Cooking beef in a slow cooker is very simple. Thanks to this culinary assistant, meat is cooked quickly and turns out to be tender, juicy. Plus, the time of its preparation is reduced: so in a slow cooker you can cook beef in 40 minutes, while in a cauldron or saucepan you have to stew it much longer.
Cooking Techniques and Secrets
- There are several techniques for cooking beef in a slow cooker. Recipes may include steaming - in this case, the dish is the least high-calorie, frying and stewing in sauce (this is how classic beef stroganoff is made). But the most delicious will be beef stewed with vegetables in a slow cooker! There are many options: potatoes, carrots, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes ... In each case, you get a full dish with a side dish.
- No recipe for beef in a slow cooker is complete without preliminary meat preparation. It needs to be removed from the veins and repulsed properly. It is advisable to use a tenderloin, hip, or kidney.
- To make the taste of any dish more piquant, add wine or cognac to it. For example, for beef with prunes in a slow cooker, recipes suggest using red dry wine, and dessert madeira will enrich the dish with vegetables.
Use of spices
Properly selected bouquet of spices will make the dish amazing. Even if they are not indicated in the recipe. You can always experiment and saturate the dish with those that are perfectly combined with this kind of meat. These include oregano and basil, peppers, including hot pepper, rosemary and tarragon, cumin and thyme, turmeric and mustard seeds, coriander and cloves, marjoram.
Beef Recipes in a Multicooker
Now, let's look at how to cook beef in a slow cooker simply and quickly. We offer you a choice of 3 recipes: stewed beef with potatoes in a slow cooker, with vegetables and prunes.
With potato
For a hearty beef dish with potatoes in a slow cooker use:
- beef pulp - 300 g;
- potatoes - 5 root crops;
- carrots and onions - 1 root crop;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs.;
- black and allspice - half a teaspoon;
- parsley or dill - you can take fresh or dried;
- vegetable oil - 2 tbsp. spoons;
- water - 1.5 multi-cups;
- salt.
Cooking
- Cut the prepared meat into cubes.
- Peel the vegetables. Cut potatoes similarly to meat, onions - into cubes, rub carrots.
- Put the meat in the bowl. Fry it for 10 minutes in the “Baking” mode, pour in carrots and onions, mix, fry for 5 minutes.
- After the end of the regime put the potatoes in a bowl, add garlic and spices, salt. Pour in water, turn on the "quenching". In it, cook the dish for 1 hour.
With vegetables
Having refused potatoes for a while, you can appreciate the taste of other vegetables. For beef
with vegetables in a slow cooker use:
- beef - 600 g;
- onion - 1 head;
- eggplant, bell pepper and carrots - 1 vegetable each;
- zucchini - 3 vegetables;
- tomatoes - 5 medium size;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- Suneli hops and ground black pepper, salt;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs.
Cooking
- Cut the meat into slices.
- Fry in the “baking” mode (turn it on for 40 minutes). First, fry the meat in vegetable oil for 20 minutes, then add peeled and chopped onions and carrots to it.Fry for another 20 minutes.
- Add the garlic (finely chopped), pepper and sunnel hops, salt.
- Prepare zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers: peel and chop them.
- Lay out in layers, slightly salting each: eggplant, pepper, then lay zucchini and tomatoes, put bay leaves on top.
- Pour in 150 ml of water, in the "stew" mode, cook for 2 hours.
With prunes
For a luxurious dish with an original taste of beef with prunes in a slow cooker use:
- beef - 800 g;
- onion - 5 heads (a lot of onions give juiciness to meat);
- tomatoes in their own juice - 7 tbsp. spoons;
- prunes - 200 g pitted;
- broth - 250 ml (can be vegetable or chicken);
- vegetable oil - 3 tbsp. spoons;
- bay leaf - 2 pcs.;
- salt and black pepper.
Cooking
- Wash, dry and strip the meat. Cut into large slices (2 pieces will be enough for 1 serving).
- Chop the onion into strips.
- Turn the slow cooker into frying mode (time - 15 minutes). If it is possible to choose a product, install "vegetables", add frying oil.
- Fry the meat for 7 minutes, put the onions to it for 5 minutes of frying.
- Mash the tomatoes with a fork, put in a bowl, simmer until the end of the program.
- Switch to the quenching mode for an hour, pour in the broth. With the lid closed, cook for 40 minutes, then add the washed prunes. After 10 minutes, salt the dish, add the lavrushka and pepper.
Try cooking these simple beef dishes in a slow cooker. Recipes with photos from our review will help you with this!