Serve this Slow Cooker Red Wine Beef Shank Stew with mashed potatoes, rice or pasta.
Fall is here and despite the fact that we’ve been having warm weather still here in Connecticut, I’ve already been thinking about all the comfort food that we start craving as the weather turns cooler. Stews, chili and soups are some of the meals I start to make more of with the change of seasons. The good news is that it’s easy to use cheaper cuts of meat that are tougher in these meals because they benefit from low, slow cooking.
Recently, I found grass fed beef shank for $6.99/pound, a bargain compared to other cuts of grass fed beef. Grass fed beef is typically more expensive than regular beef, so using less expensive cuts like been shank make grass fed beef more affordable. The key is coaxing the tenderness out of this tough cut of meat while keeping it nice and moist.
For added depth of flavor, I tried using some Taste #5 Umami paste,  a souped up tomato paste, with an extra boost of umami from porcini mushrooms, olives, garlic, balsamic vinegar, anchovies, and Parmesan Reggiano. I splurged on a tube of Umami paste just to try it and I’ll be honest – I don’t think it was worst the cost. Regular tomato paste is much more economical and I think would work just as well. The key is to caramelize the tomato paste with the vegetables to get the best flavor. Add your own umami flavors by tucking in some porcini mushrooms, using soy sauce in place of salt when seasoning to taste, and sprinkling some Parmesan cheese on top for serving.
This Slow Cooker Red Wine Beef Shank Stew is delicious served with crusty bread, or over steamed rice or pasta.
Leftovers can be frozen and turned into a Mashed Cauliflower Potato Crusted Beef Casserole (pictured below), or Beef Vegetable Soup (just add some broth, cooked whole grains or pasta, and chopped leafy green vegetables).
To make this Mashed Cauliflower Potato Crusted Beef Casserole, simply chop the leftover beef stew into bite size pieces, top with mashed cauliflower potatoes and sprinkle with a little Parmesan cheese. Bake the whole thing at 375 degrees for 40-45 minutes until stew is hot and topping is browned.
I made this beef stew for this month’s Recipe Redux Theme Fantastic Freezer Meals: “Share your tips and tricks for making one – or more freezer meals. It’s the end of the gardening season for some of us; let’s store away that produce in heat-and-eat-from-the-freezer-meals. Show how convenient healthy freezer breakfast, lunches or dinners can be!”
This recipe takes one meal and turns it into two or three meals.
Slow Cooker Red Wine Beef Shank Stew
Ingredients
- 3 pounds beef shank
- sea salt
- fresh ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 cups large onion chopped
- 4 cups carrots chopped
- 3 cups celery stalks chopped
- 6 cloves garlic chopped
- 2 tablespoons umami paste or tomato paste
- 2 cups red wine
- 2 teaspoons Herbs de Provence (or substitute a mixture of thyme, oregano, rosemary)
- 3 cups chopped tomatoes (30 ounces)
- sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Instructions
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Season beef shank pieces with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat oil in a large pot and brown beef shank pieces on both sides. Transfer to slow cooker. Add onion, carrots, celery and garlic to pot and saute until fragrant, about 3-4 minutes. Add umami paste and saute another minute. Add red wine, Herbs de Provence and tomatoes; stir to scrape up any browned bits from bottom of the pot.
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Transfer everything to slow cooker; cover and cook on high for 6 hours. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Recipe Notes
For extra umami flavor, add some porcini mushrooms, season with soy sauce instead of salt and serve with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
This beef stew looks amazing, Jeanette! I’ve been using my slow cooker more often lately too and there’s nothing more comforting than a big bowl of soup or stew once the weather gets chillier.
Thanks Kelly – I couldn’t agree more. I know people use the slow cooker in the summer too, but I use it the most in the fall and winter.
Your beef stew looks absolutely delicious, Jeanette. I should use my slow cooker more often.
Thanks Angie – I use the slow cooker just to keep meals warm too 🙂
A really lovely autumn comfort meal and I love the slightly different leftover ideas too!
Thanks Corina – I hate throwing out food so I’m always repurposing leftovers.
I am all about crockpot freezer meals, and this looks all sorts of amazing! *-* I haven’t ever come across umami paste yet, but will have to be on the lookout for that! <3
The love the idea of crockpot freezer meals too. You can just use tomato paste instead of umami paste and add some other umami rich ingredients to the stew like soy sauce and mushrooms.
Sweet! Thanks for the recommendation! I’ll go try that out! <3
This looks fantastic! I bet the red wine gives it an amazing flavor. Perfect fall comfort food!
Thanks Annemarie – red wine always adds some extra depth of flavor I find in braises.
This stew sounds delicious and so comforting. Great ideas for leftovers too!
Thanks Marjory – always trying to figure out how to use up leftovers 🙂
COngrats on the bargain meat buy! I love to find a good bulk deal 🙂 Thanks for the tips on getting the most out of this cut, the entire meal looks simply scrumptious 🙂
I love bargains on high quality products – you can’t go wrong 🙂
Slow cooker season is upon us – – – I love beef recipes like this, yay!
Thanks Brenda – yah for slow cookers!
I love how you reinvented leftovers, too!
Thanks Cindy!
Just got a slow cooker and have been looking for this exact recipe! Can’t wait to try it. And I agree about the Umami paste…tomato past is just as good!
Hope you enjoy this recipe – have fun with your slow cooker!
Looks delish! I’m going to add a turnip and some baby portabellos and then near the end, 1 lb of greens, prob turnip greens, maybe collards or mustard greens for a sharpness. If I serve it with mashed cauliflower I don’t have to make the pot pie/casserole later; we’ll have enough for leftovers of this wonderful meal to just heat and eat 🙂
…altho that potpie looks simply divine too!
I love all the additions you’re making – and yes, extra mashed cauliflower is a great idea for two meals!
i’ve never cooked beef shank before, but i found it on sale and bought some. google brought me to your recipe which looks beautiful. my only questions is what to do with the bone? do you cook the meat bone-in? thanks!
I cook the beef with the bone in – it adds flavor to the sauce. You’ll know it’s done when the meat falls off the bone.
I am three weeks into The Whole 30 diet, found some beautiful shanks on sale, didn’t know what to do with them,and google lead me to your recipe. To make it W30 compliant, I just used mushroom broth instead of wine, and tomato paste instead of umami. I also added mushrooms and sweet potatoes. Delicious!! By omitting the Parmesan cheese from the cauliflower/potato topping, I can even use your leftovers recipe. Big, happy W30 win for me;)
Kitty, so glad this recipe was easily adaptable for your The Whole 30 diet. Thanks so much for sharing your adaptations to make it W30 compliant.