German roast

I had this on the menu last week, but the original recipe called for a beer or nonalcoholic beer.  I wasn't going to put beer in my beef, and couldn't decide what to substitute.  On Thursday I needed a slow cooker meal and it was this or one that I should have soaked beans overnight for, so this one.  I decided to sub out the beer with beef broth.  It turned out really well.  I particularly liked the gravy.  I also liked that I just tossed in the whole frozen beef and let the crock pot do all the work.  (OK, not entirely true, I did cut off a large layer of fat first. 

Ingredients

• 1 boneless beef chuck roast (4 lbs.) trimmed
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 1 can beef broth
• 1 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cold water.

Directions

1. Sprinkle beef with pepper.  Place in a 5 quart slow cooker with the sliced onions.  Combine broth, ketchup, and brown sugar in a bowl.  Pour over beef.  
2. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.
3. Remove meat and onions to a serving platter; keep warm.  Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer to a small saucepan. (I had a ton of liquid, and it was hard to skim the fat from the top, so I just started sucking it out with my turkey baster and putting it in the saucepan.  I just took it from the bottom so I wasn't getting any of the fat floating on top.  I probably used 1.5-2 cups liquid, but I had like 4-5 cups.)  Bring liquid to a boil. In a small bowl, combine flour and water until smooth.  Gradually stir into the pan.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.  Serve with roast.