Mel's Kitchen Cafe Ultimate Beef Stroganoff (Slow Cooker)
This meal is hands-down one of our family's all-time favorites. Here are just a few of the reasons I love this meal. First, it is unbelievably simple. Throw everything in the crockpot and walk away. Second, the meat is so tender it practically melts in your mouth and the rich, hearty flavor is fabulous. Third, it can feed a crowd and is great for company (it will always get you raving reviews!). Fourth, you can serve it over an endless number of options: potatoes, pasta, rice, etc. Fifth, it was given to me by one of my favorite people, my cousin's wife, Tami. I don't even think she knows I make it at least once a month! Thanks, Tami, for one of my best tried-and-true recipes.
This meal is hands-down one of our family's all-time favorites. Here are just a few of the reasons I love this meal. First, it is unbelievably simple. Throw everything in the crockpot and walk away. Second, the meat is so tender it practically melts in your mouth and the rich, hearty flavor is fabulous. Third, it can feed a crowd and is great for company (it will always get you raving reviews!). Fourth, you can serve it over an endless number of options: potatoes, pasta, rice, etc. Fifth, it was given to me by one of my favorite people, my cousin's wife, Tami. I don't even think she knows I make it at least once a month! Thanks, Tami, for one of my best tried-and-true recipes.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
- 1/3 cup flour
- 2-3 pounds stew meat (or a 3-pound chuck roast, cubed)
- 1 medium yellow onion, diced
- â¼ teaspoon garlic salt
- 1 â½ cups beef broth or stock
- 6-7 tablespoons apple juice or water
- 4-8 ounces sliced mushrooms
- 1/2 cup light or regular sour cream
- Carbohydrate 0 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 0 g
- Fiber 0 g
- Protein 0 g
- Saturated Fat 0 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (1g)
- Sodium 290.685 mg
- Sugar 0 g
- Trans Fat 0 g
- Calories 0 calories
Step-by-step
- Place the stew meat, salt, pepper and onion in the slow cooker. Stir to distribute the seasonings and onion. In a small bowl, combine the garlic salt, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth and ketchup. Pour over the meat.
- Cook for 7-9 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high.
- About 30 minutes before serving, combine the flour and apple juice in a small bowl, whisking vigorously to combine well. The roux should be thick but still pourable so add a tablespoon of apple juice or water at a time to thin, if needed. Pour the flour mixture into the slow cooker, whisking quickly to mix in the roux with the stew meat and juices and to avoid lumps. Add the mushrooms and stir.
- Cook on high for 30 minutes. Stir in ½ cup sour cream right before serving. Serve over pasta, rice or baked potatoes.
Worcestershire sauce anchors this dish, bringing fermented depth and tamarind-derived acidity that cuts through heavy fats during long, slow braises. Developed in nineteenth-century England as a bottled analogue to complex Bengali chutneys, fermented anchovy and molasses-based condiments provide an immediate hit of glutamates that raw broth alone cannot replicate. While dried onions and bottled garlic powders offer convenience, utilizing a fresh yellow onion introduces essential water content and sulfur compounds that mellow significantly over seven to nine hours on low heat. Preserved or canned mushrooms lack the structural cellular integrity of fresh agaricus bisporus caps, which release moisture slowly and absorb the surrounding pan liquids without dissolving into a mushy slurry. Cooks frequently ruin this style of pan sauce by boiling dairy at high temperatures, causing the proteins in the sour cream to curdle and separate into unappealing curds and whey. Whisking the flour and liquid slurry vigorously before adding it to the simmering pot prevents lumpy starches from forming an uneven barrier around the meat. Incorporating the sour cream strictly at the end, off direct boiling heat or on a low setting, preserves a velvety emulsion that coats pasta or baked potatoes evenly.
