Crockpot Beef Tips and Rice
If you have a meat eater in your family, they will love these beef tips and so will you since the slow cooker does the cooking.You may recall that earlier this summer after some prompting by the Facebook family, I invested in a newer slow cooker hoping to put together some easy meals.
Well, so far I've still not experimented enough to become a big fan of chicken in a crockpot, but there's one thing for sure, besides an excellent way to make a cheater pulled pork for sandwiches, it sure does come in handy for beef roasts doesn't it?
Now, in all fairness, at least to me, it's still not quite the same as a roast slow simmering on the stovetop, or slow cooking in the oven - I seriously can tell the difference! But... it sure is a handy device that lets you focus your attention on other things while producing a pretty darned good roast, nonetheless.
Here, I wanted to just do a very basic beef tip recipe without the usual onion soup mix, cream of something soup, or even a big pile of onions - not that there's anything wrong with any of that - so I decided to go with simple seasonings and a packet of gravy mix. Nothing new here.
You can use any brown gravy mix, though I choose to use a Creole or Cajun style mix, like Louisiana brand or Tony Chachere's for the added flavor, and of course, a little sprinkle of my all too familiar to y'all, Slap Ya Mama! {affil link}
If you prefer not to use packaged products, you can certainly substitute homemade gravy for this recipe. Simply eliminate the gravy packet and make your own gravy from the drippings when the beef is cooked through and tender and remember not to lecture others who choose to use a shortcut.
Once the tips were done, I was a little too impatient to wait for the slow cooker to get back hot enough to boil the gravy for thickening, so I removed the tips, and then carefully transferred the gravy to a saucepan, where I could get it up to a boil fast, and then let it simmer and thicken a little.
I was very happy with the flavor of the tips and The Cajun gobbled it up. I served the tips and gravy over rice with a side of okra and tomatoes for me, and salad for non-okra-eating Cajun.
For more of my favorite slow cooker recipes, visit my page on Pinterest!
Crockpot Beef Tips
Ingredients
- 1 (3-5 pound) braising roast (see note)
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama)
- 1 tablespoon canola oil
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 1-1/2 cups water
- Splash red wine, optional
- 1 envelope (or equivalent) brown gravy mix
- 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
- Dash of Worcestershire sauce
- Dash of hot sauce, optional
- Cooked rice or egg noodles
- Slurry of cornstarch and water, for thickening, optional
Instructions
- Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium high heat.
- Cut meat into large cubes and toss with the black pepper and Cajun seasoning. Sear the meat in the hot oil until browned, transfer to crockpot.
- Add beef broth to the skillet and deglaze the skillet to remove all the browned bits. Transfer all of the liquid to the crockpot.
- Whisk together the water, wine, brown gravy mix, thyme, Worcestershire and hot sauce; pour into the crockpot.
- Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours or until fork tender.
- Remove beef tips, cover to keep warm, and set aside. Turn crockpot up to high and whisk in slurry. Cook until thickened.
- Taste, adjust seasonings, and return tips to the gravy, just to warm through. Serve over hot steamed rice or cooked noodles.
Notes:
Use a braising type of roast for this recipe. You'll want an eye or bottom round (not top round) or a chuck (shoulder, arm, or blade) roast. I used a packet of Zatarain's Cajun brown gravy mix. If you prefer not to use packaged products, you can substitute homemade gravy for this recipe. Simply eliminate the gravy packet and make your own gravy from the drippings when the beef is cooked through and fork tender.
Go light on the Cajun seasoning, since there is salt present in it and in both the commercial broth and the packaged gravy mix, so keep that in mind if you're watching your sodium. Wait to add any additional salt at the end, after tasting.
For the Instant Pot: Sear meat in batches using sauté function; remove and set aside. Turn off pot, combine liquids and deglaze pot with about 1/4 cup, scraping up any browned bits. Return meat to pot, pour remaining liquid on top, seal and cook on high for 20 minutes. Let pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then perform a quick release. When using a homemade gravy, prepare liquids as above without the gravy packet and cook as above. When cooking and release time has completed, remove lid, scoop out beef tips and prepare gravy from the drippings. Return meat to gravy to heat through.
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