Beef and cheddar dip

This sandwich blog post is adding another entry into our Pot Roast category by creating a very easy and savory beef sandwich component that cooks in a slow cooker. The time the seasoned beef spends in the crock pot will produce both tender meat as well as the garlicky broth or au jus that will be used to moisten the slightly chewy and crusty bread used in the sandwich via dunks or a dip.

We’re going to make almost all of the sandwich components from scratch, and I’ll share recipes and tips along the way.

Not this beef and cheddar.

What is this sandwich?

This is my beef and cheddar dip sandwich.

Most of what is going on here can be answered just by reading the sandwich’s name. The main portion of protein or the focus of the experience is a slow-cooked hunk of beef with melty cheddar, sweet and tangy pickled peppers, and a beefy broth that can be served to dip the sandwich in.

The broth and tender beef are both created in a crock pot over several hours, and then when it’s time to sandwich, we spread on horseradish mayonnaise, melt the cheese on the beef, and then spoon on a generous amount of a sweet and tangy relish made from a couple of different types of red peppers.

History of the slow cooker

A person named Irving Naxon invented what we now know as the slow cooker back in the 1930s in New Jersey. Naxon was inspired by tales from his Jewish Grandmother and how she was responsible for the family’s Sabbath stew each week. Cooking for a Sabbath stew started at a local bakery on Friday night, and it cooked low and slow, and no one touched the stew until the Sabbath was over, and Naxon’s grandmother went to retrieve it. This happened because people still needed to eat, but no one was supposed to work during the Sabbath.

Naxon originally called his slow cooker the Boston Beanery, but soon changed that to include his own name as the Naxon Beanery and Flavor Crock. Eventually, Naxon sold the patent for his slow cooker to what is known as the Rival Company, and they changed the name in the 1970s to Crock Pot.

At some point in the late 1980s, the slow cooker lost a bit of luster and wasn’t quite as popular as it used to be, but in the mid-2010s, with the introduction of the Instant Pot, slow cooking has become a bit more popular again.

Different types of dip sandwiches

Here are some selections of blog posts I’ve written about dip-focused sandwiches. Feel free to choose your own dip adventure.

Now that we know the direction this sandwich is headed in, we must devise a plan for the bread.

Crusty roll

The recipe I used for this particular sandwich is a crusty roll that I have used for brothy beef sandwiches in the past, so I know it will hold up to a bit of au jus. This is my Chicago-style sub roll recipe, and it’s great for anything from an Italian beef sandwich to a cold cut American-style sub.

The dough recipe does call for an overnight starter, which is typically a small portion of flour and water mixed with yeast. The yeast eats some of the sugars in the flour while it rests overnight, which will end up adding more flavor to the finished bread. But as I have said before, this step is not required. Sometimes you are in a rush and/or you forgot to start the recipe the night before, but you can just add those ingredients right in with the rest of the dough. I must admit, I have done this quite a few times, and it works just fine. If you made it side by side with a batch of rolls that did have the overnight starter, you’d probably notice the flavor difference, but the rest of the recipe will work exactly the same.

Once I’ve completed a lap around the dough ball, stretching and folding the dough back on top of itself, I usually will flip the dough ball over on top of the fold that you created, which helps the structure in the dough to stay a bit more taut. The whole time I’m doing this, I will usually have a small bowl with water that I can dunk my fingertips into to make sure that the dough doesn’t stick to my fingers too much.

Some sourdough recipes will call for multiple stretch and fold periods, but this particular recipe gets by with just one, 45 minutes after the initial kneading process. It’s definitely a process you could skip, but I would not recommend it if you care about your finished rolls having proper structure.

Other than the overnight rise and the stretch and folds, this is very similar to most other bread recipes and should be a fairly easy bake for a beginning to intermediate baker.

Since this is likely one of the more used bread recipes on this site, I’ve compiled all the other sandwiches that I’ve made and written about that use this bread recipe on their own page.

Click through and get inspired to bake this bread roll recipe, and hopefully, you will enjoy it too.

Chicago-style sub rolls

Recipe Card

3 hours and 30 minutes

Chicago-style sub rolls

Similar, but not a full copycat of a Turano brand roll. These are great for Italian beef sandwiches or any other type of sub. There's a thin crunchy and chewy exterior and a nice soft pillowy interior, perfect for a dunk in au jus or gravy.

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Garlicy, drunken pot roast

There’s some red wine and a whole bunch of garlic cloves tossed into the crockpot along with a beef roast, beef broth, and a whole sliced onion. I covered the beef with a bit of Dijon mustard, which allowed some salt, pepper, and garlic powder to stick to the exterior. Then I barely browned the beef in a skillet before cooking down the onion, garlic, wine, beef broth, and other seasonings.

Everything was added to the crock pot, and then 8 hours later, I had really flavorful and tender beef that was ready for sandwiching.

When it’s time to sandwich, you need to heat up the meat. You can do this in a pan, a small pot, or you could choose to warm the meat in a microwave. If you choose to use a pot, you can also heat up the broth that you’ll need at the same time.

I used a cast-iron skillet and seared the meat just a little before adding it to the bread and topping it with cheese. The next step will be melting the cheese, which can be accomplished easiest under the broiler, but it will also work in a 350°F oven for about 7 minutes. All of this is in the full recipe down below. But basically, I’ve found that if the meat is coming straight out of the fridge, you need to warm it before adding it to the sandwich, or you may have some cool pockets in the middle of the meat, which is no fun.

Cheddar cheese

I did not take photos of the cheddar cheese that I used in this sandwich. I’m pretty sure that if you’ve read this far into the blog post, you’ve probably seen sliced cheddar cheese before. Just imagine that there is a photo here of a package of pre-sliced cheddar cheese, and that’s what the photo would look like.

I chose cheddar cheese because it works well with beef, and I knew it would melt well in the oven or under a broiler. But if you want to use your favorite cheese in this sandwich or the cheese that you have in the drawer of your fridge, go for it. I would just suggest using a cheese that will melt fairly well and will bring some flavor and creaminess to the sandwich.

Horseradish mayonnaise

This is a super simple component, but it really goes a long way in this sandwich. Horseradish is well known as a great pairing for most sorts of roast beef because it has a bit of an acidic quality that cuts against the fattiness of the meat. Mixing it with mayonnaise brings creaminess and a tart, almost spicy sharpness that works really well in this particular sandwich.

The recipe or ratio that I go with here is 2 parts of mayonnaise to 1 part of prepared horseradish. You can go heavier on the horseradish, though, if you’d like a bit more of a kick.

Red pepper relish

I created and shared this recipe for a great sandwich addition back in late 2024. It’s a fun relish that will introduce texture, sweetness, and a bit of tangy flavor to pretty much any sandwich or burger. The process for creating this relish is pretty easy as long as you have a food processor. You add all the peppers, garlic, and onion to the processor, blitz them up a bit, and then cook them for about 10 minutes after adding sugar and seasonings.

Even if you don’t make the full recipe for this sandwich, you should bookmark the red pepper relish recipe because it’s very versatile and brings a lot of flavor and texture to a sandwich.

Red pepper relish

Recipe Card

35 minutes

Red pepper relish

This sweet and tangy red pepper relish is a great addition to any deli-style sandwich or salad. Add a couple of spoonfuls to your next BLT to level things up.

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The beefy dip or au jus

Since I was typically just making one sandwich at a time during the testing of this recipe, I used the microwave to warm up the au jus that I used for dipping. You can also use a small pot, though, just warm the broth until it’s simmering and then serve. The hot au jus warms the sandwich just a bit more, and it also softens any crusty bits of the bread to create a very comforting sandwich experience.

Dunking this sandwich in au jus makes for a fun time. Be cool, don’t miss out.

Beef and cheddar dip sandwich photos and recipe

Here are some photos I took of this sandwich when I was testing all of the recipes. It’s a good one as long as you’re a fan of beef and cheese. If you’ve never tried horseradish with roast beef or pot roast, make sure to give that a shot because it really elevates the sandwich.

Keep scrolling past the photos for the full recipe.

Beef and cheddar dip

Recipe

Beef and cheddar dip

This combination of beefy and cheesy flavors introduces a lot of comfort into your sandwiching experience. The beef and cheddar are then paired up with horseradish mayonnaise and an optional red pepper relish on a crusty roll that's ready to be dunked in au jus.

beef cheddar horseradish pot roast

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by Jonathan Surratt

Ingredients:

Pot roast and au jus

• 1 tablespoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 3 pounds beef chuck roast or bottom round roast
• 1 tablespoon neutral oil or vegetable oil
• 1 sweet yellow onion, thinly sliced
• 20 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
• 1 cup red wine
• 1 cup beef broth
• 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt

Horseradish mayo

• 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Sandwich assembly

• 1 six-inch crusty sub roll
• horseradish mayonnaise (from above)
• garlicky pot roast (from above)
• 1 to 2 cheddar cheese slices
• red pepper relish (recipe link) or roasted red peppers

Direct Link to Recipe

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Suggested Equipment

Crock-Pot 7-quart manual slow cooker 

Directions:

Pot roast and au jus: create a quick spice blend by adding salt, black pepper, and garlic powder to a small bowl. This is your meat seasoning blend. 

Cut the chuck roast into 2 to 3-inch square pieces. Coat each piece in Dijon mustard and then sprinkle the spice blend on all sides of each piece of meat. If you don't end up using all the seasoning, you can reserve it for seasoning pretty much anything. 

Add a tablespoon of oil to a large pan over medium-high heat. Once the oil starts shimmering, add half of the beef pieces and cook for 4 minutes per side. Flip each piece over and cook for another 4 minutes on the second side. Remove the meat and place it into a slow cooker while you cook the onions, garlic, and braising liquid.

Reduce the heat under the pan to medium.

Add the sliced onions to the pan where the beef was and cook for 6 minutes. After 6 minutes, add minced garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes, stirring often.

Once the garlic has cooked for a couple of minutes, add red wine, beef broth, Dijon mustard, brown sugar, and salt, and stir to combine everything.  

Bring the mixture to a simmer, turn off the heat, and pour all of the braising liquid into the slow cooker with the beef and cook on high for 3.5 hours or low for 7 to 8 hours.

After the time has elapsed, with a slotted spoon, remove all beef pieces to a cutting board, leaving the liquid still in the slow cooker. Break each piece of beef apart with two forks to break it into smaller pieces.

Keep the beef in its own container and package the au jus or broth in a separate container. Store both in the fridge until it is time to make the sandwiches. 

Horseradish mayonnaise: combine mayonnaise and prepared horseradish in a small bowl. Stir to incorporate well. 

Warm the meat and au jus: you can warm the meat in the microwave, in a skillet for 5 minutes over medium heat, or in a pot along with the au jus. If you're heating up the meat in a skillet, you can microwave the au jus for a minute or so, or you can warm it up in a small pot until it's just starting to simmer. 

Sandwich assembly: preheat the oven to 350°F or turn on the broiler.

Add a generous spread of horseradish mayonnaise on the bottom of a six-inch sub-style roll. Top with a pile of warmed beef and cover that with 1 to 2 slices of cheddar cheese, broken up so it fully covers the meat. Broil the bottom bread covered with meat and cheese, and the dry inside top of the bread until the cheese is melted. If you're using a 350°F oven, cook the open-faced sandwich for 5 to 7 minutes or until everything is warmed and the cheese is melted.

Remove the sandwich from the oven and add red pepper relish on top of the melted cheese. Spread a bit more horseradish mayonnaise on the top roll and close the sandwich to finish. 

Serve with a small portion of au jus for dipping and enjoy. 

Notes:

No slow cooker? If you do not have a slow cooker, you can cook this same recipe in an oven-safe pot or roasting dish with the lid on. You can set your oven to 375°F (190°C) and cook it for around 3.5 hours. The oven does allow more moisture to evaporate than a slow cooker, so you may want to add just a little bit more beef broth (around 1/2 cup) and check it at the halfway point to see if it’s losing a lot of liquid. You just want to make sure that the beef is mostly covered by the braising liquid. 

Check back next week

This week, we got beefy and cheesy. Next week, we might be getting hammy and cheesy with it. Check back and see if I’m correct.