Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Rosemary and Garlic
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb sliced carrots
- 1/2 lb sliced celery
- 1 c diced onion
- 2 lb chopped potatoes (1" cubes; reds or other waxy potatoes)
- 2 T olive oil
- 6 cloves crushed garlic
- 1.5 lb beef stew meat
- salt and pepper (to season beef)
- 1/4 c Flour - plain
- The Broth Lot:
- 2 c beef broth
- 1 beef bouillon cube
- 2 T Dijon mustard
- 2 T Worcestershire sauce
- 2 T soy sauce
- 1/2 T Sugar - brown
- 1/2 T minced garlic
- 1 t salt
- 1 t freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 t ground rosemary
- 1 T fresh rosemary (divided)
- 1/2 t thyme
Method
1. Dice the onion and slice the carrots and celery. Wash the potatoes well or peel them, and cut them into one-inch cubes. Set aside in a large, heat-proof bowl.
2. Place the stew meat in a large bowl and season liberally with salt and pepper. Add the flour and toss the meat until it is coated. Set the floured meat aside.
3. Heat the olive oil in a large (5L/5Qt) pot over medium heat. Saute half the crushed garlic in the hot oil for about one minute, or until soft and fragrant. Add half the floured meat. Let the beef cook without stirring for a few minutes to allow it to brown on one side. Stir and repeat until most or all sides of the beef pieces are browned. Add the browned beef to the vegetables and stir to combine. Add more oil if necessary, and then repeat with remaining crushed garlic, beef, and all remaining flour from the bottom of the bowl. Once this has browned as well, add to the bowl with the beef and vegetables; stir to combine.
4. Turn the heat down to low on the pot. Add The Broth Lot: the beef broth and cube, Dijon, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, salt, pepper, ground rosemary, half the fresh rosemary, and thyme to the skillet. Stir to combine the ingredients and dissolve the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Once everything is dissolved, add the meat and vegetables. The sauce will not cover the contents, but it's okay. More moisture will be released as it cooks.
5. Place the lid on the pot and put it in the oven for six to ten hours. After at least six hours, remove from oven, remove the lid, and stir in the final 1/2 Tablespoon of fresh rosemary. As you stir the stew, break the beef into smaller pieces. Taste the stew and adjust the seasonings if needed. Serve hot as is, or over a bowl of rice or pasta.
Notes
SJ Note 5 May 2015: This is written for a deep pot that can go in the oven (5L/5Qt worked well for me this time; I suspect our slightly smaller 4L pot would be fine, as well) and be left on low - this is how I slow cook. If you only have a crock pot, a separate countertop appliance, follow the link for the source; she's written the recipe there for using a skillet and a plug-in slow-cooker.
This was generally good. Needed more seasoning, including more beefy flavor, so I've upped that here, and feel free to play around with it in the future. Will hopefully take less time to make in the future, now that I've rewritten it and won't be having to translate it in my head on the fly.