Is it necessary to marinate beef that is going in a crock pot?

Cafe Society
1

I plan on making stew tomorrow and was going to marinate the chunks of meat overnight. I usually make stew with a crock pot over the course of 6 to 8 hours. I was going to just marinate the beef chunks in red wine, salt, sugar and pepper. Is this even necessary, if the meat is going to cook in a crock pot?

2

I’ve never marinated beef before putting it in a crock-pot. What’s the point? The liquid and flavoring will get into the meat through the cooking process. Marinating is for meat that will be grilled.

3

Instead of marinating the beef overnight, why not just add a glug of red wine to the stew in the crock pot while it cooks?

Marinating might help prevent to leakage of beef juices into the potatoes. That’s one of the drawbacks of making stew in a crockpot–pink potatoes. My stews are tomato based but I could see how the finished product with pink potatoes might not be appetizing to some people.

Since the crock pot is a Godsend to busy working mommies (and daddies!), the ingredients are typically thrown together in the morning before running out the door. In my working days, there wasn’t enough time to stand at the stove and brown the stew beef before tossing it in the crock pot. I came up with the brilliant idea to brown my stew beef in the oven on the day of purchase. I’d drain it on brown paper bags, and then package in meal size zipper bags and freeze. This gave a nice carmelization to the beef cubes, and also eliminated some of the grease.
~VOW

4

Never marinated meat for the crockpot. What for? If it cooks properly, it won’t need tenderizing, if you believe marinating softens it up. One exception is sauerbraten, which I do marinate for 3 days in the refrigerator (I use a chuck roast) and then cook it in the crockpot.

5

I wouldn’t bother marinating it, but a glug of wine is a great idea. Also, before you put the meat in the crockpot, brown the outside a little on the stove top. I like to toss it with a bit of flour (just enough to dust the outside) and then brown it over medium high heat until all sides are brown, about five minutes. It’s really worth it; the meat holds up better and stays juicier.