1 – 3 to 4 lb. beef pot roast – round, cross-rib or chuck
½ onion, chopped
approximately 1 tbsp. oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 – 213 ml. can tomato sauce – 2 tbsp. less than 1 cup
2 cups beef broth, divided
1 sprig fresh thyme or ¼ tsp. dried thyme (or oregano or marjoram)
2 bay leaves
½ tsp. salt
3 – 4 tbsp. flour to thicken at end
3 tbsp. butter – optional
Place roast in 5 or 6 quart slow cooker. Saute onion in oil until softened but not browned. Add onion, garlic, tomato sauce, 1 cup of the beef broth, thyme, bay leaves and salt to slow cooker. Cover and cook on low for 8 – 10 hours.
Remove roast from slow cooker, place in glass pie plate or other baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Set aside and keep warm (put in 200 F oven) for at least 20 minutes while making the gravy. This step is essential to easier slicing of the roast.
To thicken the gravy, mix flour with small amount cold water until smooth. For a richer gravy, blend the flour with 3 tbsp. very soft or melted butter. Turn slow cooker to HI and stir in the remaining cup beef broth and the flour mixture. To speed things up you may wish to heat the beef broth – microwave is quick and easy. Replace lid and cook about another 20 – 30 minutes or until gravy has thickened. Remove the thyme sprig if used. If you want a smooth gravy, pour through a sieve either before or after thickening.
Slice roast ACROSS the grain – if you see long strings you need to cut across those. Sometimes the roast (usually the cross rib or chuck – the round holds it’s shape the best) is so tender that it just falls apart in chunks – it still tastes delicious. Serve with the gravy and mashed potatoes.
Store any leftover roast in the gravy to keep the meat moist.