Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Red Wine
Fork-tender chuck, earthy mushrooms, and a wine-deepened broth.
Method · 8 steps
- 1
Pat beef cubes dry. In a large bowl, toss with flour, 1 tsp salt, and pepper until evenly coated.
- 2
Heat oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high. Sear beef in 3 batches — do not crowd or you'll steam instead of sear. Each batch: 3 minutes per side until deep brown. Transfer to the slow cooker.
- 3
Reduce heat to medium. Add onion to the skillet and cook 4 minutes until softened. Add garlic and tomato paste, stir 1 minute until paste darkens.
- 4
Pour in red wine, scraping every brown bit off the bottom with a wooden spoon. Simmer 3 minutes until reduced by a third. Pour the entire mixture into the slow cooker.
- 5
Add beef broth, potatoes, carrots, mushrooms, Worcestershire, soy sauce, thyme, bay leaves, and remaining 1 tsp salt. Stir once to combine.
- 6
Cover and cook on LOW for 8 hours or HIGH for 5 hours. Stew is done when the beef cubes pull apart with a fork and potatoes are tender.
- 7
Discard thyme stems and bay leaves. Stir in frozen peas and let sit with the lid on for 5 minutes until heated through.
- 8
Taste and adjust salt. The flour from the sear step will have thickened the broth to a gravy consistency — if you want it thicker, simmer uncovered on HIGH 15 more minutes.
Chef's notes
- →Sear in batches — dumping 2.5 lb of beef in a skillet at once just steams it gray. Brown color = flavor.
- →The flour coating thickens the stew as it cooks. No cornstarch slurry needed.
- →Drink the same wine you cook with. Cooking with bad wine makes bad stew.
Storage
Fridge 4 days — flavor actually improves day 2. Freezer 3 months. Reheat gently on the stove.
