Tuesday 2 April 2013

Christmas Eve: Slow cooker roast beef

So I know it's a while after the event, but in case there are any people who are new to using their slow cookers, here's how I used mine to make roast beed last Christmas Eve:)
 

  
I hadn’t used my slow cooker for literally years, but after seeing so many delicious looking recipes on Pinterest, I decided to haul it out of retirement. I knew that it is one of the more reliable methods of ensuring your meat stays tender and I didn’t want to risk drying out my meat for such a big event. I read so many recipes that I can’t remember who really inspired this one, but it was probably from www.allrecipes.com.
I first browned the beef over high heat on the stove and put it in the slow cooker. I then quartered an onion and laid it all around, along with about 6-8 halved cherry tomatoes and half a cup of red wine and cooked this on high for 4 hours. After 4 hours, I took out the meat, stuck the hand blender in the slow cooker and pureed the onion and tomatoes and poured this mixture into a saucepan on the stove. After bringing it to a boil, I added some Bisto and made a gravy. I then sliced the meat and laid it back in the slow cooker and poured over the gravy and set it on low to keep warm till my guests arrived. It tasted every bit as good as it looked! My fussy, tactile-defensive 6yo even had 3 helpings of the beef :)