Slow cooking in a Dutch oven makes the meat tender, and the sauce is rich, smooth and flavorful. No condensed cream of soup here!
Cook's notes -
- Yes, you absolutely can make this in a slow cooker!
- Yes, you can marinate the night before and add it to your slow cooker in the morning.
- Grass-fed beef is best, but if not available, any good stew beef works.
- Red grape juice with a splash (about 1 tbsp) of balsamic vinegar is a good substitute for the Merlot wine.
RECIPE
Ingredients
1 cup Merlot wine
2 strips bacon, chopped
1/2 medium onion, diced
1 lb. grass-fed beef stew meat
1/3 cup flour
2 tsp dried minced garlic
2 tsp. thyme leaves
1 tsp. course-ground black pepper
1 tsp. salt
2 cups beef bone broth
6-8 button mushrooms, sliced length-wise, reserved
Method
Trim stew beef into medium to small pieces and marinate in the refrigerator one hour in 1 cup Merlot wine.
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium heat until almost cooked through, add onions and saute' 3-4 minutes or until just becoming translucent.
Stir in marinated beef and Merlot wine and cook until beef is browned. Sprinkle flour evenly over beef; add garlic, thyme leaves, pepper and salt. Pour in beef bone broth and stir well to combine.
Cover Dutch oven and cook 2 1/2 hours or until beef is tender. During the last 30 minutes, stir in the sliced mushrooms.
Serve over your choice of rice, egg noodles or mashed potatoes.
Cook's note - this recipe could be easily cooked in a slow cooker set to low heat for 6-8 hours.
Enjoy,
Mary
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