French Onion Beef Stew

It was REALLY hard for me to follow this recipe. I wanted to try it because I always need good slow cooker recipes. It was hard for me to follow because I wanted to change it to fit what I know about cooking. I wanted to brown the beef. I wanted to caramelize the onions. I wanted to use wine instead of apple juice….but I was out of wine. So I followed the recipe. I didn’t do any browning or caramelizing. I just threw it all in the cooker to see what would happen. It didn’t go well…and I ended up having to ad lib. So I started here:

• 8 sprig(s) fresh thyme,  plus 1 tsp leaves (I didn’t have fresh so I used a tbs of dried Italian seasoning)
• 1 can(s) low-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup(s) apple juice
• 4 medium carrots,  cut into 1/4-in. pieces
• 2  onions,  thinly sliced
• 1.5 pound(s) lean beef stew meat,  trimmed and cut into 1/2-in. pieces
•  Kosher salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoon(s) all-purpose flour
• 4  thick slices country bread
• 4 ounce(s) Gruyère or Swiss cheese,  grated (about 1 cup)

1. Tie a piece of thread or kitchen twine around the thyme sprigs and place them in a 5- to 6-qt slow cooker. Add the chicken broth, apple juice, carrots and onions and mix to combine.
2. Season the beef with 1/2 tsp each salt and pepper; sprinkle with the flour. Add the beef and any excess flour to the slow cooker and mix to combine. Cook, covered, until the beef and vegetables are tender, 7 to 8 hours on low or 4 to 5 hours on high.
3. When the stew has 10 minutes left to cook, heat the broiler. Place the bread on a foil-lined broiler-proof baking sheet. Sprinkle with the cheese and remaining tsp thyme. Broil until the cheese starts to brown, 1 to 2 minutes. Spoon the stew into bowls and top with the Gruyère toasts.

I tasted it after 6 hours and I didn’t like it. It was ok. It was beef stew. It lacked the French Onion Soup quality I wanted. Excuse me for sounding like a Top Chef judge, but it lacked depth. So I did what any normal (not normal) person would do. I picked through the stew and salvages the broth, beef and carrots. I tosses all the onions. Then I sliced an onion paper thin and put it on the stove…low and slow for about 30 minutes until the onions were brown and gooey and caramelized. Then I added those into the slow cooker. Much better. Next time I would follow my instinct and caramelize the onions and brown the beef before putting them into the slow cooker.