Slow-Cooked Beef Stew

I love the flavour of slow cooked beef, and I love eating stews this time of year when it starts getting cooler. But I hate overcooked, mushy vegetables. This recipe takes a bit more work in the kitchen, but in the end gives me the best of both, tender, fall apart beef and cubed root veggies which still have their shape and texture.

slow-cooked beef stew

You will need:

• 2 pounds beef - I get a mixture of oxtail and stewing beef or skirt cut into cubes. 
• 1 onion, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cups water
• salt and pepper

• 2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped
• 1 small, or 1/2 large swede, peeled and chopped
• 2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
• 2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup fresh or frozen peas
• any other veggies you want to add
• water
• Worcestershire sauce

  

  Assorted veg and herbs for an Autumn stew

• 2 tablespoons corn flour/corn starch
• 1 tablespoon cool water

1. Place the beef into a slow-cooker along with the onion, garlic, bay leaves, and water. Set on low and leave to cook for at least 6 hours, but let it go for as long as you can. I will usually put it all in the pot the night before and leave it to slow cook overnight and through the day. Otherwise, put it all in the pot in the morning and let it cook through the day.

2. About 45 minutes before you're ready to eat, remove the beef from the slow cooker to a tray and strain the stock into a large pot. Add in all the chopped vegetables, topping with water if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer about 15 - 20 minutes or until the vegetables are all cooked.
Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Add a splash of Worcestershire sauce. 

3. Make a thin paste using the corn flour and water and add to the pot, stir until it begins to thicken. Remove the ox-tail bones from the meat, shred, and add it all to the pot.

4. Let simmer a few more minutes until it is all piping hot.

Serve in a bowl with thick slices of bread.

Alternately, leave the potatoes out of the mix of root vegetables and make a separate pan of mashed potatoes. Serve the stew over the mash.


 The beef: I like using cheaper cuts of beef as they will be cooked for a long while. Skirt steak has very long muscle fibres that can become very, very tough if not cooked properly. Make sure to cut against the grain of the muscle when cubing. It should be either slow-cooked for several hours, or cut into strips against the grain and flash fried for a few seconds.

Ox tail provides a depth and richness to a stew. It can be quite fatty, and that can overwhelm a dish, which is why I use a combination of both skirt/stewing steak and ox-tail.

My son who does not eat stews, gravies, or any root veg besides carrots and potatoes gets a deconstructed stew with a serving of beef, a serving of mashed potatoes, some of the cooked carrots and peas.

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew

When Autumn arrives and temperatures begin to drop, I like to eat foods that are a bit heartier and a bit more filling. This is when I turn to cooking stews, and one of my favourites this time of year is a beef stew.

Like many, I want to get cheaper cuts of beef to go into a beef stew. That means cuts which need to cook for low and slow in order to break down the muscle fibers which make it tough. What I don't want is to be spending 4 hours making a stew when I only have 2 hours in which to get a meal on the table.

This is where a slow-cooker becomes very handy.

Skirt steak comes from the plate cut

My favourite beef to use for making stews is the skirt steak which comes from a cut called the plate. While flavoursome and low in fat it does have very long muscle fiber strands which make it tough to eat if it isn't sliced across the grain.Sometimes you will find a touch whitish membrane covering one side of the skirt steak. Have your butcher remove it, or trim it off yourself before trying to cut up the meat.

Skirt steak is also popular for making beef fajitas and Asian stir-fries.

Slow-Cooker Beef Stew
Serves: 4
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 6 - 8 hours

Ingredients list:
1 pound beef skirt, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into cubes
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into cubes
2 medium onions, cut into large chunks
2 carrots, peeled and cut into large chunks
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper to taste
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 tin red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 tin cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
2 tins water

Method:
Place all of the ingredients into a slow-cooker. Turn the device onto low heat and leave to cook for 6 - 8 hours. I usually put everything into the pot the night before, then turn it on before leaving the house in the morning.

Before serving, taste for seasoning and add more salt and pepper if desired.

Serve with bread or over boiled potatoes. 

Jut about any vegetable can be used for this stew. I contemplating adding some chopped cavolo nero, peas and sweetcorn, or a tin of chopped tomatoes, and may just try one of two of these combinations in my next stew.

You will notice that I don't add potatoes to my beef stew. This is because I have found that they break down too much from the longer cooking time. I much prefer cooking them up separately for this reason.

If you don't have a slow-cooker, place all of the ingredients into a covered oven proof stewing pot, like the SKK stew pot I use, and cook at a  low temperature (gas mark 2 /300f/150c) for 3 - 4 hours.

Beef enchiladas

This is another dish I like that can be made using less expensive cuts of beef because the core components

Beef enchiladas

cook for a long time at a low temperature. The longer you can give it to cook the better as that will allow flavours to combine.

This recipe makes 4 generous servings, or 6 smaller servings with a side salad and perhaps a spoonful of refried beans.

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless beef
• 1 tin tomatoes
• 1 onion chopped
• 1 clove garlic crushed and minced
• 2 large red chilli peppers, seeded and chopped (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 heaped tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/8 tsp ground chilli (adjust to taste)
• 1 tomato tin of water
• 6 - 8 corn tortillas
• 1 cup grated extra mature cheddar cheese

Method:

1. Combine beef, tomatoes, chillies, onion, garlic, salt, cumin, turmeric, and ground dried chilli in a large ovenproof saucepan, over a moderate flame. Add a can full of water.
2. Bring it up to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and place in a low heat oven (gas mark 2 -3) for 3 - 4 hours, until tender. Add more liquid if necessary.
3. Remove from heat, cool.
4. Remove beef, shred with a fork, set aside, reduce liquid slightly if needed.
5. Spoon a few tablespoons of the sauce into the meat and place 2 - 3 spoonfuls into a 9x13x2-inch, buttered baking dish.
6. Place a small bit of the beef onto each tortilla. Roll up and place into baking dish.
7. Pour the remaining sauce over the top.
8. Top with grated cheese.
9. Bake at about 350F for 25-30 minutes. Remove from oven and serve.
10. Garnish with sour cream, olives, and spring onions if you wish.

 Slow-cooker method

Reduce the water to half a tin. Combine all of the ingredients in the slow-cooker and let cook on low for at least 8 hours. 

Remove the meat and shred. 

Transfer the sauce to a pan and reduce down if necessary before assembling the enchiladas as directed above.

Beef enchilada casserole 

Instead of rolling up individual tortillas, alternate layers of corn tortilla, shredded beef, and sauce. Top with a final layer of sauce and grated cheese. 

Bake in the oven and serve as directed above.