Safeway Select Slow-Cooker Sauce (Alehouse Braising) with Pork and Squished Spuds

So, the other day I found something that looked really yummy at the store and looked perfect for the slow cooker - Safeway Select Slow-Cooker Sauce (Alehouse Braising). On the bottle, it boasts, "An American take on a Belgian pub classic, this braising sauce perfectly blends the flavor of beer with caramelized onions and spices." So there I am, in the grocery store, all excited because I was hopeful that I had found a cheat recipe for Belgian Carbonnade. I've attempted the homemade way of making Carbonnade and had always been pleased with the couple of recipes I've used. But now, I was all excited because I had hopefully found something I could put in the slow cooker, go to work, and come back to a 5 star meal. *fingers crossed*

Here's what I did -

• In the slow cooker, I put the entire bottle of sauce and 3 large pork cutlet
• Turned the slow cooker on low and left for work
• When I returned, I boiled up some potatoes and a sweet potato (I prefer a sweet potato over regular, however, my husband prefers the normal potato - things can never be easy)
• I mashed both potatoes, separately, and served the pork on top with the sauce

My review -

• I didn't get the flavor of beer at all (maybe they didn't use a nice dark beer?)
• The sauce was lacking in a hearty flavor that I'm used to when making it homemade
• The pork was tender and absorbed some of the flavors from the sauce, so it was not bland
• This was not a Belgian Carbonnade, but was acceptable as a "sauce" for pork. To be fair, the bottle DID say it was an "American take on a Belgian pub classic"

What I would do differently?

• Add some beer with flavor, like a Chimey or Aventinus
• Add more garlic and onion
• Find a way to actually braise it AFTER the slow cooker part...that braised, caramel flavor is what was needed

Would I buy it again? - YES. The price was right and everyone ate it with no complaints. For me, that's a win!