Slow Cooker Beef Stew

Around the five-hour mark, the smell coming from this pot is enough to make waiting for dinner feel unreasonable. Most of the work happens hands-off in the slow cooker, with the only real task being the browning step at the very start.

That searing step is not optional. Browning the beef properly is what separates a deeply flavored stew from a flat, beige one.

Ingredients

Instructions

1. Toss the beef with the flour, a generous pinch of salt, and plenty of pepper. Sear in batches in a hot pan with 2 tablespoons of the oil until deeply browned on all sides. Transfer to the slow cooker.
2. In the same pan, cook the onions in the remaining oil for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic and tomato paste and cook for 1 minute.
3. Pour in the wine and scrape up the browned bits with a wooden spoon. Simmer for 2 minutes, then tip everything into the slow cooker.
4. Add the stock, carrots, potatoes, thyme and bay leaves. Cover and cook on low for 6–8 hours, or high for 4 hours, until the beef pulls apart with a fork.
5. Fish out the herb stems, taste for seasoning, scatter with parsley and serve with crusty bread.

Cooking tips

• Chuck is the right cut — leaner cuts turn dry over a long cook. Ask the butcher for stewing chuck if unsure.
• Deglazing the pan with the wine is where a huge amount of flavour comes from. Don't rinse it away.
• If the gravy looks thin at the end, ladle a cup into a saucepan and reduce it fast, then stir it back through.

More like this

For more from this section, browse our main dishes recipes or the full collection.