Slow Cooker Beef Stew With Mushrooms

Beef stew with mushrooms served in a skillet.

Slow Cooker Beef Stew With Mushrooms

Taking the time to learn a few easy prep tricks along with some unique ingredients will make this the best beef stew you've ever made. Beef stew with layers of indescribable flavor and melt in your mouth tender beef. This Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Mushrooms is the ultimate family feast.

Course Soup, Stews and Chilis

Cuisine American

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 7

Servings

Calories 331kcal

Author Lea Ann Brown

Equipment

6 qt. Slow Cooker

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Neutral oil Canola oil works well here.
3 pounds beef chuck roast large chunks of fat trimmed off. Meat cut into 2' cubes.
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 ½ teaspoons kosher salt divided
16 ounces mushrooms White Mushrooms or Baby Bella. Quartered if large. Leave small mushrooms whole.
1 ½ cups Sweet onion Chopped or sliced
3 medium carrots Peeled and cut diagonally into ½-inch pieces. Or 2 carrots and 1 parsnip.
6 garlic cloves smashed
1 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon coriander seed
1 bunch flat leaf parsley
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh
2 bay leaves
1 ½ pounds small potatoes Red potatoes or Yukon gold work well here. cut any larger potatoes in half.
6 cups beef broth I use three 14.5 cans and make up the small amount of difference with water.
1 tablespoon tomato paste A generous tablespoon is even better here.
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

Instructions

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon of the oil. Sprinkle beef with pepper and 1 teaspoon salt. Add half of beef to skillet, and cook, until browned on both sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Transfer beef to the slow cooker. Repeat with remaining 1 tablespoon oil and remaining half of beef.
Add mushrooms to the skillet, and cook, stirring often, until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the mushrooms to a plate, cover and refrigerate.
Add onions and carrots to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally until onion begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Add smashed garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.
Add the red wine and cook until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 4 minutes. Stir and scrape to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet.
Add red wine vegetable mixture to slow cooker with beef. Stir in coriander seed and parsley bundle. Add thyme, remaining salt, bay leaves, potatoes, tomato paste and beef stock. Cover and cook on LOW for 7 hours.
Once the stew has cooked for 7 hours, fish out 1 cup of beef stock and place it in a bowl. Whisk in the flour to form a thick paste roux. Add the roux back into the stew and use the whisk to blend it in. Add the fried mushrooms, whole grain mustard, and vinegar. Turn up heat to high and cook for an additional 15 minutes.
Remove the coriander seed bundle and throw away. Ladle into bowls and garnish with chopped chives or chopped flat leaf parsley.

Notes

Tips for Success:

Fry those mushrooms: Frying mushrooms until just crispy will insure that the texture of the mushrooms, once in the stew, will be pleasant. And in this recipe, we add the mushrooms at the end of that long cooking time. Mushrooms are a sponge, and if cooked for 7 hours with the rest of the ingredients, will feel like sponges in your mouth.

About Red Wine: Adding red wine to the fry pan serves two purposes. First to add a layer of flavor to the beef stew, and to deglaze the pan. When you add the wine to the hot pan, be sure to use a sturdy spoon to scrape up all of the bits of food that are stuck to the bottom of the pan. They equal flavor.

Choose a well marbled chuck roast. That marbling is strands of fat that run through the muscle. Which is important in influencing the flavor and texture of the meat. It's a good thing.

Dutch Oven Instructions: Just follow the instructions and use a 6 - 7 quart Dutch Oven instead of a slow cooker. Set the oven temperature at 325 degrees and cook for 3-4 hours. Test the meat and if it's tender, complete the recipe. If the meat is not tender, continue cooking until it is and then finish the recipe.

Pickapeppa Sauce: I always have a bottle of Pickapeppa Sauce on hand. Add a splash to the stew at the beginning of the cook time. Worcestershire sauce is also a good option.

Presentation Tip: Once you've ladled the soup into bowls, garnish with small pieces of parsley or fine chopped chives. Use kitchen shears to cut your greens. A little green will make those vegetables shine with color.

Nutrition