My pasta situation is getting a little out of control. My pantry is starting to overflow with half-full packages of pasta and a girl can only eat Bowties and Broccoli so many times per week. So I decided to make some pasta sauce to keep in the freezer for fast weeknight dinners and give me other options for using up leftover pasta. I was also craving some slow-cooked meat, so this Sunday Slow Cooker Beef Ragù was an obvious solution.
This sauce is ridiculously simple to make, with all the magic happening in the slow, gentle cooking action rather than a long list of complex ingredients. Cheaper cuts of beef, like shoulder roast, are usually on the tough side, but cooking low and slow breaks down the tough connective tissue in meat and creates a melt-in-your-mouth ragù. I added a carrot to my ragù for a little sweetness, but if you don’t have one, I doubt you’d be disappointed with the results. It’s just really hard to mess up slow cooked meat. ;)
This recipe makes about 12 cups, which is a TON of sauce. After cooling it completely in the refrigerator (for about a day), I transferred mine to quart-sized freezer bags for long term storage. Reheating is simple, just cut away the bag and heat gently in a sauce pan over medium-low flame, or place it in a microwave safe dish and use the defrost option on the microwave.
So, the next time you have a lazy Sunday (or any day off), get a batch of this sauce cookin’ so you can have this beautiful home-cooked sauce waiting in your freezer.
Sunday Slow Cooker Beef Ragù
Save PrintPrep time 15 mins
Cook time 8 hours
Total time 8 hours 15 mins
Total Cost: $12.16 Cost Per Serving: $1.01 Serves: 12 cups
Ingredients
- 1 yellow onion $0.16
- 4 cloves garlic $0.32
- 1 carrot $0.14
- 3 lbs. boneless beef shoulder roast $7.53
- 1 Tbsp cooking oil $0.04
- ½ tsp dried oregano $0.05
- ½ tsp dried thyme $0.05
- ½ tsp dried rosemary $0.05
- Freshly cracked pepper $0.05
- 3 Tbsp tomato paste $0.24
- 1 cup beef broth $0.13
- 2 (28oz.) cans crushed tomatoes $3.38
- ½ tsp salt, or to taste $0.05
Instructions
- Dice the onion and mince the garlic. Peel the carrot, then shred it using a cheese or box grater. Add the onion, garlic, and carrot to the bottom of a 5 quart or larger slow cooker.
- Use a sharp knife to remove any large pieces of fat from the beef. Cut the trimmed beef into large 2-3 inch chunks.
- Heat the cooking oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. When the oil is very hot, add the beef pieces and cook for a few minutes on each side or until well browned. Cook the pieces in batches to avoid over crowding the skillet.
- Place the browned beef in the slow cooker. Add the beef broth to the still warm skillet and whisk to dissolve any browned bits from the bottom of the skillet. Pour the beef broth from the skillet into the slow cooker. Sprinkle the oregano, thyme, and rosemary over the beef. Top with some freshly cracked pepper (10-15 cranks of a pepper mill).
- Finally, add the tomato paste to the slow cooker along with the crushed tomatoes. Place a lid on the slow cooker and turn on the heat to high. Cook for 6-8 hours on high, or until the meat is extremely tender and shreds easily.
- Use tongs to shred the meat in the sauce, removing any remaining large pieces of fat or connective tissue that did not break down. Stir the sauce well, taste, and add salt as needed (1/2 to 1 teaspoon). Serve immediately with pasta or divide the sauce into smaller containers (for faster cooling) and refrigerate. Once completely cooled, the sauce can be frozen for longer storage.
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