Beef stew in a quick cooker

Discover the art of preparing beef stew in a slow cooker , a recipe that transforms beef and vegetables into a sublime and comforting dish, perfect for those who value time without wanting to give up flavor. At the heart of modern cuisine, the slow cooker emerges as an indispensable ally, allowing us to enjoy tender and juicy cuts of beef in less time than would traditionally be required, without compromising the richness of the flavors that characterize a traditional stew.

By choosing to cook this stew exclusively with wine, leaving aside the use of broth, we embrace a technique that infuses the dish with a unique complexity of flavors. The wine, the protagonist of this method, provides fruity notes and a balanced acidity that enhances the tenderness of the meat and complements the subtlety of the vegetables, thus celebrating beef cooking in a quick cooker with unsurpassed quality.

At Claudia&Julia, you already know that we often speak wonders about pressure cookers , and we understand the importance of using the right utensils for each recipe. Choosing a quality pressure cooker is not only a practical decision but an investment in your kitchen, transforming simple ingredients into culinary masterpieces. This recipe is a testament to how classic flavors can be adapted to our current pace of life, maintaining the essence of a dish made with love and dedication.

I invite you to continue reading to discover how you can bring this beef stew to your table, surprising your loved ones with a dish full of flavor and tradition, perfectly adapted for modern life. Join me on this culinary journey and together we will rediscover the pleasure of cooking traditional dishes, taking advantage of the best of technology and current gastronomic knowledge.

Ingredients

• 1.2 Kg Beef shank* (see notes)
• 2 Carrots
• 1 onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 100 g tomato sauce or, even better, crushed tomato
• 2 sprigs of celery
• 200 ml Red wine
• 1 sprig of thyme
• 1 kg potatoes (variety for frying)
• Oil
• Salt
• Pepper

Preparation

1. Cut the beef into pieces (large cubes) and season with salt and pepper to taste.
2. Then finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel the carrots and cut them into slices, as well as wash and chop the celery.
3. Put the Perfect or Perfect Premium WMF pressure cooker on the heat, heat the base and add a generous splash of oil.
4. Brown the meat (in two batches, to ensure that all the pieces touch the base of the pan to seal), trying to move it as little as possible so that it browns evenly and, above all, to seal them well and retain all their juice and flavor. Remove the sealed meat from the pot and set aside.
5. After browning the meat, use the same oil to sauté the onion, celery and carrots (you can add more oil if you see fit). Add a little salt and sauté until they begin to brown (stir with a spatula to ensure the vegetables are sautéed on all sides).
6. Add the minced garlic and sauté briefly, making sure it doesn't burn.
7. Return the meat to the pot, stir to distribute everything and pour the wine, tomato and thyme into the pot.
8. Set the heat to medium-high intensity until the mixture begins to boil (we want the alcohol in the wine to evaporate). Adjust the salt if necessary and stir well.
9. Close the pot and continue cooking over medium-high heat until the pressure indicator shows its second ring (on PERFECT PREMIUM models, set the handle selector to position 2). Then, lower the heat to low and cook for 30 minutes.
10. While the meat is cooking, peel the potatoes, cut them into square pieces, wash and drain them. Now you can decide if you want to make them fried (heat plenty of oil in a pan and fry the potatoes until they are golden and tender.) or boiled** (put salted water in a saucepan and boil them until they are tender).
11. Once the 30 minutes have passed, turn off the heat and let the pressure of the WMF cooker drop on its own for 20 minutes, until the cooking rings are no longer visible and you can open the cooker (this way, you are finishing the cooking of the meat).
12. Empty the contents of the pot into a bowl, mix with the freshly made potatoes (boiled or fried). Decide whether to serve immediately or leave it in the refrigerator until the next day, to settle flavors). In both ways... Always accompany it with bread because it is delicious!

Grades

• *Beef shank is known for its rich, gelatinous texture when cooked slowly, making it perfect for braises and stews, as slow cooking allows the connective tissue to soften, lending a tender texture and deep flavor to the meat. dish.

• Morcillo or Zancarrón : Although they are technically parts of the shank, these names are used in some regions to refer to specific cuts within that section. The blood sausage (front part) and the zancarrón (back part) are excellent for stews.
• Beef Tail : Provides an intense flavor and a gelatinous texture similar to that of the shank. It is ideal for slow cooking in stews.
• Beef Brisket : Although it is a fattier cut, the brisket can be an excellent alternative for stews, since the fat provides a lot of flavor and helps keep the meat juicy.
• Brisket : This cut is leaner than brisket but is still very flavorful and tenderizes beautifully with slow cooking.

• **We do not add the potatoes to the cooking so that they do not fall apart. Even so, if you make them boiled, an option so that they absorb the flavor of the stew is, when you stop the heat of the pot, depressurize the pot, add the boiled potatoes (leave them a little hard when boiling them!), close again and put Heat for 5 more minutes and stop the heat so that the stew finishes cooking for 15 more minutes with the residual heat.
• An alternative accompaniment for this dish could be to serve it with aromatic white rice, choosing varieties such as Basmati or Thai Jasmine. To adapt the recipe to this change, you can skip the step of peeling and cooking the potatoes.
• If you want to serve the beef with a thick sauce, skip the potatoes and, what you can do is, instead of the last step, proceed as follows: transfer the contents of the pot to a tray, separate the meat and keep it at room temperature. a side. Then, pour the vegetables and the remaining liquids into the glass of a blender and blend them until you obtain a smooth sauce. Finally, pass this sauce through a fine or Chinese strainer to obtain a smoother and more refined texture. Serve the meat and pour the sauce over it (And grab some bread, because it's delicious!).