Cheaper cuts ... stew meat ... chuck ... cook slow and low ... tender and rich ....
Low and slow moist cooking, otherwise known as braising, is the best way to cook a tough cut of meat that is high in connective tissue. This steak and gravy recipe is the perfect dish to cook in a slow cooker. The slow cooker will turn the cheapest cuts of beef into an amazingly rich and hearty meal with a mouth-coating texture. Serve this dish over mashed potatoes or white rice, and you have a steak dinner that your family will be begging you to make again!
I recommend using precut stew meat or chuck roast for this dish. Typically, the tougher and cheaper the meat, the more tender it will be after cooking in a slow cooker. Before adding your beef, whisk flour into the cooking liquid. This is the base for your gravy. Soy sauce and red wine add complexity to the dish, while onions, carrots, celery and thyme add aromatics, and mushrooms add a wonderful earthiness. Finally, mix in your beef and let your slow cooker do the rest of the work. Eight hours later, you'll have tender morsels of beef covered in a silky and rich mushroom gravy.
Slow Cooker Steak & Gravy
Ingredients2½ cups beef broth
2 tablespoons soy sauce
½ cup red wine
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup medium-diced carrot
3 cups thinly sliced cremini mushrooms
2 sprigs fresh thyme, picked
2 pounds beef stew meat, 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons sour cream
Directions 1. Add beef broth, soy sauce and red wine into a 6-quart slow cooker. Whisk in flour until lumps are gone. Mix in onions, carrots, mushrooms, thyme and beef.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
3. Mix in sour cream. Cover and cook for 30 minutes.
Pro tip: For a quick and easy gravy, replace 1 cup of beef broth, flour and sour cream with 1 can of cream of mushroom soup.
