help making stew, cooks please.

[utajoker]

gonna be making a beef stew in the slow cooker but how do i make thickish gravy, dont want to just dump bisto in it mostly because its nasty stuff.

thx

 

[mac1st3]

everything in there will help thicken it up, pearl barley, taters, just add water as and when it needs it, but we've always used either stock or granules, not fantastic, but always end nicely.

alternatively, use some soup or liquid/gel/jelly stock

 

[physichull]

The way I manage it is to mix some cornflour with a little water and mix that in with the stew, then crank it up to high for another 45 minutes.

 

[nIckEl101]

as said ^^. stuff in there will thicken it up, if not add in some cornflower mixed with water.

for the gravy, use stock, red wine if you have any, any herbs/spices as required..

 

[jp_bl_68]

I mix in some plain flour (up to 4 tablespoons) before adding the stock. It always makes a thickish gravy.

 

[utajoker]

thx for the tips, dont think i have any cornflower but i totaly forgot about adding flour use it for sunday roast gravy all the time

 

[Hairybudda]

Mix some plain flour with some butter until you get a paste with decent consistency and chuck that in and cook it for a while, tastes much better than the cornflour option. And chuck some red wine in your stew, tastes heavenly that way.

 

[mks2005]

For best results, you'll want to reduce the sauce. Which basically means boiling off the water so you're left with a thicker, more concentrated gravy. If you're using a slowcooker it might be worth transferring to a pan on the hob and simmering with the lid off for 30 minutes or so.

Thickening with cornflour will also produce a thicker sauce, but you'll get better flavour if you thicken by reduction. Althought cornflour is useful if you want to preserve the quantity of sauce.

 

[Stretch]

liquid/gel/jelly stock

This if you can get it.

 

[utajoker]

now i play the waiting game

 

[z0mbi3]

now i play the waiting game

The waiting game sucks. Lets play hungry hungry hippos!

 

[jumpy]

You could always try gravy browning - mix into a paste with cold water then add boiling water and heat gently on the hob (alternatively add the paste directly to the stew and let the cooking thicken the sauce - like the cornflower method; mix into a paste first otherwise you'll get loads of lumps!). It will thicken rapidly and can be added to the stew to help reduce it.

I hold the idea of winter stews in high esteem, and once you've diced all of you ingredients all you really have to do is give it a bit of a swirl with a long spoon every now and then.
off the top of my head, lamb stew:
dice shoulder of lamb
potatoes
carrots
onion
leeks
celery
mushrooms
parsnips
swedes
beer (dark stouts etc)
salt
black pepper
mustard powder
mixed herbs
bay leaf(s)
tomato purée (not too much of this)
bisto or gravy browning
stock cubes (veg or whatever)
barley oats (if they're dried, soak them in water for at least 24 hours or you'll break your teeth on the first spoonful)

Add as much or as little of ingredients as you see fit, whack the whole lot into a large pan, top up with cold water (least until all the ingredients are covered and then some) then cook on a low heat for several hours. Due to cooking time you may consider adding some of the veg (like the potatoes, carrots parsnips) later on in the cooking so they don't turn to mush.
Don't forget those dumplings now...

 

[utajoker]

om nom nom

 

[LizardKing]

Flour the meat before you brown it.
If you need/want it thicker you can either mash up some of the potatoes by pushing it through a sieve or make a roux by mixing equal amounts of flour/butter and frying till its turns golden brown, then slowly add the stew water mixing all the time as not to burn it.