There are some recipes that are good… and then there are recipes that make everyone at the dinner table go back for seconds.
This Sticky Orange Beef was definitely one of those recipes.
I had a heap of beautiful fresh oranges on hand and wanted to do something a little different with them. I’d been thinking about an orange beef recipe with a rich, sticky, sweet and savoury sauce, and this turned out even better than I had hoped.
The best part? Almost all of the hard work happens in the slow cooker.
The beef cooks low and slow until it is beautifully tender and pulls apart easily. Then comes my favourite part: shredding the beef and popping it under the grill while the orange sauce is reduced and thickened separately on the stove.
The result is incredibly tender beef with delicious caramelised, slightly crispy edges, coated in a glossy orange sauce.
And served over fluffy basmati rice? Absolutely delicious.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The slow cooker does most of the work.
- The beef becomes beautifully tender and pull-apart soft.
- Fresh orange juice and zest give the sauce an amazing citrus flavour.
- Grilling the shredded beef gives you those delicious caramelised edges.
- The sauce becomes thick, glossy and wonderfully sticky.
- It’s an easy family dinner that feels a little bit special.
Ingredients
For the beef
- 1.5–2 kg chuck steak, gravy beef or brisket (I used Gravy Beef)
- 1 onion, sliced
- 6 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, grated
For the orange sauce
- 1 cup fresh orange juice
- Zest of 2 oranges
- ⅓ cup soy sauce
- ¼ cup hoisin sauce
- 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup honey
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 teaspoon Chinese five spice
- ½ teaspoon white pepper
- Pinch of salt
- Sesame seeds, to taste
To thicken the sauce
- 3 tablespoons cornflour
- 3 tablespoons cold water
Method
1. Add everything to the slow cooker
Place the sliced onion into the bottom of the slow cooker and sit the beef on top.
Add the garlic and ginger.
In a bowl, combine the fresh orange juice, orange zest, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, honey, tomato paste, rice wine vinegar, sesame oil, Chinese five spice, white pepper and salt.
Pour the sauce over the beef.
There is no need to brown the beef first – keeping this as a true slow-cooker recipe makes it wonderfully easy.
2. Slow cook the beef
Cook on LOW for around 8 hours, or until the beef is incredibly tender and pulls apart easily with two forks.
You can also cook it on HIGH for around 5 hours, depending on your slow cooker.
3. Pull the beef
Once the beef is cooked, carefully remove it from the slow cooker and pull it apart into chunky pieces with two forks.
Don’t shred it too finely – those larger pieces give you lovely crispy edges when they go under the grill.
4. Get those caramelised edges
Spread the shredded beef onto a lined baking tray.
Place it under a hot grill for around 5–8 minutes, keeping a close eye on it, until the edges become caramelised and slightly crispy.
This step is absolutely worth doing.
While the beef is under the grill, you can get started on the sauce.
5. Make the sticky orange sauce
Pour the cooking liquid from the slow cooker into a saucepan and bring it to a gentle simmer.
Mix the cornflour with the cold water to make a smooth slurry.
Gradually stir the slurry into the simmering sauce and continue cooking until it thickens into a rich, glossy glaze.
Stir through the sesame seeds.
Taste and adjust if needed – you can add a little extra orange juice for freshness, or a touch more honey if you like your sauce on the sweeter side.
6. Bring it all together
Once the beef has those gorgeous caramelised edges, remove it from the grill and toss it through the sticky orange sauce.
Make sure every piece is coated in that glossy glaze.
Serving
I served ours simply with fluffy basmati rice, which was perfect for soaking up all that delicious orange sauce.
A sprinkling of extra sesame seeds and some sliced spring onions would also be lovely on top.
You could also serve it with steamed broccoli, broccolini, bok choy or snow peas for some extra vegetables.
A Few Tips
Don’t skip the grill.
The slow cooker makes the beef wonderfully tender, but the grill is what gives it those delicious caramelised edges and adds another layer of texture.
Keep the beef chunky.
You’re looking for pulled beef rather than finely shredded beef. Larger pieces give you much better crispy edges.
Use fresh oranges if you can.
The fresh orange juice and zest really make this recipe. The zest in particular gives the sauce a beautiful depth of orange flavour.
Make extra sauce.
Trust me. You’ll want plenty to spoon over the rice.
The Verdict
This was one of those meals where the combination of flavours just worked.
The beef was incredibly tender, the orange sauce was rich and sticky without being overwhelmingly sweet, and those little caramelised edges from the grill were probably my favourite part.
With fluffy basmati rice underneath to soak up the sauce, it made a seriously delicious dinner.
It’s definitely going on the repeat list.
Sticky, sweet, savoury, citrusy and ridiculously comforting – this is slow-cooker beef done a little differently. 🍊🥢