Help! Beef short rib with wine - slow cooker or gas?

[SaltyMarsh]

I’m making slow cooked short beef ribs in red wine with mushrooms, carrots & celery. The house I’m in has no oven. Is it ok to use slow cooker? Do they turn out ok? Not rubbery? There’s also a Le Creuset so I could do on the hob.

which is best?

I have tried to do casseroles with wine in the slow cooker, and I’ve found that, even after a number of hours, they don’t seem to lose the raw wine taste, if you know what I mean. I’ve stopped doing casseroles in the slow cooker if I’m going to put wine or stout in them.

I’m not very used to using the slow cooker, so maybe I’m doing something wrong.

I do a bouef Bourgignon every couple of months, so I marinate the beef in red wine for a day. On the day, I sweat off chopped onions and bacon lardons in a large stockpot. I remove the beef, which is nice and dark and seal it in flour in a large pan until it caramelises. At the same time I heat up the wine on the hob, in order to burn off the alcohol. The put the beef, carrots, button mushrooms and shallots into the stockpot, along with the wine. I usually add a little flour, stirring in well, so that the sauce thickens, then put it in the slow cooker for four to five hours on medium, checking each hour, for taste and consistency. It is ready when the beef starts to get really tender, but not disintegrating.

I'd do it on the hob....I think the flavours are more controllable.

I would do it on the hob gave up with my slow cooker as you never seemed to get the lovely rich gravy done in the oven I assume it is the same for hobs in that you get a lovely rich fravy

I would end up doing it on the hob because i like tinkering.

But if you find a slow cooker recipe and stick to it i reckon it would be fine.

Either way brown the meat and caramelise the shallots om the hob first

Hob without a doubt. But I think slow cookers make everything taste pretty crap.

I'd marinade the meat in wine first, and sear it on the hob with the veg before putting in the slow cooker. That way the wine has flavoured the meat.

I have to use a heat diffuser on my gas hob as it's too hot.

I find slow cookers remove all the flavour from food

I'd use the slow cooker, and I say this as the owner of Le Creuset cast iron casserole dishes.

It's not that they remove the flavour, they add the flavour of Slow Cooker which masks any other taste.

I had a friend who does a large pork leg in the slow cooker and it cooks into a lovely pulled pork. Just pork and seasoning, no sauce. Its the only nice thing I've ever eaten from a slow cooker.

I fail to understand the antipathy towards slow cookers.

If a Le Creuset casserole produced a poor dish, would the LC be blamed ?
Of course not. The failure lies elsewhere.

I think slow cookers are great, but you have to get all the flavours into the dish before putting them into the slow cooker.

Update, I decided on the Le Creuset and it was amazing! Soft meat that pulled apart, rich gravy. Maybe would have added mushrooms later but all good. I’m not anti slow cookers at all but not experienced in cooking short ribs in it. I love it for mince dishes, chicken curry, ham, etc. Anyway, thanks for tips!

I had a stew in a slow cooker. It was very tasty