Old School Beef Tips & Gravy are the kind of down-home comfort food that’s perfect for a dreary Spring day! Actually, they’re perfect just about anytime.
Old School Beef Tips & Gravy
This particular version is an Instant Pot Recipe – I love that it’s ready in no time and there’s not a lot of waiting around as you’ll find with so many slow cooker recipes. That being said, this same method works in a slow cooker; you’ll want around 4 to 5 hours.
About Old School Beef Tips & Gravy Instant Pot:
This is my absolute fave Beef Tips recipe and the flavor’s outstanding if I do say so. 🙂 It’s a classic with mushrooms, a bit of wine, a little thyme, and a there’s a little secret at the end.
That secret is to add just a little touch of a dark jam or jelly to the dish as you finish it. You won’t add enough to make it sweet, and you probably won’t know it’s there but it takes subtly enhances the flavor of the dish and takes it over the top. Trust me on this one, she says! Black currant is my fave, but any dark jam or jelly will do.
If wine isn’t your thing, just use a little more of the broth and def try the bit of jam or jelly to make up for the lack of the depth the wine gives. A half teaspoon of vinegar added to the mix will make up for the acidy missing from the wine.
Old School Beef Tips & Gravy
Making Old School Beef Tips & Gravy:
When cooking recipes like this in an Instant Pot, the most important thing to get the timing down is the size of the beef chunks, not the amount. Make your cuts as close as possible, and if there are smaller, scappier pieces, load them in the center of the pot. If you wish to increase the beef a little (or decrease) the pot will “magically” adjust. More beef means the total cooking time will increase because it takes a bit longer to get up to pressure, so no need to adjust the dial, so to speak. The opposite is true for less.
Larger or smaller cuts, though will skew the total cook time; smaller ones will cook more quickly and longer ones will tend to need more time, so avoid that scenario!
Brown the beef tips well and make sure there is no residue or “fond” on the bottom of the pot! Deglaze it very well, or if you find that a pain, saute in a separate pan, delaze and transfer to the IP. Any residue can cause the IP to give the dreaded “burn” notice.
Old School Beef Tips & Gravy
Adjusting the Flavor & Seasoning:
Use a good-tasting beef broth for this recipe! It’s the basis for much of the flavor and some are surprisingly bad. Watch the salt, too, as some broths are saltier than others.
This recipe is a classic, but if you’re a flavor chaser, you can tweak a few things in the recipe. Garlic can never be wrong. The beef can be seasoned with a fave rub instead of the seasoning salt before browning. I do love it with my fave Homemade Seasoning Salt. Just sayin’!
See under “About” above, for substitutes for the wine.
Homemade Seasoning Salt
How to Serve:
I personally can’t think of any better way to serve the Beef Tips than over mashed potatoes! That hits a whole nuther level of comfort food for me. My pick is these Best Company Mashed Potatoes. Coz beef & wine, well ya gotta go a little fancy!
I hafta say, though, a more classic pairing is either rice (plain ol’ white) or egg noodles. If you want, bust for the frozen egg noodles. They’re so tender and the gravy doesn’t just slide off them like the boxed or bagged kind. If you’re going lower carb, consider cauliflower rice.
Best Company Mashed Potatoes
How to Store Old School Beef Tips & Gravy:
Simply store any leftover Old School Beef Tips & Gravy tightly covered in the fridge. Reheat gently; stovetop preferred. Any stews like this can be a bit tricky in the microwave and can thin out and or be tough if heated on too high of a setting.
If it’s just a plate’s worth, the microwave is fine as long as you only heat it until warmed through. Your best bet if there is any quantity is to just bring it up to a gentle simmer on the stovetop.
Freezing is not a great option for this recipe, or really for any recipe thickened with flour and/or cornstarch.
Saving Money:
I find there’s a lot of confusion over two cuts of beef. One is “London Broil” covered in my Teriyaki Marinated Steak. The other is Beef Tips. I’m gonna reference Cook’s Illustrated on Beef Tips, which can come from two areas of the cow.
- One is the more expensive tips from the tenderloin. If your tips are $8.00 to $10.00 a pound, they’re not what you want for this recipe. Those are best used where they’re gonna shine and don’t need long cooking to make them tender.
- The other cut is basically trimmings from around the sirloin (and sometimes the round.) Sirloin is going to have the best flavor and you’ll probably find them around $5.00 a pound. That’s what you want for this recipe.
You do have a lot of latitude in purchasing the beef for this recipe.
- If you want to go with sirloin, you can buy the actual “tips” but a cheaper option is often to purchase a small roast on sale and cut it yourself.
- This recipe will also work with chuck (it’s basically a stew, after all). These days in the areas I’ve shopped in, chuck doesn’t seem to be much less than sirloin!
- If you are looking for a real budget alternative, take a look at any of the roasts from the round; they’re a little less well-marbled, and the flavor isn’t as “beefy” but this recipe can transform even those cheaper cuts.
Hi guys!
Hope your week is going well! Here in Georgia, we’re still bouncing from cold to hot, but wherever you are, be sure to save this recipe for the appropriate time! It’s a winner for sure!
Take care, all!
Mollie
Old School Beef Tips & Gravy
Old School Beef Tips & Gravy
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 4 to 6 servings 1x
- Category: main dish
- Method: Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons oil, divided
- 2 pounds beef, in about 2” cubes
- 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt
- 1 large onion, diced
- 8 ounces mushrooms sliced
- 1/4 cup wine (preferably red)
- 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) beef broth
- 1 teaspoon Worcestershire
- 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- 3 tablespoons flour
- water
- 1/2 to 1 teaspoon dark jelly
Instructions
Set the Instant Pot to Sauté, high temperature. Add the oil when pot is hot add the oil. While the pot is heating, toss the beef with the seasoning salt. Working in batches, add the beef to the pot in layers, brown thoroughly and remove to a plate.
Add the onion to the pot (add just a splash of water and/or turn down the temperature if at any point the fond on the bottom is in danger of burning) and cook, stirring, until it becomes translucent, about four minutes. Add the mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring often, until slightly softened and the juices have been given up.
Add in the wine while scraping up any residue on the bottom of the pot, then the beef broth when the wine has reduced. Continue to scrape up the bottom of the pot as needed; do not leave any residue on the bottom. Add the Worcestershire, thyme, and pepper, stir.
Cancel the Saute setting. Add the beef and any juices back to the pot. Seal and set the pot to High pressure, 25 minutes. When finished, allow a 10-minute natural release, then release any remaining pressure.
To make the gravy, mix the flour with water in a jar (about 1/2 cup) and shake well. Set the pot to Saute (high) and bring to a simmer. Add the flour mixture, stirring well and simmer to desired thickness. Add the jam. Taste and adjust seasoning.
Keywords: Alcohol, Beef, Beef Stock, Instant Pot, mushrooms, Sirloin, Wine
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