More than ten years ago, my friend’s mom taught us how to make French Dip sandwiches with au jus. I’ve since made it dozens of times, probably a dozen different ways. This recipe is for slow-cooked French Dip using bouillon, beer, and a few basic seasonings. Leaving the meat in the slow-cooker all day to absorb the juices makes for an amazingly flavorful sandwich.
My recipe is great for anyone like us who works an 8-5 job and doesn’t always want to cook an elaborate meal after getting home from work. The meat takes probably 5-10 minutes to prepare before leaving, and then the sandwiches take another 20 minutes or so to assemble (when you get home from work!) This is a simple and delicious way to make a unique French Dip dinner for one or many!
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef (I used Angus shoulder steak)
- 12 oz beer (I used Natty Boh)
- 1-2 cups water (or enough to cover the meat)
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt & pepper, to taste
- 1/2 green bell pepper, sliced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper, sliced
- small onion, sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- dinner rolls or french baguette (I used Sister Schubert’s dinner rolls)
I allowed my meat to cook in the slow-cooker on LOW for almost 8 hours before serving. Every crock pot and slow-cooker is a little different, so you will need to adjust accordingly to suit your needs and equipment!
I placed the beef in the crock pot, and added the beer, water, bouillon, garlic powder, thyme, and salt & pepper. Make sure the steak is at least 90% covered. If not, add more water. If you add more than 2 cups of water, I would recommend a second bouillon cube.
Place the slow-cooker on LOW and let sit all day. I checked mine at about 4 hours and stirred gently to submerge any pieces of meat that were not previously soaked.
After about 8 hours, I began to assemble the rest of the dish. First, I preheated the oven for my dinner rolls. If you are using pre-cooked bread you can skip this step.
Remove the meat from your slow-cooker, straining most of the juices as you place in another bowl. Keep the remaining juices in the pot on LOW.
Cook the rolls according to their package or slice your baguettes or other type of bread.
MEANWHILE, slice the onion and peppers into thin strips. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat and saute the peppers & onions to your liking.
Once the peppers are done, you are ready to assemble your sandwiches!
I placed the meat and peppers first, then added the mozzarella cheese to the top of the bun and heated for one more minute in the oven so the cheese would melt.
Serve with strained juices from the crock pot on the side for dipping!
Slow Cooker French Dip Sandwiches
Ingredients
- 1 pound beef I used Angus shoulder steak
- 12 oz beer
- 2 cups water or enough to cover the meat
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp dried thyme
- 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1/2 green bell pepper sliced
- 1/2 yellow bell pepper sliced
- small onion sliced
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- shredded mozzarella cheese
- dinner rolls or french baguette
Instructions
- I allowed my meat to cook in the slow-cooker on LOW for almost 8 hours before serving. Every crock pot and slow-cooker is a little different, so you will need to adjust accordingly to suit your needs and equipment!
- I placed the beef in the crock pot, and added the beer, water, bouillon, garlic powder, thyme, and salt & pepper. Make sure the steak is at least 90% covered. If not, add more water. If you add more than 2 cups of water, I would recommend a second bouillon cube.
- Place the slow-cooker on LOW and let sit all day. I checked mine at about 4 hours and stirred gently to submerge any pieces of meat that were not previously soaked.
- After about 8 hours, I began to assemble the rest of the dish. First, I preheated the oven for my dinner rolls. If you are using pre-cooked bread you can skip this step.
- Remove the meat from your slow-cooker, straining most of the juices as you place in another bowl. Keep the remaining juices in the pot on LOW.
- Cook the rolls according to their package or slice your baguettes or other type of bread.
- Meanwhile, slice the onion and peppers into thin strips. Heat olive oil on medium-high heat and saute the peppers & onions to your liking.
- Once the peppers are done, you are ready to assemble your sandwiches!
- I placed the meat and peppers first, then added the mozzarella cheese to the top of the bun and heated for one more minute in the oven so the cheese would melt.
- Serve with strained juices from the crock pot on the side for dipping!
