Beef Stew
I love my crockpot and this is one of my favorite recipes that comes out of my crockpot. You could make this in an instant pot as well but you would have to figure out how to do that yourself. I’m personally not a fan of the instant pot and use it only to cook dry beans.
There are multiple different cuts of beef that can be used in this recipe. Slow cooker or crockpot recipes are a slow cooking process so cheaper, less tender cuts of meat can be used in this method. Chuck and round are the most common but honestly any type of beef can be used in a stew. I have used brisket and even cheaper cuts of steaks in stews and they are fabulous, also more expensive.
Many stew recipes want you to braise the beef ahead of time which requires you to heat up a skillet and salt, pepper and flour the meat and then throw in the skillet for a while. You will get a little better flavor if you do this but personally, I find it an unnecessary step. I am a fan of simple cooking when possible so that step has been eliminated in this recipe.
This recipe makes a lot so I end up freezing a lot of it. I freeze into individual containers for quick meals and some into larger containers for larger servings.
Dehydrated or freeze-dried vegetables work really well in this dish. They will rehydrate in the broth so just throw them in, in place of the fresh vegetables. You can also add celery if you wish (I don’t think celery adds anything to the dish so I don’t bother.)
Ingredients
4 pounds stew meat (cut it up into small pieces if you wish, but this is not necessary)
3 cups beef broth (check the ingredients and make sure it does not contain MSG, bone broth is preferred)
8 or so carrots, sliced
4 potatoes, sliced (I prefer sweet potatoes for more nutritional value)
2 medium onions, sliced
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons ground paprika
2 clove garlic, minced
2 large bay leaf
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Directions
Put all ingredients in a crock pot or slow cooker. It is okay if some of the meat is not covered in fluid.
Cook on low setting for 8 to 12 hours. Slow cookers vary a lot, cut into the meat and if it is no longer pink, it is done.
If you cut the meat prior to putting in the slow cooker, your meal is done.
If you did not cut the meat, you can take two large forks (make sure not to burn yourself on the edges of the crockpot) and shred the meat into smaller pieces. If it is hard to do this in the slow cooker, you can take the meat out and cut it up on a cutting board. Allow the meat at least 15 minutes to simmer in the broth before serving.
Remove the bay leaves before serving.
Photo by Holly Spangler on Unsplash