Kitchen Sanctuary Slow Cooker Beef Ragu

Name: The BEST Beef Ragu you'll ever taste.
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 8 h
Total time: 8 h 20 min
Ingredients: 1 kg braising or stewing beef, cut into big chunky pieces; 3 tbsp heaped plain flour; 0.5 tsp salt; 0.5 tsp black pepper; 3 tbsp olive oil; 2 medium onions, finely diced; 4 medium carrots, finely diced; 3 celery sticks, finely diced; 3 garlic cloves, minced; 2 tbsp tomato puree; 300 ml red wine; 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes; 600 ml beef stock; 1 tsp dried thyme

Source video by Kitchen Sanctuary on YouTube. This recipe was adapted with strict source-fidelity rules.

Big chunks of braising beef are coated in seasoned flour and seared off in olive oil. Onion, carrot, celery and garlic soften in the same pan, then tomato puree, red wine, chopped tomatoes, beef stock and dried thyme go in. The whole lot transfers to the slow cooker to cook low and slow until the beef is fall-apart tender and the sauce is rich. Serve over pasta. The wine can be swapped for extra stock if you prefer.

Slow cooker notes: Source is an oven braise at 160C / 325F for 3 to 4 hours in a Dutch oven. Nikki explicitly mentions doing the first steps in a frying pan and then transferring to a slow cooker as an option. Adapted by browning beef and softening vegetables on the hob, then transferring everything to the slow cooker for Low 8 hours or High 5 hours. Servings not stated in transcript.

Ingredients

For the ragu

1 kgbraising or stewing beef, cut into big chunky pieces
3 tbsp heapedplain flour
0.5 tspsalt
0.5 tspblack pepper
3 tbspolive oil
2 mediumonions, finely diced
4 mediumcarrots, finely diced
3celery sticks, finely diced
3garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsptomato puree
300 mlred wine
2 x 400g tinschopped tomatoes
600 mlbeef stock
1 tspdried thyme

Method

Sprinkle the flour, salt and pepper over the chunky pieces of braising beef and mix to coat.
Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium to high heat. Add the beef and sear and brown the meat, working in batches if needed.
Once browned, add the diced onions and cook on a low heat for 3 to 4 minutes until they start to soften.
~4 min
Add the diced carrots, celery and minced garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
~2 min
Stir in the tomato puree.
Turn the heat up to high and add the red wine. Let it bubble for a couple of minutes, scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Skip this step if not using wine and add the extra liquid as stock in the next step.
~2 min
Transfer the contents of the pan to the slow cooker. Add the two tins of chopped tomatoes, beef stock and dried thyme. Stir to combine.
Cover and cook on Low for 8 hours or High for 5 hours, until the beef is fall-apart tender and the sauce is rich.
~480 min
Serve over pasta.

Frequently asked

Can I leave out the red wine?

Yes. Nikki says you can leave it out and add an extra splash of beef stock in its place. Use an extra 300ml of stock to make up for the missing liquid.

What cut of beef should I use?

Braising or stewing beef, usually from the chuck, skirt or flank. You want nice big chunky pieces because they are going to be slow-cooked.

Do I have to brown the beef first?

Browning the floured beef in olive oil before it goes into the slow cooker builds the flavour and thickens the sauce. It is worth the extra pan.

What do I serve beef ragu with?

Nikki suggests pasta, including homemade pasta if you have the time.

Extraction notes (transparency): Servings not stated in source (set null). Cook time adapted from 3 to 4 hours at 160C oven to standard slow cooker Low 8 / High 5 hours. All ingredient quantities explicit in transcript.