Beef Stew

[Nearlyadoctor]

After reading another thread it seems a lot of posters are having beef stew tonight done in the slow cooker. Does anyone have a fail safe recipe please . Whenever I try to do one it always come out too watery no matter how little liquid I use.

Add a sprinkle of saxo granules to the liquid to soak it up a bit.

Add a cornflour slake to thicken

I use the bc good food recipe usually

make a cornflour/water mix to thicken up the gravy.

I’ve never managed to make anything taste decent out of a slow cooker but a pressure cooker has changed my life! Beef stew in under an hour - including all the prep!

What I find frustrating about beef stew, is that the beef stewing steak in the supermarket is all 'lean beef'

Why is that?

I dont want lean beef for a stew, and I dont know the names of different cuts to check what I want to use.

Sear the beef in butter first.

I just add an oxtail soup and an oxo if it's too watery add some cornflour

I always do the BBC Good Food Slow Cooker Beef Stew recipe. Double up on the Worcester sauce.

Skirt is a good beef for a stew

Add a tin of Guinness.

I love beef shin for this kind of cooking. Turns to butter after simmering away gently for a few hours.

I bought shin beef and had slow cooker stew last night. The meat is nicer than stewing steak I think.

Cooked it Friday and reheated in slow cooker again yesterday.

I slightly overdid how much pearl barley I put in but the stew was gloriously thickened and tasted gorgeous.

Beef shin, short ribs and oxtail work best for slow cooking. You need something with bone in and lots of connective tissue which gives gelatin in the sauce so it’s got that lovely thickness and silky feel. No flour needed. Short ribs are my favourite.

RecipeTinEats has a recipe for short ribs in red wine which is 👌🏻 except I swap the red wine for a bottle of stout. BBC good food also has a short ribs in stout recipe I think.

I generally use a pressure cooker, but if it's too watery I ladle the liquid into a large frying pan on high and reduce it. i.e. you just boil off the water, and chuck in back into the stew.

My Recipe is..

Beef Stew

500g (roughly) of stewing beef
Large glass of red wine

2 X Chopped onions

2 X Oxo Cubes (or similar beef stock cubes)

Good squeeze of Tomato Puree
lea and perrins worcester sauce, 1 X table spoon
Good grind of Salt and Pepper
3 or 4 Bay leaves

Add enough water to cover and give it a stir

Put it all in a Pressure cooker, and cook for 20 minutes, remove lid and reduce if needed.

Best re-heated and eaten the following day.

Bin the slow cooker and just cook it in the oven in a casserole dish.

For those buying skirt and shin, is that from a supermarket? I would need a second mortgage to go ot our local butcher so dont want to do that

I always use beef rib trim. Rich meat, but enough fat and connective tissue to render down into unctuous gravy. Hmm, not done it in a while...

Yes. Morrisons's are good for cuts like shin and ox cheek.

I use good quality braising steak or cut up a piece of topside.

Sear the beef, add to roughly chopped onions and carrot, might also add a bit of chopped root veg. Stir in some plain flour, salt and pepper and cpl of spoons of horseradish. Pour over a bottle of good, dark ale and good quality beef stock (I usually like to use at least 3lb of beef and freeze some). Add a bouquet garni.

Cook in a low oven fir about 3.5 hours and it will have thickened up beautifully. I like to check it at the two hour point and add a tbs or worcs sauce. Add plenty of mushrooms (sliced, quartered, halved depending on size).

Wish I had one in the oven now.

Whole beef brisket cooked with a diced red onion, third of a bottle of red wine, twist of salt, black pepper and teaspoon of Italian herbs. Cook for six hours plus. Half an hour before ready fry a load of mushrooms in butter and garlic then tip those in too. Beef comes out tasty with texture of pulled pork.
If you think it is too watery move the lid to on at a slight angle so some evaporates.

I've got one on the go for today, smells yummy!
I put a joint of roast beef in a casserole dish around 10am, took it out at 1pm and have shredded it into the stock.
Transferred into the slow cooker with carrots. Onions, parsnips and half a bag of frozen veg. Topped with more beef stock and left to simmer.
I will add dumplings 30 minutes before I want to serve it up with mash potatoes and Yorkshire puddings. I'll chuck some beef gravy granules into the slow cooker with the dumplings to thicken it up.
I've made enough to put in a deep oven dish and top with cheesy mash to make a posh shepherds pie tomorrow.

Beef skirt from the butchers, red wine, chorizo - they’re my must haves. And make it the day before as it always tastes better the next day!

Tonight we’re having ours in giant Yorkshire puds with roasties, but buttery mash and green veg also a favourite.

https://www.talesfromthekitchenshed.com/2016/11/slow-cooker-beef-stew-herb-dumplings/#recipe

I use this recipe and it's always perfect.

This one is yum, never have any problems with it https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/slow-cooker-beef-stew

I use this one and thicken with a bit of cornflour - dissolve it with a splash of water before adding to the stew.

https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/steak-and-ale-pie