Slow Cooker Beef Stew with Holland House Cooking Wine

You can give your foods a flavorful punch with a simple, yet flavorful marinade using Holland House Cooking Wines.  Veggies (especially eggplant, zucchini, asparagus and mushrooms) and meats soak up the flavor and it’s as easy as letting them marinate and then tossing them on the grill!

What elements should a marinade contain? Marinades vary from recipe to recipe, but they all generally contain three basic components – oils, acids and seasonings. Oils lock in the natural flavor and prevent vegetables from drying out, while acids allow flavors to be absorbed. Seasonings provide the unique flavor. Garlic, ginger and herbs are the most common marinade seasonings.

Holland House Cooking Wines come in 6 varieties so there is something for every palate and taste combination.  They include Red, White, White with Lemon, Sake, Marsala, and Sherry.

We were out the other day, all day long, so I decided to use the marinade concept but use it as a base for a slow cooker stew.  Using the oil, acid, seasoning bones (canned tomatoes with olive oil, Holland House cooking wine, onions + garlic that are in the tomatoes), I whipped up a broth that created a rich but subtle flavor that did not overwhelm either the meat or the vegetables.  We came home to a mouthwatering scent in our kitchen and an equally satisfying dinner.

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Slow Cooker Beef Stew

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat
1/4 cup Holland House Red Cooking Wine
2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1 (14.5 oz) can of Red Gold Petite Diced Garlic & Olive Oil Tomatoes (do not drain)
1 medium onion, diced
1 pound of carrots (frozen or fresh) sliced into 1-inch coins

Optionally you can add 1 pound of red skinned potatoes, cut into 1 inch chunks (I served our stew over mashed potatoes)

Place the beef into slow cooker pot.  Mix the cooking wine, flour and tomatoes together and pour over the beef.

Add the onions and carrots on top.  If you are using potatoes at this step add those as well.

Cook on low for 7-8 hours.

We also grilled some steaks marinated in the Sake Cooking Wine and really enjoyed the flavors.

To see just how versatile Holland House Cooking Wine is as a marinade take a look at this video showing a complete step-by-step recipe for Bacon Wrapped Marinated Mushroom Skewers.

Do you cook with Cooking Wines?  If so what kinds and what do you make with them?