Sprinkle the flour, thyme, garlic granules and salt and pepper on a chopping board. Dry the beef well with some kitchen paper, and then roll in the flour mixture to coat all over.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat, or if your slow cooker allows it, by putting the slow cooker dish onto the hob. Brown the meat on all sides until golden.
Remove the meat from the pan and set aside, add the garlic, onions and carrots to the pan and cook for about 5-10 minutes until starting to soften. If you're using your slow cooker dish, add the meat back in. If you're using a frying pan, transfer everything to your slow cooker dish. Pour in the stock, pop the lid on and cook on HIGH for 5-6 hours or LOW for 7-8 hours until the meat is tender.
When cooked, transfer the meat to a serving dish, reserving the cooking liquid.
To make the gravy:
Put the cornflour in a small bowl (don't skip this step, it's important otherwise the gravy will be lumpy!) and spoon in enough of the cooking liquid to form a smooth paste. Add this paste back to the rest of the liquid in the slow cooker (or saucepan, see below).
Now either, cook the gravy in the slow cooker: put the lid on and cook on HIGH for 30 minutes, whisking every 5 minutes or so to avoid lumps forming. ORCook the gravy in a saucepan over a medium heat for 5-10 minutes until thickened. (I recommend this method as it is likely to become lumpy, it's quicker, and you won't scratch a metal slow cooker with your whisk! However, use the slow cooker if you won't have space on the hob.) Slice the beef and serve with the gravy and vegetables.
To make without a slow cooker:
In step 3, put the browned meat and softened vegetables, along with the stock, into a lidded casserole dish and bake at 160℃/320F for 2.5-3 hours until the meat is very tender. When cooked, carefully remove the meat and vegetables, cover and set aside. Mix the cornflour with a little cold water to make a smooth paste, add back to the cooking liquid and continue as per the saucepan gravy option at step 5.
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