SLOW COOKER BEEF TIPS & GRAVY
This is THE perfect comfort food! Serve it over mashed potatoes, pasta noodles or your favorite roasted potatoes and veggies.
BEEF
1½ pounds beef round roast, cut into small chunks
FRESH ground sea salt and black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 SMALL yellow onion, chopped
5-6 cloves garlic, minced
1 sprig FRESH thyme
- Season beef roast with salt and pepper.
- Melt butter in a skillet over medium-high heat, then add the beef. Allow it to sear for 4 minutes on each side to give it a nice caramelized coating.
- Add the seared beef tips to slow cooker.
- Top with onions, minced garlic, and thyme.
GRAVY
½ tablespoon unsalted butter
8 ounces white mushrooms sliced
1 pinch salt
1½ cups water
½ tablespoon beef base I use Better Than Bouillon
- Reduce the skillet heat to medium and melt butter.
- Add sliced mushrooms with a pinch of salt and stir to coat with the butter., sauteing for 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are soft. Stir occasionally, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
- Add water and beef base to the skillet and stir to blend.
- Add gravy mixture to the slow cooker with the beef tips.
- Cover crockpot and cook on low for 5 hours, or on high for 2½ hours, until the beef is fork-tender. If you have time, cook it slow for 5-6 hours for even greater flavor.
1 tablespoon red wine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
- Once the beef tips are done cooking, whisk together red wine and cornstarch until smooth.
- Stir into the gravy.
- Turn heat up to high and cook for 20 minutes to thicken the gravy.
NOTES:
- A nice caramelized searing coat on the beef adds to the depth of flavor.
- Beef base will give the gravy a deep rich flavor, however, you can also substitute beef stock (NOT beef broth) in place of the water/beef base combination for maximum flavor results.