slow cooker help! need to thicken

LearningToSave.

the liquid in the slow cooker? sometimes....like today......i have a stew type thing in there and theres just too much liquid in there (cant put less because of stuff needing to be covered)and its not thick and tasty enough when it comes out if you know what i mean
how do i thicken it up?

Bossyboots

I usually poor it off and thicken it in a pan with cornflour.

Jay-Jay_4

Bossyboots wrote:

I usually poor it off and thicken it in a pan with cornflour.

Agree (though I don't have a SC. If I've made a casserole that's too thin I seive the liquid into a pan and reduce it and if it's still too runny I add a teaspoon of cornflour (mixed with cold water) and stir with a whisk.

Rikki

What did you use as stock?

I make the cooking liquid with stock cubes and in the last 1/2 hour I add a 1/4 pint of flour and water mixed to thicken it.

squeaky

One of the tricks is to start on thickening from the word go. Put all your veg and chopped meat into a the pot dry (or in a seperate bowl) add an ounce or two of plain flour and stir well until everything is coated and all the flour has been taken up. Add a small bit of water - stir again...

..then follow the rest of the recipe for liquids. This should give you something reasonable to work with at the end.

You can pour off and add more thickener (such as cornflour) [or even just mix some with a bit of cold water and stir in an hour before the end] and do it in a pan - or just boil and stir well while reducing until it's the consistency you want.

Another trick is to ladel out some liquid with some veg and whizz it then put it back.

Any combination of those will all help.

Sarahsaver

I sometimes put a couple of tbs. porridge oats in things.
I put in less liquid now than I used to.

amarillo_2004

Scoop out a mugful of liquid and veg, blend it the pour back in. No floury taste. No goodness lost.

jcr16

i usally put in a handful of rice , as it soaks up some of the liquid but also bulks the meal and it makes the stew taste even yummy. fills u up on a cold wintery day. my mum will sometimes put in lentail ( not sure which ones tho)

Queenie

I've done the same as amarillo, sometimes I like to add pearl barley at the beginning.

Traditionally for casseroles, tossing the meat in seasoned flour would be the way to let it thicken during cooking.

Are you putting your vegetables at the bottom of the SC and the meat on top? It's more important that the vegetables are covered with liquid rather than the meat, as the meat will still give out some juices during cooking. As there is no loss of liquid through evaporation coupled with the natural juices from the food, you only need to barely cover it with stock/liquid.

LearningToSave.

thankyou people :-)
we poured the liquid out threw some of it out and blended some with some of the veg and it was yummy!!!
thankyou to squeaky who mentioned that in time for tea and thanks to everyone else for your ideas too....im hesitant to use cornflour if there is anyother way as i always seem to be able to taste it and it makes me a bit queasy.

squeaky

Threw some liquid away? :eek: Next time set it aside as a starter stock for a soup