Crock Pot Teriyaki Steak

Teriyaki is a delicious, thick Japanese glaze that coats grilled and broiled ingredients. With a perfect balance of sweet and savory, this sauce is great on beef, chicken, salmon, tofu, tempeh, and seitan. Although you could buy pre-made teriyaki sauce, there's no need, as making your own mixture at home is very easy, budget-friendly, and has no need for preservatives, additives, or high levels of sodium or sugar. Our recipe for a teriyaki steak will bring these Asian-inspired flavors to your table with minimum effort, so you can quickly prep in the morning and come back to a dish that is filling and succulent. By using your slow cooker there's very little mixing or oversight. Simply mix the sauce over the steak in the pot, cook for 7 hours, and add a slurry of cornstarch and water 20 minutes before is dinner time. That's it. The thick sauce will coat your beef steaks and provide a flavorful dish that you can serve over white rice or noodles alongside a green salad or roasted vegetables.

We suggest using round steak, a cut from the rear leg of the animal. This is a budget-friendly cut with tons of flavor. Because it has little fat and comes from a very active muscle, the cut is fairly tough. Thus slow cooking it brings out the best texture. Usually best when used in stews and soups that require long, slow cooking, the round tip is preferably sliced very thin to allow the moisture and heat to tenderize all the muscle fibers. Swiss steak is a famous dish made with round steak that you might have tried before. In that recipe, the steaks are tenderized by pounding or rolling before cooking. This teriyaki recipe fairly serves 6—with 8 smaller portions possible—but it also depends on what you are serving on the side. If the steaks are the main dish with just one side, perhaps you're looking at half a pound of meat per person or just 4 servings. But if you are offering plenty of sides, you can plan on one-third of a pound per person, so a fair 6 to 8 guests.