Name: Slow-Cooker Beer-Braised Beef with Onions
Total time: 7 h
Ingredients: 4 pounds boneless beef chuck-eye roast , trimmed and cut into 1½-inch pieces; Salt and pepper; 2 large onions , sliced thin; 1 cup water; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar; 1/4 cup tomato paste; 3 garlic cloves , minced; 3 sprigs fresh thyme; 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour; 1 1/2 cups Belgian-style or lager beer; 1 cup chicken broth; 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Why This Recipe Works

This Belgian-style beef, beer, and onion stew is a natural for the slow cooker—but you have to know how to handle the three main ingredients. We chose chunks of chuck-eye roast for the beef and skipped the laborious step of browning the beef in batches to let the flavors of the beer and onions shine through. For the onions, we used the test kitchen's method for quicker caramelizing (first steaming the onions with a little water, salt, and sugar and then uncovering the pan and browning them) to enhance the sweetness and complexity of the stew. After testing batches of stew with many different styles of beer, we chose a yeast-forward, slightly bitter, copper-colored Belgian ale, finding that it resulted in a perfectly balanced stew without overwhelming bitterness or sweetness yet with clear notes of yeast and malt.

Before You Begin

For the best results, we recommend using a copper-colored Belgian-style beer in this recipe, but light lagers will work as well. Avoid strongly hopped, bitter beers such as IPAs. Serve with egg noodles.

Instructions

Season beef with salt and pepper and place in slow cooker. Combine onions, water, oil, sugar, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper in 12-inch nonstick skillet. Bring mixture to boil over medium-high heat. Cover and cook until onions are softened and water is nearly evaporated, about 10 minutes.

Uncover and continue to cook, stirring often, until onions are soft and dark brown, 8 to 10 minutes longer. Add tomato paste, garlic, and thyme sprigs and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute. Stir in beer and broth and bring to simmer. Cook until thickened, about 2 minutes.

Transfer onion mixture to slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook until beef is tender, 6 to 7 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low. Discard thyme sprigs. Skim fat from surface of stew. Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve.