Slow Cooker_ The Best Cookbook Ever - Diane Phillips [75]
when the stew is finished cooking, skim off any fat from the top of the sauce and stir in the butter and flour mixture. Add the mushroom mixture, reserved bacon, and stir to combine. Cover and cook for an additional 15 to 20 minutes, until the sauce is thickened, before serving.
serves 8
Santa Maria Tri-Tip for Fajitas
The area around Santa Barbara on the central coast of California is famous for its tri-tip sirloin-roast barbecues, which date back to the days of the Spanish ranchers. Generally this cut is barbecued and thinly sliced to serve with warm flour tortillas and condiments. The slow cooker mimics a covered grill and braises this delicious cut of meat to perfection. This preparation requires a cut of meat that can be hard to find in some areas, but ask your butcher for the “triangle sirloin” or “bottom sirloin triangle cut.” If you have trouble finding it, 3-inch-thick top sirloin will work here. Just remember to slice the top sirloin thinly across the grain.
2 large onions, cut into half rounds
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons ancho chile powder
2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon celery seeds
Two 1½- to 2-pound tri-tip roasts, fat trimmed, tied together with kitchen string or silicone loops
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup beef broth
spread the onions on the bottom of the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Combine the sugar, paprika, chile powder, garlic salt, and celery seeds in a small bowl. Rub the mixture evenly over the roasts.
heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides.
transfer the meat to the slow-cooker insert. Deglaze the skillet with the broth and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
pour the broth over the meat in the slow-cooker insert. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 to 7 hours, until the meat is tender.
remove the meat from the slow cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest. Remove the strings from the meat. Slice the meat thinly against the grain and serve.
serves 8
Barbecued Beef Sandwiches
My son Ryan was a fussy eater growing up, but he and his friends never could get enough of these sandwiches. They loved the slowly cooked, melt-in-your-mouth beef surrounded by the sweet and spicy barbecue sauce, especially when they could serve themselves from the slow cooker. I prefer tri-tip for this recipe because it’s so lean and flavorful, but you can use other sirloin cuts as well.
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1½ teaspoons salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Two 1½- to 2-pound tri tip roasts or one 3½- to 4-pound bottom sirloin roast, rolled and tied
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup molasses
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
8 Kaiser rolls or soft onion rolls
combine the paprika, salt, and cayenne in a small bowl, and rub the mixture evenly onto the roast. Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add the meat and brown on all sides.
transfer to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the onion and garlic to the same skillet over medium-high heat and sauté until the onion is softened and the garlic is fragrant, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the tomato sauce and stir up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.
transfer the contents of the pan to the slow cooker and stir in the remaining ingredients. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 8 to 9 hours, until the meat is tender. Remove the meat from the cooker, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
remove the strings from the meat and slice the meat across the grain. Skim off any fat from the top of the sauce. Return the meat to the slow cooker set on warm, and serve on the rolls.
serves 8
Shepherd’s Pie
Cafeteria