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Put simply - tell me your best beef stew recipe for slow cookers.
The more detail, i.e. cut of meat, the better.
Qtys are obviously scaleable but this is for 3 adults and 3 hungry children at first sitting, leaving enough for me when I get back from my ride tonight.
TIA,
Higs
p.s. any posts after 10am will be great for future reference but no use to me today as I'll already be down the shops by then.
Jool's Favourite Stew from Jamie Oliver has been a big hit in our house. No browning meat add real ale or wine or you needn't bother. The butternut squash adds a lovely bit of sweetness to it. Google it it's quality. Should feed 5 hungry people with a pot of mash plus a lunch for the next day.
Recipe?? Nah, just bung in what you've got - you can't really go wrong.
i tend to make it up as i go along
usually involves ale, mustard, mushrooms and you want to get it HOT for at least 45mins-stops it being chewey, then leave on a lower heat for a long time
My favourite is a version of peposo - peppery Italian stew. It's easy, so long as you can get blade steak (a fatty cut with a seam of tissue through the middle). Shin could work. Chunk up the blade, brown in a pan with butter and tons of roughly crushed pepper. Put in heavy casserole dish. Italians just bung in a head of garlic next but I eighth an onion too and cook it in the pan then deglaze with a lot of light red wine (no shiraz; chianti perfect). Add to the casserole dish with garlic to taste. Pour in rest of the bottle of wine. Bring it up to heat in the oven then turn down low (100c) and simmer for rest of the day (or at least 4 hours). The blade basically melts in your mouth. Not sure if it's a kids' dish, mind. But if it's good enough for the workers who made Florence's Duomo...
Tend to follow the bung it in approach but generally follows these lines.
Brown braising steak off and put in slow cooker.
Deglaze pan with red wine and put juices in slow cooker.
Soften a couple of onions and put in slow cooker.
Chop veg (tend to use carrot and maybe a swede)
Add some beef stock and red wine (it doesn't want to be too liquid as will retain moisture)
Big blob of horseradish and dash of mustard
Splash of Henderson's relish
Salt and pepper
Live to simmer for 7 or 8 hours
What the lady said. If you can go to the butcher, ask them for meat for a stew and they'll cut it then and there for you usually. I usually throw some chunks of smoked bacon (lardons if you will), some whole shallots, some carrots, whack in some beer or red wine and some stock then some bayleaf and thyme and some salt and pepper. Maybe some spuds or make some mash to go with.
Once nice tip is to put a knob of butter in right at the end and mix it in well. Adds some richness to the stew which you don't really notice so much but is delicious.
This thread's making me hungry, I love hearty autumn and winter food !
Not much to add good advice up there (including the bung it all in you can't go too far wrong tip). Meat cut should include some fat as those above suggest. I would definitely brown/singe the meat for extra flavour. Leave the vegetables in big chunks. Butter to finish (often called "lift")is a top tip above. I personally like a little kick so would add a small chilli or two.
If you want little special touch (a Delia recipe) and like the spicy angle a salad of fresh corriander, thinly sliced red onion and lime juice dressing adds a wow factor. This takes 1 min to make just before serving.
Went for a bit of a combo of the Jamie Oliver one, one I found on the web and the 'chuck it all in' approach.
Skirt beef
Bacon
Onion
Carrot
Parsnips
Herbs
Red Wine
Beef Stock
Worcestershire sauce
Mustard
Horseradish
To be served with mash, broccoli and sprouts.
FWIW, I swear by using shin in my slow cooker. Best cut for that type of cooking, I reckon.
Brisket ,browned in frying pan.
Add onions garlic after browning in same pan,cook until clear.Then add some/1 teaspoon of soya sauce and the same of yeast extract/marmite.finish by adding half a bottle of ale.
Add this to the brisket in the slow cooker,chop some carrots and spuds and maybe 1 celery stalk cut small
Season with salt and pepper.I generally have the brisket half covered in water.
After a few hours I then remove string from brisket joint,ready to remove excess fat.
Finished result is beef that looks and tastes like stewing steak but in fact is the cheapest cut of beef available and my gran swears by it 😀