How Long Does a Joint Beef Stew Take in a Slow Cooker

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Instant Pot Beef Stew

A classic beef stew with pressure cooker and slow cooker instructions. It offers hearty and chunky bites of vegetables, and tender beef.

Serve with Irish Soda Bread or Garlic Bread Twists for a complete meal.

When you just need a cozy bowl of hearty and delicious beef stew, this is the recipe to try. It is simple to make, full of flavor, and chock full of vegetables and tender beef.

Instant Pot or Crock Pot Beef Stew
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When it comes to beef stew, the three things you really want most are:

Tender beef
Chunky and hearty
Full flavor

This instant pot or slow cooker beef stew hits that trifecta, and does it in a no fuss way that makes it a great family dinner because you can set it and forget it and let the instant pot or slow cooker do the rest.

How do you thicken Beef Stew?

There are a few ways to thicken a stew. I chose to use a slurry made from some of the broth in the stew, and corn starch. You whisk it together, then add it back into the stew bowl, and let it cook for a few more minutes to cook down and thicken. You have to give it some time to thicken.

Another option is to add additional potatoes, and then scoop some of them out, and blend them up into a paste, then add them back in and let them act as a natural thickener. This is a great option if you don't or can't use corn starch as a thickener.

What is the best meat for Beef Stew?

The best meat for beef stew is usually going to be a chuck, chuck roast, chuck shoulder, or some other variation of chuck. They have good marbling, are a fairly inexpensive cut, and will get nice and tender while being flavorful. But you can also use bottom eye, bottom round, rump, or even an English pot roast.

If you are at the store and looking at the meat section, look for something that says "stew meat" and that should do it! Or ask your butcher what he/she recommends.

Instant Pot Tips:

This recipe can be cooked in the Instant Pot or Slow Cooker, When cooking in the instant pot keep these things in mind:

Deglaze your pot after you sear the beef chunks. If you don't the pot may read "burn" and not allow it to come to pressure. Deglazing means pouring a little liquid into the bottom while it is still heating on sear, and using a wooden spoon to scrape off the brown bits.
Natural release pressure so you do not lose moisture in your beef. Make sure you plan enough time to allow for the pot to both come up to pressure and release pressure.
Speed up the process of the pot coming to pressure by warming your liquids before adding them to the pot.

Other recipes you will love:

Irish Soda Bread, great served with this beef stew.
Spinach Berry Salad, a fantastic side to make this a complete dinner
Creamy Orzo Chicken Soup, another cozy soup great for chilly weather.

2 lbs beef stew meat or cubed chuck roast
1/4 cup Flour
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp pepper
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup beef broth or red wine
1/2 Tbs minced garlic
1 large onion chopped
1 Tbs Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs Ketchup
1 lb Potatoes cubed
4 Celery ribs diced
1 lb carrots peeled and chopped
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried parsley
2 ½ cups Beef broth
2 cups Water
Salt and pepper to taste
2 tsps cornstarch

Instant Pot Instructions

Put flour, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper into a ziptop bag.
Add cubed stew meat, and shake to coat your beef with the flour mixture
In the instant pot, add olive oil and heat the saute setting. Once it reads hot, add beef, and sear the exterior of the beef to lock in flavors.
Add ½ cup of beef stock or red wine and deglaze the pot by using a wooden spoon to scrape the bottom removing anything stuck on or any brown bits.
Add the remaining ingredients except corn starch to the instant pot.
Put lid on, and lock into place, turn valve to sealing.
Cook on High Pressure/Manual using the stew/meat setting for 35 minutes.
Let the pot natural pressure release.
Remove lid, and dip a ladle into the pot, and remove ½ a cup of liquid, pour it into a small bowl, and make a slurry using the corn starch. Add the slurry into pot, and stir well, then turn pot to "Saute" setting and simmer until desired thickness is reached.
Add fresh parsley on top for garnish.

Crockpot Instructions

Put flour, garlic powder, onion powder, and black pepper into a ziptop bag.
Add cubed stew meat, and shake to coat your beef with the flour mixture
In a cast iron skillet or dutch oven, add olive oil and heat over medium-high heat. Sear the exterior of the beef to lock in flavors. Note: You can skip this step, but searing the beef will help it stay tender and moist, and give it better flavor.
Use ½ cup of beef broth or red wine to deglaze the pot, and pour pan juices and meat into the crock pot.
Add the remaining ingredients except corn starch to the slow cooker.
Cook covered for 4-5 hours on high or 6-8 hours on low.
Dip a ladle into the crock pot, and remove ½ a cup of liquid, pour it into a small bowl, and make a slurry using the cornstarch and liquid. Add it back into the crock pot and cook an additional 20-30 minutes to let stew thicken.
Add fresh parsley on top for garnish.

Our recipe card software calculates these nutrition facts based on averages for the above ingredients, different brands, and quality of produce/meats may have different nutritional information, always calculate your own based on the specific products you use in order to achieve accurate macros for this recipe.

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Lindell Dion1981

How Long Does a Joint Beef Stew Take in a Slow Cooker