The french allegedly have 20 categories and sub-categories for braising. I'll take their word for it. The basic concept is fairly simple: Make a tougher cut of meat more palatable by first browning it, then simmering it in a small amount of liquid for a prolonged period of time. The low moist heat works to break down the connective tissue. A classic french braise would include the addition of vegetables to flavor the meat, but the vegetables would not be served.
Enough exposition. You're here because you want an easy crockpot recipe for pot roast that includes gravy.
But I'd be remiss if I didn't point out NOT to use any cut of meat labelled as a steak; think white meat when you think steak - most likely to remain tender and juicy when cooked quickly over high heat.
If there are really obvious layers of fat in your meat, remove most of it. But leave some - you'll see why later.
Sprinkle the meat with salt & pepper to taste, then coat meat with a light layer of flour.
Brown the meat (both sides). Place meat in crockpot.
Now to enhance the flavor. Aromatics include the following items: onion, carrot, celery, tomato, garlic,. fennel, bacon/pancetta. I personally recommend a combination of onion, carrot, garlic and bacon (especially the bacon - see my comments in the coq au vin recipe). The size of the pieces? While the french are incredibly anal about their mirepoix being cut into a very small dice (brunoise), I like to go bite-sized and give myself the option of turning the dish into a stew.
Use the same pan used to brown the meat. You can skip the oil if using bacon. The vegetables will absorb any residual bacon grease. Add the sauteed vegetables to the crockpot.
The braising liquid: it can be as simple as water.Any sort of broth. As I don't use tomato in the aromatics, I prefer to include something red - either red wine or tomato in the braising liquid. But don't use just red wine - it'll be too acidic. 1/2 red wine 1/2 water is fine. Add the braising liquid to the pan and using heat, deglaze the pan, loosening whatever bits that remain stuck to the pan after the browning and sauteing. Add the braising liquid (with bits) to the crockpot. 1-2" of liquid is sufficient - do not cover the meat.
OPTIONAL: about 45 minutes before you expect the meat to be ready, scrub and cut 8 potatoes into 1" chunks. turn crockpot up to high and place potatoes on top of meat in crockpot. the potatoes will cook by absorbing heat from the simmering liquid and also absorb flavor from the meat and aromatics. When the potatoes are cooked, you can remove them and mash them with some melted butter and warm milk. Alternatively, you can mix the potatoes into the simmering liquid. and turn the dish into a stew. The starch from the potatoes should thicken the simmering liquid.
If the liquid is still thin, you can dissolve 1/4 cup of flour in 1/2 cup of COLD water, then add it to the crockpot. (This is called a slurry, BTW.) The flour will bind with the fat and thicken up the liquid, creating a gravy.
OPTIONAL (if you're going for a one dish stew) Add frozen peas 15 minutes before serving - adding peas too early overcooks them, resulting in a olive green mush. Do this AFTER you've added the slurry.
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Any basic variation of this recipe will result in a good meal. But if you want the best results in terms of flavor, include some kind of pork fat when sauteing the aromatics.
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