Please tell me your slow cooker beef stew recipes

[Secret7]

Help. My stew is never quite thick enough and lacks taste.

I fry off beef and onions. Add to slow cooker with carrots, turnip, peas (or whatever I have in). Add oxo cube, herbs and small amount of water. Potatoes are added towards the end of cooking. I feel that it needs something extra.

What magic ingredients do you add to yours?

[cantpooinpeace]

Corn flour to thicken? Gravy browning to darken, garlic

[BlackberryIce]

Coat the meat in cornflour before frying

Red wine? Bay leaf?

[Secret7]

Thanks for the replies.

I've tried the red wine route via a Jamie Oliver recipe but the dc didn't approve .

I will try cornflour. It's the thickness that I am looking for so that may for the trick.

Will look for bayleaves in Tesco.

I'm looking forward to a bowl of stew with crusty bread now the weather is turning colder.

[axure]

I stir in some gravy granules just before serving. Not particularly healthy but does the job.

[BlingLoving]

Fry beef and onion. Put in slow cooker. Sprinkle flour over and stir. Add cut up veg lije potato/sweet potato/ carrot/ butternut. Add some kentils. Heat stock with /without wine. Add a squeeze tomato paste, bay leaf, little honey, thyme. Add so just about covers other ingredients. Cook on high for 4 hours.

[BlackberryIce]

I also find that adding dumplings it thickens even more

[MoreBeta]

Secret7 - how long are you actually slow cooking for?

It sounds like you are cooking quite quickly if you are only putting a little water in. Slow cookers need at least 3 - 4 hours to work their magic on beef/pork and about 2 hours for poultry.

I regularly do beef bourguinione, coq au vin, chicken cacciatora, cassoulet in mine very slow.

I also do a lot of Moroccan/Spanish dishes with chorizzo, lamb or chicken and pulses plus lots of aromatic spices, apricots, almonds. I find dishes with pulses like beans and chickpeas work well but add tinned pulses about an hour before you serve or they get a bit mushy and break up.

[StrawberrytallCAKE]

Was this the jamie recipe you used? My family love this one, especially with the lemon rosemary and garlic thrown in at the end.

[sorebitz]

Stalking thread as I love beef stew. I would fry off the beef and onions in plain flour and butter

[sorebitz]

And sunflower oils so as not to burn

[Pasanna]

Marinade beef in red wine overnight, optional drop of cognac. In the morning put into slow cooker. In the afternoon/evening add carrots and baby onions/ potatoes About half an hour/ 40 mins before youre ready to eat melt some butter in the microwave and mix in plain flour( cheats roux) spoon out the liquid from the slow cooker and mix over a low heat with the butter and flour until thickened. Return to slow cooker. This ups the calories but is bloomin delicious! In fact you don't need potatoes just serve with crusty bread to mop up the juices!

Some people fry bacon bits to add in at the beef stage which can help keep the meat moist.

[Pasanna]

Forgot to say stick in a bay leaf or two

[Pasanna]

Just saw dc don't like red wine, you can do exactly the same with white wine, it's different but really good

[dreamingofsun]

thickeness sorted by gravy granules or cornflour. not enough ooomph, by more herbs, garlic or mustard

[KateByChristmas]

Another here for cornflour and gravy granules.

[Secret7]

Ooh some great tips - thanks all.

strawberry yes that's the stew I made. DH and I loved it but didn't go down too well with dc.

[hippy1952]

I fry off my beef and onions and then put it into the slow cooker with sliced carrots, an Oxo cube, bay leaves and then add my magic ingredient a tin of Heinz Beef BROTH [not soup]. I then cook it on low for at least 8 hours. Everybody who has tasted it loves it.

[Goldmandra]

I always put a bit of ox kidney in mine. The rest of the family don't actually eat the kidney but they all agree it gives the stew a great taste.

A stick of celery adds something and a good squeeze of Bovril always perks up the taste.

[tb]

Add 2 finely chopped anchovy fillets. It doesn't make it taste fishy, just gives it a lovely flavour - after all, Worcestershire sauce contains anchovies.