skillet over medium-high heat and start searing your chuck roast in the bacon grease. You want it nice and brown all over. While that's happening, go on to the next step.

Dump your sliced mushrooms (you bought them sliced, right?) in the slow cooker and add the onion, carrots, and garlic. Stir the veggies together a bit.

When the chuck is crusty and brown all over, throw it on top of the vegetables.

Now pour the beer, tomato sauce, lemon juice, and beef bouillon concentrate in the skillet. Stir it all around, scraping up all the nice brown bits and making sure the bouillon concentrate is dissolved. Pour this over the stuff in the slow cooker. Slap on the lid and set it to low.

Let it cook for 6 hours or so. Then fish out the roast, put it on a platter, and surround it with the veggies. Thicken up the sauce with your guar, xanthan, or glucomannan shaker and serve with the meat and vegetables.

Serve this with
Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
)—indeed, I like to spoon the
Fauxtatoes
onto each plate and then pile some vegetables on top and pour on the gravy.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 431 calories, 28 g fat, 27 g protein, 14 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 11 g usable carbs. (Analysis is exclusive of
Fauxtatoes
.)

Peking Slow Cooker Pot Roast

This sounds nuts, but it tastes great! This recipe, originally from
500 Low-Carb Recipes
, takes starting ahead, but it's not a lot of work.

3 to 5 pounds (1.4 to 2.3 kg) beef roast (round, chuck, or rump)

5 or 6 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 cup (235 ml) cider vinegar

1 cup (235 ml) water

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1 1/2 cups (355 ml) strong coffee (instant works fine)

1 teaspoon guar or xanthan

At least 24 to 36 hours before you want to actually cook your roast, stick holes in the beef with a thin-bladed knife and insert a garlic slice into each hole. Put the beef in a big bowl and pour the vinegar and the water over it. Put it in the refrigerator and let it sit there for a day or so, turning it over when you think of it so the whole thing marinates.

On the morning of the day you want to serve your roast, pour off the marinade and put the beef in your slow cooker. Place the onion on top of the beef. Pour the coffee over the beef and onion. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 hours for a smaller roast or up to 10 hours for a larger one.

When the time's up, remove the beef carefully from the cooker. (It will now be so tender it's likely to fall apart.) Scoop out 2 cups (475 milliliters) of the liquid and some of the onions and put them in a blender with the guar or xanthan. Blend for few seconds and then pour the mixture into a saucepan set over high heat. Boil this sauce hard for about 5 minutes to reduce it a bit. Add salt and pepper to the sauce to taste. (It's amazing the difference the salt and pepper make here; I didn't like the flavor of this sauce until I added the salt and pepper, and then I liked it a lot.) Slice the beef and serve it with this sauce.

Warning:
Do not make this with a tender cut of beef! This recipe will tenderize the toughest cut; a tender one will practically dissolve. Use inexpensive, tough cuts, and prepare to be amazed at how fork-tender they get.

Yield:
12 servings, each with: 324 calories, 24 g fat, 24 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs. (This analysis is for a 4-pound (1.8 kg) boneless roast.)

Sauerbrauten

This classic German pot roast takes advance planning, but it's not a lot of work, and it yields impressive results. Don't forget the
Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
) for that gravy!

4 pounds (1.8 kg) boneless beef round or chuck

1 cup (235 ml) cider vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 onion, sliced

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup (6 g) Splenda

2 tablespoons (28 g) bacon grease or (28 ml) oil

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 cup (230 g) light sour cream (Use full-fat sour cream if you prefer, but it's no lower carb.)

Guar or xanthan (optional)

Pierce the beef all over with a fork. In a deep, non-reactive bowl (stainless steel, glass, or enamel), combine the vinegar, water, onion, bay leaves, pepper, and Splenda. Place the beef in the marinade and put the bowl in the refrigerator. Marinate the beef for at least 3 days, and 5 or 6 days won't hurt. Turn it over at least once a day, so both sides marinate evenly.

When the time comes to cook your
Sauerbrauten
, remove the beef from the marinade and pat it dry with paper towels. Reserve the marinade.

In a big, heavy skillet, heat the bacon grease or oil and sear the beef all over. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker.

Scoop the onion and bay leaves out of the marinade with a slotted spoon and put them on top of the beef. Remove 1 cup (235 milliliters) of the marinade from the bowl and add the ginger to it. Pour this over the beef and discard the remaining marinade. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7 to 8 hours.

When the time's up, remove the beef to a serving plate. Stir the sour cream into the liquid in the slow cooker and thicken it if you think it needs it with guar or xanthan. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve the sauce with the beef.

Yield:
10 servings, each with: 407 calories, 26 g fat, 38 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Chipotle Brisket

Our tester, who loved this recipe, halved it. You can feel free to do the same.

4 pounds (1.8 kg) beef brisket, cut into pieces if necessary to fit into your slow cooker

2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

4 stalks celery, thinly sliced

4 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tablespoon (9 g) dry mustard

1 tablespoon (3 g) dried oregano

1 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons pepper

1 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1 can (16 ounces, or 455 g) tomato sauce

1/2 cup (120 ml) beef broth

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

1/4 cup (60 ml) red wine vinegar

1/2 cup (12 g) Splenda

1/2 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

2 chipotle chiles canned in adobo sauce

2 bay leaves

Guar or xanthan

In a big, heavy skillet, brown the beef all over in the oil over medium-high heat. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker.

Add the onion and celery to the skillet and sauté until softened. Stir in the garlic, dry mustard, oregano, cumin, pepper, and salt or Vege-Sal and sauté for another minute or two. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, on top of the brisket.

In a blender or food processor, combine the tomato sauce, broth, bouillon, vinegar, Splenda, molasses, and chipotles and blend until smooth.

Put the bay leaves in the slow cooker, on top of the beef, and pour the sauce over the whole thing. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 12 hours.

When the time's up, remove the beef to a platter. Remove the bay leaves. Thicken the sauce to taste with guar or xanthan and serve the sauce over the beef.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 779 calories, 64 g fat, 41 g protein, 8 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 6 g usable carbs.

Simple Salsa Beef

Here's one of those super-simple dump-and-go recipes. It's great for a day when you didn't get dinner in the slow cooker the night before!

3 turnips, peeled and cubed

1 pound (455 g) baby carrots

3 pounds (1.4 kg) beef arm pot roast

2 cups (520 g) salsa

Guar or xanthan (optional)

Put the turnips and carrots in your slow cooker; then place the beef on top. Pour the salsa over the lot. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 to 10 hours.

When the time's up, remove the beef and pull it apart into shreds with two forks. Scoop the vegetables out onto serving plates with a slotted spoon. Pile the beef on top. If desired, thicken the sauce with a little guar or xanthan. Spoon the sauce over the vegetables and beef.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 200 calories, 5 g fat, 26 g protein, 11 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 8 g usable carbs.

Beef and Broccoli

This doesn't come out exactly like stir-fry, but it's still Chinese-y-good, and it's a lot less last-minute trouble.

1 pound (455 g) beef round, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) cubes