Wow was this beef braised in a crock pot so easy and delicious!!! My dad brought home a cut of meat that I had never seen before … the label said it was a Boneless Beef Chuck Eye Steak … yikes. He suggested I braise it because it was a tougher cut of meat. I had no idea what braising truly meant … so I looked it up.
When my dad was in high school and college, his summer job was working at the butcher in Scituate Harbor. He knows A LOT about meat.
What is braising?
Braising is similar to stewing except that when you braise meat you sear the meat on all sides and then cook it in liquid that only comes halfway up the cut of meat. When you stew meat, you sear the meat on all sides and then cover the meat in liquid. Who knew?
How To Make Beef Braised in a Crock Pot
Ingredients
4 slices of bacon
2 – 4 large cuts of boneless beef chuck eye steak (or similar)
salt and pepper
garlic powder
onion powder
2 medium onions, cut in half and sliced
2 large carrots, chopped
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
2 bay leaves
1 can beer
Directions
Cook the bacon in a large frying pan. Remove the bacon and put it in the crock pot (without the drippings). Season the steaks with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder — rub the seasonings into the meat. Sear the seasoned side down on high heat for about a minute or two and season the other side, rub in the seasonings. Flip the steak. Sear for a couple minutes and put it into the crock pot. Repeat for all the steaks.
After searing the meat, saute the onions, carrots, and mushrooms in the same pan – until the onion starts to get translucent. Cover the steaks in the crockpot with the vegetables. Pour a can of beer over everything and add two bay leaves.
Cover and cook on high for 4 1/2 hours. Enjoy!
This is great served over rice. You know the steaks are done when they fall apart with just the touch of a fork. Definitely use the delicious “au jus” created by the seasonings while it simmers!
Some of our other favorite slow cooker meals …
Easy Slow Cooker Chorizo Chili
