Slow Cooker Beef Joint in Pedro Ximinez and Red Wine (Two Ways)

A joint of beef cooked slowly in a braising liquid of beef stock, red wine and Pedro Ximinez sherry with whole shallots, sliced onions and carrots makes a perfect winter warmer and also fits the bill whenever you’re seeking comfort.

This recipe can be served two ways: cook the beef joint until it’s tender but retains its shape so you can serve it in slices alongside a gravy made from the cooking liquid, or leave it in the slow cooker a while longer until you can shred the meat easily and mix it into the liquid for a homely stew.

Slow Cooker Beef Joint in Pedro Ximinez and Red Wine

We recommend a good quality joint of beef, such as the 28 days dry-aged topside from Swaledale Butchers that we used here . Based in Yokshire, Swaledale partner with selected small-scale, sustainable farms on The Dales to source high quality, grass fed, heritage breed cattle, sheep, pigs, chicken, wild venison, and native game birds. Buying the whole animal allows them to practice whole-carcass butchery and adhere to their philosophy of nose-to-tail eating.

Swaledale Online Butchers, Delivery

They offer the usual selection of cuts as well as their own sausages, burgers, bacon and ham. You can also buy offal and bones for stock. Particularly good value are the various Meat Boxes including the Essential Meat Box (shown here), and selections such as the Classic or Artisan Steak Boxes, a BBQ Meat Box, The Sausage Lover’s Box and others specialising in beef, mutton or pork. Products are vacuum-packed, carefully packaged within recyclable insulation and sent by chilled delivery to customers nationwide.

Note: The recipe needs to cook for four hours in the slow cooker to serve in slices, and 6 hours for the shredded version.

Slow Cooker Beef Joint in Pedro Ximinez and Red Wine

Author Kavita Favelle

Equipment

Equipment: electric slow cooker (crock pot)

Ingredients

800-1000 g beef joint
25-30 ml vegetable oil (or enough to brown beef and then onions and shallots)
6-10 small to medium shallots, peeled, whole
4-6 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
1 medium white or brown onion, peeled and sliced
200 g carrots, peeled and sliced into discs or cut into small batons
200 ml red wine
125 ml Pedro Ximenez sherry, divided into 75 ml and 50 ml
300 ml beef stock
3-4 sprigs thyme
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon cornflour for sliced version only
Your choice of potatoes and side vegetables, to serve

Instructions

The chopped carrots and crushed garlic can go straight into the slow cooker pot.
In a pan, add a little oil and brown the joint of beef on all sides.
Remove from the pan and set aside.
Add a little more oil to the pan and brown the onions and shallots. These do not need to caramelise fully; you're just looking to add a little surface colour.
Quickly place the browned onions and shallots over the carrots and garlic, and then lay the beef joint over the vegetables.
Whilst the pan is still hot, add the red wine and stir to incorporate any meaty juices adhered to the pan.
Pour the red wine, beef stock and 75 ml of the Pedro Ximinez sherry over the beef and vegetables, and add the thyme and salt.
Turn the slow cooker on to its high setting and leave for four hours, carefully turning the beef joint over about once an hour.

If serving sliced:

Put your potatoes and side vegetables on to cook so that they're ready about 10 minutes after the beef is due to come out.
After four hours of cooking, remove the beef from the slow cooker and set aside to rest.
Strain the vegetables from the cooking liquid (retaining the liquid) and set the vegetables aside.
Transfer the cooking liquid into a pan with the cornflour and cook for 10 minutes over a medium heat, whisking regularly to thicken into a gravy. Take off the heat, add the remaining 50 ml of Pedro Ximinez sherry and stir.
Once the gravy is ready, remove any strings, slice the beef and serve with the braised vegetables and gravy, alongsie your potatoes and side vegetables.

If serving as a stew

Continue to cook in the slow cooker for another 2 hours on high.
Put your potatoes and side vegetables on to cook so that they're ready about 5 minutes after the beef is due to come out.
Remove the beef from the slow cooker to a plate or lipped chopping board, remove any strings, and shred.
Add the beef back to the slow cooker, along with the remaining 50 ml of Pedro Ximinez sherry and stir everything together.
Serve the stew with your potatoes and side vegetables.