Slow Cooker German Pot Roast

Roast beef with red cabbage and potatoes on a white plate.

5 from 50 votes

Set it and forget it to make a fabulous beefy German meal! German Pot Roast is fall-apart tender, and the gravy is so good, you'll lick your plate clean!

Prep Time10

Cook Time6

Total Time6 10

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: German

Keyword: beef roast, german pot roast, pot roast, slow cooker pot roast

Servings: servings

Calories: 564kcal

Author: Chef Jenn

Ingredients

4 strips bacon chopped
3-4 pounds chuck roast boneless
salt and pepper
1 cup diced yellow onion
2-3 stalks celery diced, optional
1 cup diced dill pickles
1 cup German beer
¼ cup German mustard or whole-grain mustard
6 cloves garlic peeled and smashed
2 bay leaves
3-4 sprigs fresh thyme or 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
3-4 carrots peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
¾ pounds baby potatoes
½ head red cabbage sliced thinly
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sour cream

Instructions

Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a dish and set aside.
Season the chuck roast with salt and pepper and sear it in the bacon fat over medium-high heat until brown on all sides, 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer the browned roast to the insert of your slow cooker.
Saute the onions (and optional celery) in the remaining bacon fat over medium heat for 3-4 minutes or until they start to soften.
Deglaze the pan with the beer, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom. Transfer the liquid and onions to the slow cooker.
Add the mustard, thyme, bay leaves, chopped dill pickle, and chopped bacon to the slow cooker, give it a stir to mix, and set it on high for about 2 hours.
Add the baby potatoes, carrots, pickles, reserved chopped bacon, and red cabbage to the slow cooker after 2 hours, working the veggies into the liquid as much as possible.
Cook an additional 2-3 hours or until the beef is fall-apart tender.
Transfer the meat to a cutting board and tent to keep warm. Transfer the vegetables to a bowl to keep warm.
Make a gravy by mixing 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup of water or beef broth and whisk this into the liquid in the slow cooker. Turn on high to simmer and thicken.
Temper the sour cream before adding it to the gravy. To do this, add 1/4 cup of gravy to the sour cream and stir it in to raise the temperature of the sour cream, then whisk the sour cream into the gravy. Do not boil the gravy with the sour cream in it or it might break and curdle.
Season the gravy with salt and pepper. Slice the beef and serve with the veggies and gravy.

Notes

Chef Jenn's Tips

To speed up the cooking process, heat the beer in the microwave and make sure your roast is at room temperature before cooking. This could shave up to 30-40 minutes off the total cooking time.
Red cabbage is traditional, but you could use green cabbage. Slice it thinly so it cooks evenly.
Make the gravy in a skillet or saucepan - the slow cooker may take forever to come back up to a boil.
A 3-4 pound chuck roast will serve about 6 people.

Nutrition