Okay, so it’s August and talking about stew is not normally appropriate. But in all honesty, there have been several days this month already that felt like fall. I have a freezer full of random cuts of beef that I need to get used up before it was time to fill the deep freeze again. I decided to tackle some of the stew meat that I had in there.
I love my Pioneer Woman cookbooks and they are the first ones I grab when I am looking for recipe or food inspiration. So when I was looking for a stew recipe I started with my bestie (in my head), Ree Drummond. This stew was hearty, delicious and everything you want in a stew. If you know anything about Ree, you know that she does not use a slow cooker. I don’t think she owns a slow cooker, so I don’t think she sleeps!
I, on the other than, love my slow cooker because I can cook something while I am outside working in the barn. Which is why the biggest thing I changed is I made it into a slow cooker beef stew recipe. Make sure when the weather is getting cold and dreary, you do not forget about this delicious stew! It also freezes perfect so it makes a perfect freezer meal too.
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 can or bottle of beer
- 4 cups beef broth
- 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1/2 teaspoon paprika
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 4 new potatoes, quartered
- 4 carrots, unpeeled, roughly sliced
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- Crusty bread, for serving
- Turn your slow cooker onto low and get it heating up. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the stew meat and quickly brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove the meat and set aside. Throw in the onion and reduce the heat to low. Cook the onion for about 3 minutes until softened. Add in the garlic and stir it around. Pour in the beer, then the beef broth, Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste, paprika, sugar, salt and pepper. Take the mixture and add it to your slow cooker. Add the meat and the vegetables as well. Depending on how high your low setting is, it could take up to 8 hours to get the meat tender and the vegetables cooked.
- If the stew does not thicken to your liking, remove one cup of cooking liquid into a bowl, whisk in the flour and pour it into the stew. Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes or until it is very thick.
- When raw, baby carrots get a little old they are still good, just dry. I will reuse them in soups and cooking. That is what I did with this recipe.
