Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [74]
All-I-Want-Is-Meat-and-Potatoes Sirloin
When tasting recipes for this book, my husband longed for a simple meat and potatoes dinner. I was so focused on flavor combinations and international flavors that I left traditional ones behind. So, Dr. Chuck, this one’s for you. We loved this served with crisp green beans dressed with extra-virgin olive oil.
One 2 ½- to 3-pound sirloin roast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large sweet onions, such as Vidalia, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons dried thyme
3 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
24 golf ball–sized Yukon gold or red potatoes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
sprinkle the roast evenly with 1½ teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides.
transfer the meat to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the onions and thyme to the same skillet and sauté until the onions begin to soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to the slow cooker. Add the broth, Worcestershire, and potatoes to the cooker, surrounding the meat.
cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4 to 5 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours. Remove the meat and potatoes from the slow cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for about 15 minutes.
skim off any fat from the surface of the sauce. Transfer the sauce to a saucepan and strain through a fine-mesh sieve, if desired. Put the butter and the flour in a small bowl and stir to form a paste.
bring the sauce to a boil and add the butter mixture in pieces to the sauce, bringing the sauce back to a boil after each addition. Season with salt and pepper.
slice the meat and serve napped with some of the sauce. Serve any additional sauce warmed on the side.
serves 6–8
Red Wine–Marinated Sirloin
Julia Child once remarked that Boeuf Bourguignon was the best beef stew known to man. By marinating the meat in the wine and spices ahead of time, your stew will have a deep flavor and the slow cooker will melt the meat into a tender and delicious dinner, giving you the whole day to relax. A classic French beef stew flavored with bacon or salt pork and garnished with mushrooms and small pearl onions, when done right, this is heaven on a plate. The slow cooker takes over with its low and slow braising and gives you a melt-in-your-mouth dinner. Make sure to serve with a crusty loaf of French bread to dip in the sauce.
4 cups Burgundy wine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 to 4 pounds beef sirloin, fat trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
One 15-ounce can double-strength beef broth
4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 pound small white button mushrooms
½ pound pearl onions, blanched and peeled
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
combine the wine, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, honey, salt, and pepper in a large zipper-top plastic bag. Add the beef to the bag, seal, and turn to coat the meat with the marinade. Refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours, turning the bag a few times during refrigeration.
remove the meat from the marinade and set the marinade aside, removing the bay leaf. Cook the bacon in a large skillet until crisp and remove it to drain on paper towels. Add the meat to the bacon drippings and brown on all sides. Transfer the browned meat to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the marinade to the skillet and bring to a boil, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert and add the broth. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours, until the meat is tender. Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms and onions and sauté until they begin to turn golden and the liquid in the pan is evaporated. Set aside until ready to serve. (The mushrooms