By Carolyn Doyle
The more you’ve invested in something, the tougher it is to walk away…which is why you see rows of green or half-green tomatoes in the garage, basking on the kitchen windowsill or wrapped in newspaper in the basement, harvested in a hurry just before the first frost of the season.
This easy slow cooker beef recipe is a good way to use up your underripe tomato windfall. Serve this falling-apart-tender beef and the jus on thirsty hoagie buns, with warm tortillas and your favorite Tex-Mex condiments or over rice, with sautéed squash, onions and peppers on the side.
A great addition, either served with the cooked beef or added to the slow cooker at the beginning: some pickled peppers.
After you’ve shredded and served the beef, save any leftover cooking liquid. Use it in a killer batch of soup or chili the next day. Or you can reduce the cooking liquid down from a jus to a thicker sauce.
Got a lot of green tomatoes? Chop and freeze for future batches of this easy entree.
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Green Tomato Beef in the Slow Cooker
About 4 servings
2 pounds braising beef (such as boneless chuck roast or English roast), excess fat removed
1 tablespoon of rub (your choice) … or combine the following ingredients to make a simple rub:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon each pepper and smoked paprika
- ¼ teaspoon chipotle powder
1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
1 pound green or underripe tomatoes
1 ¾ cup beef broth
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into thin slivers
Coat the beef with the rub; place on a plate and set aside.
Arrange the onion in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Cut the tomatoes into 2-inch pieces. Place in slow cooker and pour in the beef broth. Add the meat to the slow cooker; top with the garlic. Cover and cook nine hours on low.
Remove meat from slow cooker and allow to rest, tented with foil, on a plate for a few minutes. Pour liquid from cooker through a strainer; save liquid and remove the fat (I like to use a fat separator, or you can skim the fat off the top). Discard the vegetables. Pull the meat into shreds, discarding fat and gristle.
Heat the degreased cooking liquid; serve with the meat.
