Slow Cooker Tuesday ~ Week 3 {Beef Ragu}

Today's recipe is another that falls into the "It Could Hardly Be Easier!" category. A wee bit of chopping, put it all in the crock pot, and go about your business. 
That's exactly what I did yesterday. At lunchtime, I assembled the ingredients in my slow cooker. In the afternoon, the girls and I went shopping while Ron (who had the day off) puttered around in his shop. When we got home, everyone was hungry, but that was not a problem. I shredded the beef, cooked some fettuccine, tossed together a salad, and we were sitting down to a delicious hot meal in no time.

original recipe at marthastewart.com Ingredients: 1 medium yellow onion, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced 6 tablespoons tomato paste 3 teaspoons dried oregano (or 3 tablespoons of chopped fresh oregano leaves) 1 beef chuck roast (approximately 4 pounds), halved coarse salt, ground pepper 1 to 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar Directions: In slow cooker, combine onion, garlic, tomato paste, and oregano. Season roast with salt and pepper and place on top of onion mixture.  Add 2 cups water, cover, and cook until meat is tender and can be pulled apart with fork (approximately 4 1/2 hours on high, or 9 hours on low). Let cool 10 minutes, then shred meat with two forks and stir in vinegar to taste.

When I have made pork ragu, I have browned it first and then simmered it for most of the day in a Dutch oven on the stove, so I had kind of expected this recipe to be a little low on flavor. Not so! Martha did not disappoint. ~smile~ 

Do you typically brown your meat before slow cooking it?