Surprising drink you can add to slow cooker meats for 'deep, roasted' flavour

The slow cooker can often be a lifesaver for those who lead busy lifestyles and struggle to find time to prepare elaborate meals. Perfect for creating tender and fall-apart meat, it can take just a few minutes of effort in the morningto produce healthy, flavour-packed meals without hours spent perched over a hob.

But while they can create some delicious dishes, one of the drawbacks of many slow-cooked meals is that they often taste the same and lack the deep, rich, caramelised flavour that comes from direct heat in a pan. To compensate, some home cooks may reach for the salt, sugar or even a big dollop of butter. But one top chef and recipe maker, Helen Graves, has revealed a tip for slow cooking meats, adding a surprising drink you wouldn't usually match with your beef.

Helen suggests that for a "deep, roasted flavour", a splash of coffee is the way forward. While adding a bit of your morning brew to Mexican chilli con carne is a classic move, adding it straight onto your meat may seem a bit more extreme.

Speaking to The Guardian, Helen added: "I'd start with a shot of espresso and add more if you want. You don't want it to taste like coffee, just enough to give it an intriguing depth."

Not only can a shot of coffee or espresso add those deep, rich, roasted flavours, but it can also help to bring some balance to the overall flavour.

Coffee is naturally acidic and, in the form of espresso, can be quite sharp, something that can help to cut through the rich fattiness of a slow-cooked piece of brisket or pork belly. The acid can also help to act as a natural tenderiser.

The drink is rich in tannins, natural compounds that break down the proteins in meat to give it a more tender texture. Those tannins help to break through the meat's tough connective tissues, making it softer so it almost melts in your mouth, something that can be especially beneficial for big roasting joints or slow-cooking joints that are naturally on the chewy side.

But it's not just the slow cooker that your americano could help with; it can also work wonders on a slice of steak, bringing many of the same flavours and tenderising qualities, just on a smaller scale. Experts at Espresso Works explain: "The acidity in coffee does not overwhelm or overpower the taste of steak.

"Quite the contrary, coffee really brings out the flavour of the steak. And in addition to being used as a seasoning for steak, coffee can serve as a steak tenderiser and make the meat extra-moist."