Slow-Cooker Sirloin Steak

Jack's garden operation grows more ambitious every year. The greenhouse, the market sales, the Farm Fund jar that now holds over three hundred dollars. He's 11 and he farms the way some kids play video games — obsessively, joyfully, with the deep understanding that this is not a hobby but a vocation wearing a hobby's clothes.

Thursday was tater tot hotdish, because Thursday is always tater tot hotdish and the schedule doesn't change for anything — not pandemics, not loss, not the passage of years. The tater tots go in at 375 and come out golden and the family eats them and the eating is the Thursday and the Thursday is the structure and the structure holds. But I also made beef barley soup earlier this week, because the kitchen doesn't only look backward. The kitchen grows.

The garden winding down. Corn stalks brown and leaning. Last peppers picked before frost. Jack's garlic going in — the patience crop, planted now for next July. Nine months underground. The faith that the future needs what the present plants.

The kitchen has been carrying a lot this season — the hotdish every Thursday without fail, the barley soup earlier in the week, the steady hum of feeding people through the turning of the year. When Jack’s garlic went into the ground and the last peppers came in before frost, I wanted something I could set going in the morning and trust to take care of itself — something that held the same patient faith as a crop planted nine months before harvest. This slow-cooker sirloin steak is that kind of meal: unhurried, dependable, and exactly what a long autumn day calls for.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 8 hours | Total Time: 8 hours 15 minutes | Servings: 4

Ingredients

2 lbs sirloin steak, cut into serving pieces
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup beef broth
1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
2 tbsp cornstarch (optional, for thickening)
2 tbsp cold water (optional, for thickening)

Instructions

Season the steak. Pat steak pieces dry with paper towels. Season on both sides with salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Sear for flavor. Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Sear steak pieces 2—3 minutes per side until browned. Transfer to the slow cooker.
Build the base. Add sliced onion and minced garlic on top of the steak. Pour in beef broth and Worcestershire sauce. Sprinkle with thyme and rosemary.
Cook low and slow. Cover and cook on LOW for 7—8 hours, or on HIGH for 4—5 hours, until the steak is fork-tender.
Thicken the sauce (optional). In the last 30 minutes of cooking, whisk together cornstarch and cold water until smooth. Stir into the slow cooker, replace the lid, and cook on HIGH until the sauce thickens slightly.
Serve. Plate steak with spoonfuls of the braising liquid spooned over the top. Pairs well with mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or crusty bread.

Nutrition (per serving)

Slow-Cooker Sirloin Steak — The Kind of Meal That Holds the Week Together