Slow Cooker Hearty Beef Stew

Ingredients

  • 5-6 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, cut into 1 1⁄2-inch pieces
  • 1⁄4 cup olive oil
  • Salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 4 onions, thinly sliced
  • 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
  • 2 cups beef broth
  • 3 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons Minute tapioca
  • 1 pound baby carrots, cut in half
  • 1 pound parsnips, peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 pound red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 1⁄2 teaspoons thyme
  • 2 cups frozen peas, thawed

Instructions

  1. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking.  Cook half of beef until well browned all over, about 8 minutes.  Transfer to slow cooker and repeat with addition 1 tablespoon oil and remaining beef.  
  2. Add onions, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1⁄4 teaspoon salt to now empty skillet and cook until browned, 6 to 8 minutes.  Add tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until paste begins to darken, about 2 minutes.  Slow stir in broth, soy sauce, and bay leaves and bring to boil.  Transfer mixture to slow cooker.  Add tapioca and stir well.  
  3. Toss carrots, parsnips, potatoes, remaining oil, thyme, 1⁄2 teaspoon salt, and 1⁄2 teaspoon pepper in large bowl.  Place vegetables on one side of large piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.  Fold foil over vegetables to form packet that will fit in slow cooker.  Crimp edges to seal.  Place foil packet on top of beef.  
  4. Cover and cook on HIGH until beef is tender, 6 to 7 hours, or cook on LOW 10 to 11 hours.  Uncover, carefully open foil packet, and allow vegetables and accumulated liquid to slide into slow cooker.  Stir in peas and cover.  Let stand 5 minutes or until heated through.  Season with salt and pepper, remove bay leaves when you find them, and serve.  

Comments

This recipe is from Cook’s Country.  I actually don’t like beef stew.  Really.  But I went through a period where I was craving it for some unknown reason.  I’d wake up in the morning and think, “man, I want beef stew.”  So I finally broke down and found a recipe.  This recipe in fact.  I’ve made it three times since.  This is pretty much the tastiest thing I’ve put in my mouth involving braised beef.  Amazing stuff.  I can’t recommend it enough.  You need to make this.  

What makes this so great is that the vegetables still retain their own taste and a lot of texture, since they’re just steamed and not cooked into mush with the beef part of the stew.