Beef, cider & peppers. One little Crockpot.
A rich Sunday casserole with absolutely everything going in first thing in the morning. Lid on. Job done.
A Sunday roast alternative without the performance
I've always liked food that feels as though somebody has gone to a great deal of trouble to make it. The truth is, on a Sunday, I would rather get the preparation out of the way in the morning and let the little Crockpot earn its keep.
This recipe started with the idea of beef in red wine. No wine. No carrots either. But there was cider and there were peppers — and that sounded like a much more interesting direction anyway. The result I'm aiming for is tender braising beef, soft sweet peppers, onions almost melting into the sauce and a properly comforting, savoury gravy.
There is only one rule for this version: everything goes in at the start. No return trip to add peppers two hours before dinner, no hovering over a saucepan, and no browning stage unless I fancy doing extra washing-up. I don't.
What goes in the pot
- 300g diced braising beef
- 1 large onion, sliced
- 1 pepper, chopped into chunky pieces
- 100ml cider, preferably dry or medium
- 75ml beef stock
- 1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 1 garlic clove, crushed
- ½ tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp English mustard (optional)
- Freshly ground black pepper
No carrots and no wine required. The peppers will become very soft after the full cooking time — exactly as expected with an all-in-the-morning approach.
Five steps. One morning. No fuss.
Chop everything
Slice one large onion and cut the pepper into generous pieces. There is no need to keep the pieces tiny: seven or eight hours will soften them considerably.
In goes the beef
Place the onion and pepper into the bottom of the slow cooker, then add 300g of diced braising beef. I am deliberately skipping the frying pan: this is the no-fuss version.
Mix my cider gravy
Stir together 100ml cider, 75ml beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée, crushed garlic, thyme, mustard and black pepper. The cider is the twist — a subtle fruity background, not a sweet pudding.
Pour, lid on, leave alone
Pour the gravy mixture over the meat and vegetables. Fit the lid securely. There is no need for the liquid to cover the beef completely.
Low and slow
Set the Crockpot to LOW for around 7–8 hours. Resist lifting the lid; every peek costs heat. Start checking near the end: the beef is ready when fork-tender.
The only decision left is what to serve it with
For me, buttery mashed potato is the obvious choice. It catches all that onion-and-cider gravy and turns a simple slow-cooker dish into something worthy of Sunday dinner.
Crusty bread is a fine alternative, particularly if I want to keep it simple. If the sauce is thinner than I'd like, a teaspoon of cornflour stirred into a little cold water can be mixed in at the end, followed by 20–30 minutes on HIGH. That's an optional finishing touch, not a compulsory afternoon job.
And if I don't fancy doing even that? I'll just serve the gravy as it is.
From the morning to the evening
9:00 am: Ingredients into the Crockpot. Lid on. Set LOW.
4:00–5:00 pm: Check the beef for tenderness and serve when ready. The cooker should be running on a safe, clear, heat-resistant surface, in accordance with its instructions.
The best bit of a slow cooker isn't just the finished food. It's knowing the dinner is more or less taken care of while the rest of Sunday carries on around it. Sometimes the old-fashioned way of doing things really is the best — especially when a modest little Crockpot does most of the work.
That's Sunday sorted. — NIX