It is freezing. So BRING ON THE SLOW COOKER STEW!
It’s January and it’s freezing. And shocker, I’m hungry…
One of my favorite things to eat in the winter is a nice toasty bowl of slow cooker beef stew.
It’s tasty, easy, and leans toward the healthy side. (I wouldn’t say it’s outright healthy, but definitely not bad).
THE BEST PART IS…
All my favorite beef stews follow the same process and yet almost anything can be added to them.
You start by browning your meat – getting a very hard sear on the outside.
Vic Trick: The hard sear is SOOO critical to the stew. It will render the fat and ensure the insides stay juicy!!!
Then, into the slow cooker, add veggies (onion, carrot, celery are typical here), potatoes (optional), crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, Worcestershire, salt/pepper, Italian seasonings, beef broth, and red wine.
That’s it.
Throw all of that into a slow cooker, leave on low for 6-8 hours, and you have a tasty meal!
Like I said, you can use ANY meat or ANY veg, but just ensure they can stand up to the slow cooking.
Some Good Veg Options:
- Peppers
- Onions
- Carrots
- Celery
- Parnsips
Beef Options:
- Short ribs
- Beef chuck
- Ox tail
- Rump roast/pot roast
- London broil
Mix and match the veggies and meats, but your flavors will stay mostly similar – and delicious!
Check out my personal fave combo: Vic’s Tricks To…Spicy Pot Roast
Vic’s Tricks To…Slow Cooker Stew
Ingredients
- 2 lbs beef or 4 lbs of short rib/ox tail
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1 onion, chopped
- 4 carrots, sliced
- 2 stalks of celery, sliced
- 4 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 cups of potatoes, sliced
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire
- 1 tbsp Italian seasonings
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
- 2 cups of beef broth
- 2 cups of red wine
Instructions
- Brown meat in pan with butter and get HARD SEAR on all sides.
- Place into slow cooker along with the rest of the ingredients.
- Cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or high for 4-6 hours.
Happy Eating!
