Cribbed from here with substantial edits, and from here as well.
Season
4 pounds beef chuck roast, cut into 3 chunks
Generously all over with about
1 heaping tablespoon salt.
Heat
2T vegetable oil
in a large skillet over medium-high. Add one chunk of the beef and sear on one side, undisturbed, until deeply browned, 5 minutes. Using tongs, remove the first chunk and place it in a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Repeat with the second and third pieces, searing one side and then placing the beef in the slow cooker. (You can certainly brown more than one side of each chunk, but one side is enough to build flavor without spending too much time on this step.)
Add
7 ounces frozen pearl onions (or 1-2 yellow or red onion, peeled and cut into wedges)
6 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 T tomato paste
to the skillet. Season lightly with salt and generously with pepper and cook, stirring, until just softened, 3 minutes. Pour in
1½ c. dry red wine or strong coffee
2 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 c hot water w/ 1 t BTB beef broth and 1t BTB mushroom broth
Scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon or spatula and let the mixture come to a bubble. Tip the mixture into the slow cooker, and add
10 sprigs of rosemary or other herbs (thyme, sage) or 1t dried herbs
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Cover and cook on low for 4 hours.
Well before finishing up (why not now?) bring
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
to boil in a small saucepan and add
2 red onions, peeled and thinly sliced
a generous pinch of Kosher salt
Cook, stirring, to warm the onions through, about 1 minute, then remove from heat. Set aside at room temperature to pickle until ready to serve, at least 1 hour.
Prepare
4 pounds peeled root vegetables, such as a mix of carrots and parsnips, and potatoes, maybe even rutabaga
by cutting into 2-inch chunks, and
1-2 sweet onions, cut into 1" wedges
Prepare a roux with
3-4 T flour
3-4 T oil
Uncover the slow cooker, flip the pieces of beef with tongs, and add
the roux
stirring, and then
the vegetables,
pushing them under the liquid,
Cover and cook on low until the beef and vegetables are both very tender, an additional 4 to 5 hours. Check to see if the meat is tender by testing it with a fork; it should be juicy and flavorful, and pull apart easily. If the meat is not yet tender, cover and cook another 1 to 2 hours. (The durationcan depend upon the leanness or fattiness of your cut, or how hot your slow cooker runs. Using tongs and a slotted spoon, remove the beef and vegetables to a serving platter. Break the beef into large chunks to serve. Drizzle some cooking liquid over the top of the beef and vegetables, and top with drained pickled onions to serve. Discard the remaining cooking liquid or strain it, refrigerate it, discard the fat and freeze the remaining liquid as beef stock.
If you’d prefer a thicker gravy, strain
the cooking liquid
into a medium pot and bring it to a boil over medium-high heat, and thicken with
more roux,
or perhaps by mashing up
a potato
and mixing well.
Serve with
the pickled onions
chopped parsley garnish