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French Onion Beef with Gruyere Toasts
Melissa Hart

French Onion Beef with Gruyere Toasts

The onions need a head start in a skillet or they'll stay pale and oddly crunchy in the broth. Once browned, they cook down around beef chuck into something halfway between pot roast and French onion soup. The cheese toast stays out of the cooker until the bowl is ready.
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Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 8 hours
Total Time 8 hours 30 minutes
Servings: 8
Ingredients Method

Ingredients
  

  • 3 large yellow onions thinly sliced
  • 3 tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1 tsp granulated sugar
  • 3 lbs boneless beef chuck roast cut into 3 pieces
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp black pepper
  • 3 cups low-sodium beef broth
  • 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 8 slices baguette 1/2 inch thick
  • 1 1/2 cups shredded Gruyere cheese

Method
 

  1. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat, add the onions and sugar and cook until deeply golden, 18 to 22 minutes.
  2. Season the beef with the salt and pepper and arrange it in a 6-quart slow cooker.
  3. Spread the browned onions over the beef and add the broth, Worcestershire, thyme and bay leaf.
  4. Cover and cook on low until the beef pulls apart easily, 7 1/2 to 8 hours.
  5. Discard the bay leaf, shred the beef into large pieces and stir in the balsamic vinegar.
  6. Top the baguette slices with Gruyere and broil until the cheese bubbles and browns at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes.
  7. Ladle the onion broth and beef into bowls and set one cheese toast on each serving.