Slow Cooker Braised Beef. Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post
Nearly 11 years ago, when my husband and I returned home from the hospital with our baby in tow, a few things became clear almost immediately: Our son hated the baby carrier, slept only on another person (mostly me) at a 45-degree angle, and was always awake from 1 to 4am. Add my lifelong inability to nap to being up at all hours, and I wasn’t sleeping much.
Deprived of rest and independence, my time no longer my own, I became convinced I’d never cook again. It made perfect sense to my sleep-deprived, postpartum brain, and I never even considered questioning it. I couldn’t see clearly beyond the haze of what many call "the fourth trimester,” and as someone for whom cooking had been a critical part of my identity for as long as I could remember, I mourned my loss of self.
Of course, life’s one constant is that things are always changing. About six weeks into motherhood, I made dinner: braised beef in tomato sauce, made meltingly tender in a slow cooker. I no longer remember how I came upon the recipe - attributed to the late writer Laurie Colwin and Nathalie Waag, a bon vivant who lived in the South of France - but I found it scribbled on a scrap of paper tucked away into my tattered copy of George Eliot’s novel "Middlemarch,” most likely to bookmark a passage I was especially fond of.
This recipe turned out to be so much more than a meal. It also handed me several gifts: a part of myself I thought was gone forever, renewed excitement to return to the kitchen, and gratitude for how the simplest ingredients and preparations can yield something greater than the sum of its parts.
With just a handful of ingredients and minimal hands-on time, it’s something that anyone with a slow cooker (or a multicooker, such as an Instant Pot with a slow-cook setting), no matter the skill level, can make.
The whole prep takes no more than 10 minutes, and there’s no chopping or stirring or standing over the pot and looking for doneness. You simply combine everything in the slow cooker, set the timer and walk away. While you go about your life, the beef, as it gently braises in tomato sauce with sweet, mellow garlic, becomes tender and flavorful. I’m still in awe of how something this elementary can transform into something so sublime.
It goes well with many sides: buttered noodles; boiled, roasted or mashed potatoes; braised cabbage or another hearty vegetable. But my favorite way to serve it is atop buttery, cheesy polenta, which, granted, can be a time-consuming, labor-intensive side. I like to balance things out, I suppose.
I’ve made this dish for weeknight dinners on bone-chilling winter evenings. I’ve also made it for dinner parties and holidays, and felt like I was cheating because of how little time I spent in the kitchen. I’ve brought it to new parents, friends dealing with illness or anyone in need of a comforting meal. Even at my most rushed on weekday mornings, I can find a few minutes to throw it together. Little else can beat the satisfaction of coming home to a warm, nourishing meal that feels like a gift to yourself and your loved ones.
Slow Cooker Braised Beef
Just three main ingredients - and no chopping or stirring - deliver an astounding depth of flavor in this tender, slow-cooked beef in tomato and garlic sauce. The original oven-braised version was inspired by two recipes that ran in Gourmet magazine: one for "Aunt Gladys’s Beef” from the late novelist Laurie Colwin, and another for artist and bon vivant Nathalie Waag’s leg of lamb with tomatoes and garlic. Serve with creamy, buttery polenta for the ultimate comfort meal.
Servings: 6
Active time: 10 minutes. Total time: 8 hours 10 minutes
Substitutions
Canned whole peeled tomatoes >> chopped or crushed tomatoes.
Boneless chuck roast >> boneless leg of lamb.
Variations:
To braise in the oven, position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 300 degrees. Use an ovenproof 4-to-5-quart heavy-bottomed pot or Dutch oven, and follow the assembly directions above. Braise for 3 to 4 hours, or until very tender and a sharp paring knife easily slides in when inserted. If you like, before you serve the meat, squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the sauce, then use an immersion blender to process until smooth or the texture is to your liking. If you prefer to add herbs, sage, rosemary or thyme would work well here.
Notes: When buying the chuck roast, you can ask for it to be tied, or do it yourself - this will keep the meat more moist and tender.
Storage: Refrigerate for up to 4 days.
INGREDIENTS
One (3-to-3 1/2-pound) boneless chuck roast, preferably tied (see Notes)
3/4 teaspoon fine salt, plus more as needed
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more as needed
One (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, with their juices, cut up with kitchen shears or crushed by hand
1 head garlic, separated into cloves (unpeeled)
Cooked polenta, for serving
Chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, for serving (optional)
DIRECTIONS
Season the beef all over with the salt and pepper, and set it inside the insert of a slow cooker. Add the tomatoes, along with their juices, and scatter the garlic cloves around. Cover, and slow-cook on LOW for 8 hours. (Alternatively, use a programmable multicooker such as an Instant Pot. Select SLOW COOK and Normal, and cook for 8 hours.) The meat should be very tender, and a sharp paring knife should easily slide in and out when inserted. Taste the sauce and a morsel of meat, and season with more salt and pepper, if desired.
Carefully transfer the meat to a cutting board and, if it has been tied, cut and discard the string. Cut the roast into 1/4-to-1/2-inch-thick slices and serve in shallow bowls over polenta, with the sauce and garlic cloves, which you can squeeze out of the skins and mix into the dish. Garnish with parsley, if you like, and serve warm.
Nutritional information per serving (6 1/2 ounces beef and 3 tablespoons sauce): 340 calories, 12 g fat, 6 g saturated fat, 8 g carbohydrates, 685 mg sodium, 150 mg cholesterol, 49 g protein, 1 g fiber, 3 g sugar.
This analysis is an estimate based on available ingredients and this preparation. It should not substitute for a dietitian’s or nutritionist’s advice.
Adapted from Epicurious.com.
From The Washington Post Food Editor Olga Massov
