Ingredients
The following ingredients have 7 Servings
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil (plus additional as needed)
- 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 pounds cubed beef stew meat (boneless beef chuck)
- salt and fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
- 1 cup diced onion
- 1 cup chopped carrots
- 3/4 cup diced celery
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic
- 3 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 cup chopped mushrooms
- 6 cups low-sodium beef broth
- 2/3 cup pearl barley
- 2 tablespoons fresh chopped thyme (or 2 teaspoons dry thyme)
Instruction
- Cut the beef stew meat (or chuck) down into small, bite-size pieces.
- Heat vegetable oil in a 12" skillet over medium-high heat. Add half of beef to skillet and allow to brown on one side for about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste while cooking. Flip pieces over and brown for an additional 3 minutes. Transfer browned beef to your slow cooker and repeat with remaining beef.
- Reduce heat under skillet to medium and add onion, carrots, celery and garlic. Cook, stirring, to incorporate with any juices the beef left behind in the skillet.
- Add tomato paste and Worcestershire sauce and cook, stirring for a minute or two until well combined. Transfer the veggie mixture to your slow cooker with the beef.
- Add mushrooms, beef broth, barley, and fresh thyme to the slow cooker. Stir to combine, cover, and cook on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours or on LOW for 6 to 8 hours, or until beef is fork tender (slow cookers can vary, times are approximate). Taste and season with additional salt and pepper, if needed.
