At this time of year, I love my slow cooker for a number of reasons. I love knowing that dinner is sorted early on in the day, and if I happen to be home, I get to enjoy the smell of it cooking too. I love that it’s easy to produce hearty stews and soups that warm us up on these chilly Autumn days. And I also love that it makes large quantities at a time, which leaves me with a meal in the freezer for a busy day or to give away to someone who needs it.
This recipe I created when I found some yummy looking boneless beef short ribs on sale recently.
Chefs around the world, look away for a minute. It’s here that I need to confess I don’t ‘pre-brown’ my meat before putting it in the slow cooker. I agree with Jamie Oliver on this one – I have tried pre-browning and not, and have come to the conclusion that I can’t be bothered, with spending the time or washing up an extra pan.
So, this is my ‘bung everything in the slow cooker and turn it on’ recipe.
It is rich and flavoursome and the meat just falls apart with the touch of a fork.
Serves a family of 4-6 depending on portion size.
Ingredients
1.2-1.5kg boneless beef short ribs (you could substitute chunks of gravy beef, but it just may cook a little quicker)
1 spanish (red) onion, peeled and roughly chopped
3 bacon rashers, roughly chopped
2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
1 red capsicum, de-seeded and roughly chopped
1 x 400gm can diced tomatoes
2 tablespoons tomato paste
3/4 cup red wine
a few sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 fresh bay leaves, or dry if you don’t have fresh
salt and pepper to taste
Method
Bung it all in a slow cooker and cook for approx 6 hours on low or until meat is tender.
Take the lid off for the last half an hour to allow the sauce to thicken, or strain the liquid into a small saucepan, add a few tablespoons of plain flour and simmer away to thicken the sauce into a gravy. Due to the fatty nature of short ribs, you may also like to scoop the top oily layer off the sauce before serving too.
Serve with mashed or roasted potatoes, sweet potato, or roasted cauliflower.
This is also a freezer friendly meal.
