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Dumb questions, but I got a bunch of gravy beef from aldi. I was thinking about chucking it in the slowcooker with a couple of cans of vegtable stew and a couple of cans of cream of mushroom. then probs some actual mushrooms and water. Reckon this would work taste wise?
Normally when I do gravy beef I cut a bunch of the fat off, is that the right approach? Or do i just leave everything on?
A personal preference, but I don't like putting tins of soup in the slow cooker. I'd put in some beef stock, tinned tomatoes, garlic and veg. Red wine if you have it. Leave the fat on, coat in flour and brown in a pan first. Also fry the onion off too.
unfortunately i've tried this before and wasn't a huge fan. Cant have onion (or at least, cant have a lot of it) so thats probably where it all went wrong.
Will deffo flour and brown if first though.
This is the way☝️. I add a tablespoon of vegemite as well.
Don't bother putting in any kind of creamed tinned soup or stew. It'll only curdle unless your slow cooker is really really slow. Add the real mushrooms for the last hour of cooking along with extra veg. Except for peas - add for the last 5 mins if using frozen peas. For me, I'd use a couple of tins of crushed/diced tomato for liquid, topping up with water or stock or red wine. Trim the worst of the fat off the beef, then brown it before putting in the slowcooker. Brown any onions if using too. If you like a really really thick gravy, add 1 tablespoon of cornflour blended with 1/2 cup COLD water for the last 15 mins of cooking and stir it in well - this will thicken things up but will blunt the flavour, so feel free to use as much extra flavoring as you want if you plan to do this. Blend the cornflour with the water really well so it doesn't go lumpy.
As others said, skip the tinned soup. Stock or water is best, with ample seasoning. I generally add a bit of Worcestershire sauce and even MSG to elevate the flavours.
And I'd probably skip the mushrooms too. I don't think they'll hold up well in the slow cooker. Fry them up and add them to the final product.
Generally I'd trim some of the fat, but only after cutting up into smaller pieces and before browning.
Some, but not all? I've tried before with like a pot roast, just some beef and tomatos but it really wasnt that amazing. Was kind of hoping the soup gives it A) a bit more veg, and B) more of a stew flavor. good call on the mushrooms!
Keeping some of the fat helps during the browning. For more veg throw in carrots and celery. Cheap and filling (tasty too). Season the beef before browning too. And be liberal with the flavours. Rosemary, thyme go well with beef.
Yeah it'll work. Still cut off as much fat as you can. Just make sure the beef is covered with liquid so don't add too much water.
All you need to ask yourself is: Do I like cream of mushroom soup? And if the answer is yes go ahead and do it.
It wont clash with the vegtable soup?
No it won't but the vegies will most likely go mushy. To avoid that add the vegie soup about an hour before it's ready.
So fry your meat (no need to flour) add to the pot, add mushrooms, add cream of mushroom soup, add water or the liquid from the veg soup or stock to just cover the meat. Let cook. An hour before it's ready add the vegies from the soup.