This post may contain affiliate links. If you buy something through one of these links, we may earn an affiliate commission – at no extra cost to you.
Hey there my good friends. How is your 2017 going?! I started the New Year off with a nasty head cold. Yup, January 1st 2017 greeted me with generous amounts of tissues, soup, and much needed couch time. The worst part of this situation is that I got a bad cold right at the beginning of 2016 also! I hope this pattern doesn’t keep up otherwise I might start dreading the New Year. Anyways, now that I am mostly healthy again I couldn’t wait to get back to work! Being sick really makes you appreciate when you are feeling healthy. P.S. I just added a classic chicken soup to my list of recipes to make for the blog soon – essential!
Let’s rock this second week of January 2017 by making this Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Sauce with Creamy Polenta!
Get ready friends because you are in for one comforting, satisfying, and ultra tasty meal. The best part is that most of the heard work is done for us in the slow cooker while you are doing whatever it is you do. Trust me, this isn’t one of those meals that tastes like it’s been cooked in the slow cooker. You know what I mean? I’m looking at you mushy veggies! Dear Slow Cooker you do all the hard work for me while I sleep or shop or work or play. I love you and fully accept your mushy veggies. Let’s be BFFs! The wonderful thing about Slow cooker Shredded Beef Sauce with Creamy Polenta is that all of the veggies are pureed to create this luscious, thick sauce. And that beef is tenderized by the slow cooking and the tomatoes and red wine and then shredded into blissful little pieces! Oh how I adore you slow cooker!
Really truly guys that shredded beef sauce is everything! It’s packed with red wine, fire roasted tomatoes, garlic, onions, rosemary, plus a hint of smoked paprika and honey to round out the flavors. AND all of those tasty flavors from the beef are cooked right into that sauce. It’s slightly tangy, sweet, earthy, and oh-so-creamy. However, there isn’t any cream in that sauce, it’s all due to those veggies that are pureed.
Once the sauce is almost done cooking then we caramelize some onions. Low and slow is the name of the game. The longer those onions are cooked the sweeter and more rich in flavor they become. Trust me they are so worth it! Just before we serve our mouth watering slow cooker creation we quickly whip up some creamy polenta. Throw some goat cheese in there for good measure. Then you serve that shredded beef sauce over some of that creamy goat cheese polenta and top that all off with a few caramelized onions and you’ve got yourself one extraordinary and tasty meal!
What’s great about Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Sauce with Creamy Polenta is that it makes a huge amount so it’s great for serving to crowds. Or even for make ahead meals. The shredded beef sauce and the creamy polenta both freeze beautifully. You could freeze half of it so it’s ready for those nights you just don’t feel like cooking – oh the options!
I hope you love this recipe as much as we did. Paul has even requested that I make it again for his birthday coming up in February. I’m totally okay with that because hello slow cooker = an easy hassle free dinner + plenty of leftovers! That way I can spend time making him a tasty treat. Yum!
Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Sauce with Creamy Polenta
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 10 hours
- Total Time: 10 hours 10 mins
- Yield: 8 to 10 1x
- Category: Red Meat, Entree, Slow Cooker
- Cuisine: Gluten Free
Description
The shredded beef sauce are cooked in a slow cooker. The sauce is served over creamy polenta and topped with caramelized onions. This meal makes a large batch making it perfect for feeding a crowd or meal prep.
Ingredients
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- 2 pounds round bottom roast (or other similar cut of beef)
- 1 cup semi-dry red wine (such as Pinot Noir or Malbec)*
- 1/2 cup beef broth
- 3 15 ounce cans fire roasted tomatoes
- 2 carrots, roughly chopped
- 4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
- 4 Juniper berries, crushed (optional – i find these dried in the spice section)
- 1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper
- 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup honey
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper (optional)
- FOR THE CARAMELIZED ONIONS:
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 medium sized onions, sliced into thin rings
- salt
- FOR THE CREAMY POLENTA:
- 2 cups yellow polenta (aka corn grits)
- 4 cups chicken stock
- 2 cups filtered water
- 4 ounces room temperature goat cheese
- salt and pepper
Instructions
- FOR THE SAUCE:
- Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker, except for the honey, smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine. Cook on high for 5 to 6 hours or on low for 9 to 10 hours or until the beef is cooked through and the veggies are tender.
- Remove the beef. Once cooled enough to handle remove any fat and shred the beef using two forks.
- Use an immersion blender to blend the sauce until it’s creamy. Alternately you can transfer the sauce to a blender, working in small batches. Once the sauce is blended add the shredded beef back to the sauce.
- Stir in the honey (to taste), smoked paprika, cumin, and cayenne pepper. Taste and adjust salt and pepper and other seasonings as needed. Allow the slow cooker to sit on low temperature or keep warm.
- FOR THE CARAMELIZED ONIONS:
- About 20 minuets before the sauce and beef are done cooking make the caramelized onions. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Heat the oil and add the onions, sprinkle with a decent amount of salt and saute for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. The caramelized onions are done when they turn light brown and are tender and sweet in flavor. The longer you cook them the sweeter they will be. Be sure to lower the temperature if needed to prevent burning. Set aside.
- FOR THE CREAMY POLENTA:
- Once the beef sauce is done and you are ready to serve the meal make the polenta.
- Using a deep pot bring the chicken stock and water to a boil. Slowly whisk in the polenta. Turn the heat down to low. Keep stirring constantly until the polenta begins to thicken, be careful because it will bubble and splash. Stir in the goat cheese and salt and pepper to taste. It should take about 5 to 10 minutes to thicken.
- If the polenta becomes too thick you can stir in more chicken stock or water to thin it out, you want it to remain creamy.
- FOR SERVING:
- Spoon a some of the creamy polenta into a bowl. Spoon over some of the shredded beef sauce and top with the caramelized onions. Serve immediately.
- Leftovers reheat and freeze nicely. When reheating the polenta I like to stir in the beef sauce to help make it creamy again.
Notes
*If you don’t drink wine then you can sub it for 1 cup of beef broth. However the red wine does play a huge part in the flavor of the dish. I highly recommend using the wine if you can. The alcohol does cook off.
Leave a Reply