300 Low-Carb Slow Cooker Recipes (20 page)

When the time's up, remove the beef (carefully—it will be very tender) and use the guar or xanthan to thicken the juices in the slow cooker. Serve this gravy with the pot roast.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 358 calories, 24 g fat, 25 g protein, 6 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 5 g usable carbs. (This analysis assumes you use a 2-pound (900 g) roast and that you eat every drop of the gravy.)

Pot Roast Brisket

This is such a classic.

3 pounds (1.4 kg) brisket

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil

1 large onion

1 carrot

2 celery ribs

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

Salt and pepper the brisket all over. Put your big heavy skillet over high heat, add the olive oil, and start browning the brisket; you want it good and brown all over.

In the meantime, coat your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray.

Chop the onion, peel and shred the carrot, and chunk your celery—keep any unwilted leaves; they add a wonderful flavor. Put all the veggies on the bottom of the slow cooker and add one of the bay leaves.

When the brisket is brown all over, use tongs to place it on the vegetables. Put the second bay leaf on top of it, cover the pot, and set it to low. Let it cook a good 7 hours.

When cooking time is up, use your tongs to fish out the brisket and put it on a platter. Remove the bay leaves and add the bouillon concentrate. Now use a stick blender to puree the vegetables into the liquid. This will also thicken your gravy, though you can thicken it a tad more with your guar or xanthan shaker if you like. Salt and pepper to taste.

Now slice your brisket across the grain and serve with the gravy.
Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
) are good with this. Roasted turnips would be good, too.

Yield:
6 to 8 servings; Assuming 6, each will have: 764 calories, 65 g fat, 39 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 1 g dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Slow Cooker Texas Brisket

In Texas, barbecue generally means beef brisket. This uses similar flavors, but it doesn't require all that slow smoking—or even going outside.

3 pounds (1.4 kg) beef brisket

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

1/4 cup (65 g) low-carb barbecue sauce (
Dana's “Kansas City” Barbecue Sauce
[see recipe
page 335
], or alternatively, Stubb's barbecue sauce, available in grocery stores, is one of the lowest sugar commercial barbecue sauces I've found.)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon (15 ml) liquid Barbecue Smoke®

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teaspoon celery salt

1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt or Vege-Sal

1/2 medium onion, chopped

In your big, heavy skillet, over high heat, start the brisket browning in the bacon grease. You want it well-browned all over.

In the meantime, mix together the barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, liquid smoke, garlic, celery salt, lemon pepper, and salt.

Chop your half an onion. Coat your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray and spread the onion over the bottom.

When the beef is well-browned all over, lay it on the onion. Pour the sauce all over it. Cover the slow cooker, set to low, and let it cook for a good 6 hours.

When it's done, fish it out, lay it on a platter, and slice it across the grain. Serve with the liquid from the pot spooned over it.

Yield:
6 servings, each with: 759 calories, 65 g fat, 39 g protein, 3 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 3 g usable carbs.

Balsamic Pot Roast

Balsamic vinegar and rosemary give this pot roast an Italian accent.

3 1/2 pounds (1.6 kg) beef round, trimmed of fat

2 tablespoons (28 ml) olive oil

1 large onion, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup (235 ml) beef broth

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

1/4 cup (60 ml) balsamic vinegar

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary, ground

1 cup (180 g) canned diced tomatoes

Guar or xanthan

In a big, heavy skillet, sear the beef in the oil until browned all over. Transfer the beef to your slow cooker. Scatter the onion and garlic around the beef.

In a bowl, stir together the broth, bouillon, vinegar, and rosemary. Pour the mixture over the beef. Pour the tomatoes on top. Season with pepper. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 8 hours.

When the time's up, remove the beef with tongs and place it on a serving platter. Scoop the onions out with a slotted spoon and pile them around the roast. Thicken the juice left in the slow cooker with guar or xanthan and serve it with the beef.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 451 calories, 29 g fat, 42 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 5 g usable carbs.

Reuben Hot Pot

I wanted to come up with something using the flavors of a Reuben sandwich. This came out even better than I hoped. It's really tasty and unusual.

28 ounces (785 g) sauerkraut

3 pounds (1.4 kg) corned beef brisket

1 cup (225 g)
Russian Dressing
(see recipe below.)

3 tablespoons (33 g) brown mustard

Drain and rinse your sauerkraut and dump half of it in the slow cooker. Slap your corned beef on top. Smear it with half the dressing and mustard and top with the rest of the sauerkraut. Put the rest of the dressing and mustard on top of that. Cover the pot, set to low, and let it cook for a good 7 to 8 hours. Serve with more mustard!

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 358 calories, 26 g fat, 26 g protein, 5 g carbohydrate, 3 g dietary fiber, 2 g usable carbs.

Russian Dressing

Russian dressing is an essential part of a Reuben sandwich, but the bottled stuff has quite a lot of sugar in it. This is easy to make, so long as you have the no-sugar ketchup in the house. You might like it on salads, too, or as a dip for vegetables.

1/2 cup (115 g) mayonnaise

6 tablespoons (90 g)
Dana's No-Sugar Ketchup
(see recipe
page 332
) or commercial no-sugar-added ketchup

4 sugar-free bread and butter pickle slices (These are available in big grocery stores; I get Mt. Olive brand or Kroger's house brand.)

2 tablespoons (28 ml) pickle juice

2 tablespoons (28 ml) white wine vinegar

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Throw everything in your food processor with the
S
-blade in place and pulse until the pickle is chopped but not pulverized. Alternatively, chop your pickles with a knife and then just stir everything together.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 107 calories, 12 g fat, trace protein, 2 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 2 g usable carbs.

Bavarian Pot Roast

Given the Bavarian theme and all, I'm thinking
Fauxtatoes
(see recipe
page 343
) and cooked cabbage are the obvious side dishes with this.

1 large red onion, sliced 1-inch (2.5 cm) thick

2 tablespoons (3 g) Splenda

1/4 teaspoon blackstrap molasses

2 tablespoons (28 ml) cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon beef bouillon concentrate

2 1/2 pounds (1.1 kg) beef round, trimmed of fat and cubed

Guar or xanthan (optional)

Place the onion in your slow cooker.

In a bowl, mix together the Splenda, molasses, vinegar, salt, and bouillon. Pour the mixture over the onion. Place the beef on top. Cover the slow cooker, set it to low, and let it cook for 7 to 8 hours.

When the time's up, thicken the broth with guar or xanthan if desired.

Yield:
8 servings, each with: 297 calories, 18 g fat, 29 g protein, 2 g carbohydrate, trace dietary fiber, 2 g usable carbs.

Pot Roast with Beer and Mushrooms