Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff Stew (2024)

• ▢ 1.75kg/ 3.5lb beef chuck or other stewing beef , cut in 4cm / 1.5” cube (Note 1)
• ▢ 1.5 tsp each salt and pepper
• ▢ 2 tbsp oil
• ▢ 20 g/ 1 tbsp butter , unsalted
• ▢ 1 large onion , halved then sliced into 1 cm / 2/5″ slices
• ▢ 4 garlic cloves , minced
• ▢ 7 tbsp flour , plain / all purpose
• ▢ 4 tbsp Dijon Mustard
• ▢ 1 litre / 1 quart beef stock/broth , reduced salt
• ▢ 1 1/2 cups sour cream , full fat best

Garlic Butter Mushrooms:

• ▢ 3 tbsp/ 45 g butter , unsalted
• ▢ 700 g / 1.2 lb mushrooms , sliced into 0.5cm thick slices
• ▢ 3 garlic cloves , finely minced
• ▢ 1/2 tsp salt and pepper

Serving:

• ▢ Pasta, wide egg noodles, mashed potato
• ▢ Chives for garnish

• Season beef – Pat beef dry then sprinkle with all the salt and pepper.

• Brown beef – Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large heavy based pot or skillet* over high heat. Add beef in a single layer (not squished) and brown aggressively all over – 4 minutes or so. Remove and repeat with rest of beef, adding more oil as needed.

• Sauté aromatics – Let the pot cool down a bit then return to stove. Melt half the butter, then cook garlic and onion for 3 minutes until softened.

• Add flour – Sprinkle the flour across the surface, then stir. Add the mustard, and stir – it will look gluey, that's ok, it will dissolve.

• Add stock – While stirring, pour in about half the beef stock then mix so the flour mixture dissolves into the liquid. It will thicken quite quickly into a gravy-like consistency .Switch to a whisk if needed, to make it lump free. Then add remaining stock, stir well, scraping the bottom of the pot, and bring to simmer. Cook using chosen method below.

SLOW COOKING – choose method:

• Slow cooker: Transfer all liquid into slow cooker. Add beef, then slow cook 8 hours on LOW or 5 hours on HIGH.

• Stove: Add beef into pot. Cover with lid and adjust heat to low/medium low so the it's simmering gently. Simmer 2 hrs (check at 1.5 hrs) until beef beef falls apart easily.

• Instant pot: SKIP FLOUR, follow Note 5 Gluten Free option. 40 minutes on high, same method as slow cooker.

• Other pressure cookers:40 minutes on high, same method as slow cooker.

GARLIC BUTTER MUSHROOMS:

• Melt half the butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add half the mushrooms and cook until almost golden (~3 minutes). Add half the garlic, salt and pepper, cook until golden. Remove, repeat with remaining butter, mushrooms and garlic.

FINISHING STEW:

• Mix sour cream with 1.5 cups of liquid from slow cooker (Note 2), then gently stir into stew – careful, the beef is delicate!

• Gently stir in mushrooms.

• Serve over noodles, pasta or mashed potato, sprinkled with chives!

* Only if you’re planning to transfer to slow cooker! If cooking on stove, must use pot.

1. Beef – use economical stewing cuts that need to be cooked for a long time to become tender such as:

• Chuck
• Boneless beef ribs*
• Gravy beef or other beef labelled as “stewing beef”
• Beef cheeks**

* Use ribs if you want to show off. It is the most well marbled all throughout, not a speck of dry anywhere (unlike chuck where there are some spots that are less juicy than others)
** If 200g/7oz or less, cook whole so it looks like this beef cheeks recipe but with Stroganoff Sauce. Chopped cheeks twist and skew once slow cooked – looks better to serve whole (or at most, halved).

Other beef cuts ok to use – great for slow cooking but not as juicy all the way through as there are more lean patches:

• Brisket
• Blade roast

Best to buy big piece and cut your own. Try not to buy the tiny little pre cut stewing beef – they will cook too quickly.

2.Sour Cream – mixing with sauce from stew prior to adding into pot/slow cooker ensures you don’t end up with sour cream specks in the sauce. You can’t mix stew vigorously because the beef will fall apart!

3. Instant Pot – Some readers have experienced the “Burn” notice using the IP because the sauce is borderline too thick for the IP. To eliminate this chance completely, SKIP THE FLOUR and use the Gluten Free option in Note 5 instead (cornflour slurry added at end to thicken).

All pressure Cookers (including IP and Australian Breville Fast-Slow Cooker) – you can do the sautéing in the same pot. Note that it will take longer though because it doesn’t get as hot as using stove and you can’t use as large a pot/pan!

4. Saucethickness –stove method might need a touch of extra water to thin sauce, depends how heavy your pot lid is (heavier = less evaporation).

5. Gluten free option (and for Instant Pot) –skip the flour. Hold back 1/4 cup beef broth, mix with 3 tbsp cornflour/cornstarch. After whisking sour cream with stew liquid, add the cornflour mix into the sour cream, then pour all that into the stew. Simmer 5 minutes to thicken (slow cooker 10 minutes, IP saute function 5 min).

6. Storage – as with all stews, it’s even better the next day… and the next! Leftovers will keep 4 to 5 days in the fridge, and freeze for 3 months (thaw gently and stir gently, remember beef is fall apart tender!

If you have lots of leftovers, transform into a pie with puff pastry (so it will look like this) OR mashed potato (see method used for Cottage Pie or Shepherd’s Pie).

7. Nutrition per serving, stew only (ie not noodles or mash).