Crockpot Open Face Roast Beef Sandwiches w/ Sautéed Green Beans

Retro Diner Food Made at Home!

Open face sandwiches have been an old-school diner favorite for years! I remember stopping at a truck stop diner with my Dad when I was a kid, and we always shared one of these delicious sandwiches.

Choosing Your Beef: There are many cuts of beef that can be used in the crockpot for this sandwich, but I prefer a chuck roast. It is up to your preference, but I find cooking chuck roast “slow and low”, makes the roast fall apart tender, juicy and easy to shred.

Crockpot Open Face Roast Beef Sandwich Recipe

Ingredients

2-3 lbs. beef chuck roast
2 cans condensed French onion soup
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
5 large russet potatoes
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch (for gravy)
Soft bread (Your choice)

Directions

1. Pour 1 can of soup in the bottom of the crockpot. Place chuck roast on top of soup, sprinkle with pepper and pour remaining can of soup over the meat. Cook on low for 8-12 hours.

2. 30 minutes before serving, peel and boil potatoes for 20 minutes and mash using butter, milk and salt.

3. Pull meat from crockpot and to shred meat, place two dinner forks, with their backs facing each other, adjacent to each other in a portion of the meat. Pull the forks in opposite directions, breaking up the meat into shards as you pull. Discard any bits of gristle or fat remaining in the shredded meat. Repeat until all your meat is shredded. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2-3 tablespoons of COLD water making a slurry (blend).

5. To make the gravy, using a strainer, strain liquid from crockpot into a medium saucepan and turn to medium high heat. Whisk in cornstarch slurry, stirring constantly, and simmer until desired thickness. *Laurie’s Note: If you need more thickening, make additional slurry. DO NOT add powdered cornstarch directly to a hot liquid; it will clump!

6. Layer your bread, mashed potatoes, roast beef and gravy and serve.

Fresh Veggies Are Better!

So, as you know, I’m not a fan of canned vegetables. If you can choose fresh veggies, please do so. The salt content is terribly high in canned veggies and they are often mushy!

Sautéed Green Beans Recipe

Ingredients

1 ½ tablespoons olive oil
¾ pound fresh green beans, trimmed
½ teaspoon onion salt
½ teaspoon garlic salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
Coarse salt and ground pepper to taste

Directions

1. Wash and snip plant ends of green beans.

*Laurie’s Note: I like leaving the “bottom end” of the green bean intact. It makes the whole bean more attractive on the plate.

2. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium heat; cook and stir green beans, onion salt, garlic salt, garlic powder, and black pepper together until desired tenderness is reached, 5 to 10 minutes.