I watched a video on Youtube this week that had me in a state of awe. This American lady had an assembly line of slow cooker stews bagged up in plastic freezer bags, the raw meat, the chopped onions, the veg, heck – even the stock. She freezes them all into a lump and then whenever she wants a stew the next day, she grabs a rock of frozen ingredients, peels off the bag and whacks them into the slow cooker.
I am so trying this out.
You see I might put up this facade of being terribly organised but sometimes we’re eating fish fingers and oven chips and I’m thinking if only I had got ahead of myself this morning and bunged some stuff in the slow cooker.
We’ve actually had a Crockpot for nearly ten years and it’s given us some awesome service but having seen what the American lady does in hers, I am so not getting the most out of my Crockpot. Apparently the production line freezer technique can be used for any slow cooker recipes so I have some keen experimenting to do.
Meanwhile it was time to have a bash with this new model Crockpot have sent me. It looks more modern with a digital display and with straight sides it’s much easier to clean. The glass lid means you can check on what’s going on inside without letting the heat out. Logo geek that I am, I really love the cute puff of steam coming out of the “o” of the word “pot”. Genius.
It’s really easy to use. You just plug it in and switch on the power button. Then there are two heat settings, high and low then a “keep warm” setting too. What I like most about this new model is that you can program a time with the up and down arrows that will countdown rather than merely having an on/off dial.
This Crockpot beef on the bone stew recipe is a really lazy stew. I don’t even intend to cut potatoes or carrots. I’ve selected these Chanteney carrots that you can just chuck in as they are without even topping and tailing them. If you were really lazy you might buy a bag of ready chopped onion but honestly I think that’s taking things a tad far.
I’ve been having a bone in beef moment lately – there’s another beef stew I’ll save for another day from my holidays in the Camargue and I finally twigged that it was the gelatinous ooziness from the bones that made the stew what it was. I’m sorry if that’s too icky for any vegetarians out there but chances are the title of this post has put you off already.
When beef on the bone was banned in the UK during the nineties, I had some in Florence with my Italian friends and they said “There’s no crazy cow here.”
Simply toss the meat in some flour, heat some oil in a pan and brown off the pieces for extra flavour in your slow cooked stew. With casserole steak I have missed this step out but it does make the stew taste good and the flour coating helps thicken the stew gravy.
And leave for 4-6 hours. Meanwhile we went and looked at some more bones. Dinosaur bones to be precise.
Ted has had a four week homework project researching dinosaurs so whilst the dinner was cooking we hopped on the tube to look at the “real thing”.
Fast forward to later that day and as I put the key in my front door, I swear I can smell beef on the bone stew before I’ve even got back into the house.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell you that the joy of slow cooking is that cheaper cuts of meat requiring longer cooking times are perfectly suited to it. So this stew is perfect for those value stew packs or oxtail.
Another way to save money is taking your lunch to work but in winter, chances are you fancy something warm rather than sandwiches.
So let me also introduce you to another addition to the Crockpot stable – meet the Crockpot Food Warmer. It’s like a little bucket that you could carry to work full of cold food and you plug it in first thing and three hours later your lunch will be piping hot at the moment you want it without battling your way through a queue to the (stinky) office microwave. (This is a sausage and tomato stew here not the beef one).
Assuming your employer will let you use personal electronic devices – you may need to ask for it to be “PAT tested” and technically ought to be doing this for any electronic equipment including mobile phone chargers – you will be able to heat your lunch up independently. If there’s room under your desk maybe you could get a beer fridge too.
The warmer doesn’t actually cook food but it heats leftovers up. Lakeland have got them on offer for £19.99 at the moment and the main Crockpot that usually retails around £35 is currently on offer at an amazing £17.50 in Tesco. But you’ll need to be fast if you want a slow cooker bargain.
Have I convinced you to get your slow cooker out? Or do you reckon you’ll nip out and buy one during Crocktober?
- 800g beef on the bone or oxtail
- 2 tbsp plain flour to coat
- 2 tbsp groundnut oil
- 1 beef stockpot or cube dissolved in 500ml boiling water
- 300g shallots, peeled and trimmed (cut banana shallots in half)
- 300g carrots (I used Chanteneys that could go in whole)
- 500g small new potatoes
- Salt and pepper seasoning
- Toss the beef pieces in flour with some salt and pepper.
- Over a medium heat, heat the oil and fry the coated beef until brown on each side.
- Lay the browned meat in the base of the Crockpot.
- Cover with the shallots, carrots, potatoes and beef stock.
- Cook on "high" setting for 4-6 hours.
Post commissioned by Crockpot as part of their “Crocktober” campaign.
I think I’m going to have to go out and buy one, I’ve been meaning to for a while!
Do it! You’ve got the whole winter ahead of you to really get the most out of it!
loving all these crockpot recipes. Yours looks particularly rich and dark and luscious… one for the memory bank!
Thank you – I should have splashed red wine in it too really shouldn’t I?
Love that idea of using the ziplock bag – I am definitely trying that one out too! Your recipe sounds lovely too and it looks like you and your son had a lovely time at the museum 🙂
It’s great isn’t it – I just need to clear our backlog of frozen McCain chips samples before I have any space!!
Scrummy yummy recipe!
I need absolutely no convincing of the wonders of slow cookers OR beef on the bone. Co-incidentally been experimenting with delicious oxtail lately, both in slow cooked stew and soup form. Great idea on the production line bagging, but I can only dream at being that organised! I too come home regularly to question why on earth I didn’t bung a few bits and pieces in the slow cooker in the morning for a tasty no hassle dinner. Eh well, one day!
I know, that’s my goal for next week. Plastic bag production line.
I’ve resisted a crock pot until now as my induction hob did the job very well. Now I’m cooking on gas, I really must get one. Even with a diffuser I can’t get the heat low enough to slow cook. Great looking recipe. GG
Yes I do find that too. Even if I use my smallest burner. I think a Crockpot is great to just rock up and your dinner is ready ta-dah whatever time you are ready (after the cooking time!)
I have a crockpot too. Well, a slow cooker rather than the brand. I probably don’t use it as often as I should but I know what a time saver they are. A single mum friend with three kids and a full-time job swears by it. Better than a husband she has said in the past {or her ex at least}. I am intrigued by the little keep warm thingy – very good idea for taking homemade leftovers rather than popping out for a sad sandwich and dubious paper cup of soup. Even though I don’t eat meat I don’t get freaked with others eating it. And for those who are neutropenic (rock bottom neutrophils – a big part of white blood cells) during chemo, I actually recommend bone broth soup as this seems to stimulate neutrophil production in some people. So, a round about way of saying it’s a great stew!
That’s really interesting what you say about the bone broth being good for people during chemo. I noticed some stuff on that when I googled similar recipes. Not sure I’d swap my husband for a slow cooker!!
Oh, my kingdom for a slow-cooked oxtail stew! Nothing finer on a cold night (and nothing better than the smell of it filling your house! Bone broth is meant to be very good for all sorts of things – it is one of the things that was recommended to me after I broke my femur (but getting Nick to cook up a broth is a whole other story LOL!)
I just bought a slow cooker from Lakeland – it’s the first one I’ve owned in my life. Like you I’ve been browsing those freezer to pot packs online and everytime I go to cook something I consider whether the slow cooker would be suitable. Did an Ottolenghi barley risotto for veggie teen and me last night and it was stunning. I love the way the whole house is filled with the scent of mellow meatiness (or in this case tomatoey-ness!). KP won’t touch oxtail and, of course neither will veggie teen so I might have to do this when guest come round and do one other alternative. My aunt always said “the closer the bone, the sweeter the meat” and most street food restaurants keep the bones in here – it’s so much tastier.