The easiest way to make a delicious beef stew
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Warm, filling, hearty and savory....these are the words that come to mind when I think of beef stew.
Bring a slow cooker into the picture and even more heartwarming culinary verbiage jumps in. Words such as: easy, long cooking staple, and delicious aroma. There is no question that beef stew and a slow cooker are a match made in heaven.
Interesting beef stew fact: It is nearly impossible to take a mouth-watering picture of this tasty dish. Beef stew is basically the culinary version of the ugly duckling. There is no special angle, magical filter or editing program that can make it look as good as it tastes. But...since this is the easiest way to make a delicious beef stew, I am willing to risk posting an unattractive picture or two.
Lazy Slow Cooker Beef Stew Hacks:
- I make my beef stew using mini potatoes. I am often too lazy to cut up potatoes and this solves my problem. However, this recipe would work just as well with diced potato.
- I am a fan of buying minced garlic by the jar. I prefer Spice World. Of course, fresh minced garlic would be a delicious upgrade to this recipe.
- If you prefer a thicker gravy, as I do, the easiest way to thicken it up is to add mashed potato flakes. At the end of the cooking process, I add potato flakes one tablespoon at a time right into the pot until the gravy is the consistency I am looking for.
- The long-cooking nature of this dish can make almost any meat tender. I generally buy boneless stew beef when I make this and even my harshest critics tell me it is tender and delicious.
- I always use a slow cooker liner. Make for a much lazier clean-up!
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Lazy Slow Cooker Beef Stew
Equipment
- 6qt slow cooker
- Mixing Spoon
Ingredients
- 2 lbs stew beef, cut in to 1” chunks
- ¼ cup flour
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 lb mini potato, washed
- 3 large carrots, peeled and cut in chunks
- 2 stalks celery, washed and cut into chunks
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 2 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 cups beef broth
- ½ cup red wine You can use any wine that isn't overly sweet
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce or your favorite steak sauce
- potato flakes (optional)
Instructions
- Line slow cooker vessel with a Slow Cooker Liner (optional)
- Place beef in slow cooker
- Mix flour, salt and pepper together. Sprinkle mixture over meat and stir to coat
- Add potatoes, carrots, celery, onion and garlic into pot
- Pour wine, beef broth and Worchestershire sauce over meat/vegetable mixture
- Stir to mix and cover.
- Cook on low for 10-12 hours.
- Prior to serving, if you feel the sauce isn’t as thick as you would like it, add 1 tablespoon of potato flakes and stir. Test sauce for thickness. If it still isn’t where you like it, continue to add flakes, 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring in between each tablespoon until desired thickness is achieved.
Nutrition
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Stacy says
I really live this recipe technique. I am going to buy a new slow cooker because I gave mine away. I was out of State at the time but just want to say that this looks fool proof!
admin says
Definitely time for a new one! I couldn't live without mine!!
Judy says
Is there a way to cut the time to 8 hours. I don’t get up that early to fix for dinner at 6:00 pm
admin says
8 hours of cooking should actually be fine. The meat and veggie should be cooked through by then. The only reason I suggest longer is because the extra time helps to tenderize the meat a little more. If you try it at 8 hours, I would love to hear what you thought!
Thanks for reaching out to ask!
Susan
Kathleen Williams says
You could always put in on the night before, that's what I do
admin says
I don’t know why I have never tried putting it on the night before, but it is certainly a great idea. Do you leave it on warm all day? Or refrigerate it in the morning and then reheat?
Thank you for the suggestion!