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–+ servings
French cooked beef stew called Daube de Boeuf with colorful vegetables and polenta on the side.

#1 Crockpot Beef Stew With Gravy Recipe

Judith Coates
This crockpot beef stew with gravy improves in flavor as it rests, making it the ideal make-ahead meal. The best fall and winter crockpot meal!
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Prep Time 35 minutes
Cook Time 4 hours 20 minutes
Plus Marinating Time 4 hours
Total Time 4 hours 55 minutes
Course dinner recipe
Cuisine French
Servings 6

Ingredients

For The Marinate

  • 4 lbs stewing beef cut in thick chunks
  • 4 carrots thickly cut
  • 2 onions large - thickly sliced
  • 1 onion small - studded with 4 cloves
  • bouquet garni sprig or two of thyme, parsley, and a bay leaf.
  • 1 L red wine bottle of good red wine such as Burgundy

For The Stew

  • 8 oz streaky bacon or salt pork, diced
  • 4 tablespoon olive oil
  • 3 tomatoes ripe, peeled, de-seeded, and roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 4 cloves garlic finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
  • Grated rind and juice of one orange optional
  • 3 tablespoon parsley freshly chopped
  • 1 teaspoon Salt and ground black pepper
  • ½ cup black olives optional
  • 1 orange zested and juiced

Instructions
 

  • Place beef, carrots, onions, and bouquet garni in a non-metallic bowl. Pour red wine over the ingredients. Refrigerate overnight or even a couple of hours.
  • Remove beef from marinate, pat dry. Brown bacon and beef in a heavy-bottomed skillet with a little oil, then transfer to crockpot/slowcooker. (The meat needs to be dry or it will not brown, it will steam instead, and you will miss a lot of flavor.)
  • Add remaining marinade, tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, salt, and pepper to the crockpot.
  • Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat and simmer for about four hours. The marinate will reduce by about ¾ but you can add a little water if it reduces too much. It should be a good consistency and not watery.
  • Add a handful of black olives and grated rind and juice of one orange if you like but it is equally good without.

Notes

Don't skip the marinating step, as this will make a more delicious beef stew.
Cook long and slow.

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Nutrition

Calories: 703kcalCarbohydrates: 21gProtein: 77gFat: 19gSaturated Fat: 6gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 187mgSodium: 1247mgPotassium: 1704mgFiber: 4gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 7638IUVitamin C: 30mgCalcium: 131mgIron: 8mg
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