Thickening sauce in the slow cooker

2childmum

I think I will add the lentil suggestions, and the oats, to my list of things to try.

To clarify - I wasn't cooking a whole chicken, but chicken quarters with mushrooms and onions - not quite a stew but sort of. I coated the chicken in flour, and only put a small amount of stock in (which was hot) - it wasn't a recipe which could be cooked without stock.

Also - both my slow cooker books say that the veg has to be covered by the liquid - but the person who did this higher up this thread was told they had put too much liquid in. Will the veg cook if not submerged?

ariba10

We often cook a piece of beef without adding any liquid at all.

6/8 hours or so.

You finish up with wonerfull gravey base.

joedenise

2childmum wrote: »

I think I will add the lentil suggestions, and the oats, to my list of things to try.

To clarify - I wasn't cooking a whole chicken, but chicken quarters with mushrooms and onions - not quite a stew but sort of. I coated the chicken in flour, and only put a small amount of stock in (which was hot) - it wasn't a recipe which could be cooked without stock.

Also - both my slow cooker books say that the veg has to be covered by the liquid - but the person who did this higher up this thread was told they had put too much liquid in. Will the veg cook if not submerged?

The juices from the chicken pieces will increase the amount of liquid in the SC. Your veggies need to be cut smaller than when you boil them on the hob. As long as they are cut fairly small they'll cook in a small amount of water.

Denise

Teacher2

Use a mug to ladle excess runny sauce from the slow cooker into a wide, flattish pan or clean frying pan and bubble it away to the thickness you require. Add it back into the slow cooker.

suesislaw

I've started putting my joint of meat (any meat) in a roasting bag, sealed and with a slit punched in, then pop it in the slow cooker. Makes it very succulent and tender, easy to snip the bag and release the juices for gravy or stock, hardly any washing up. Haven't tried it with a stew, but don't see why it wouldn't work. I add oats to stew for thickening and health too.
Sue

tiredwithtwins

I use a 6l slowcooker and usually fill it .. to thicken any runny sauces/gravy I just add a tablespoon or 2 or cornflour to a splash of cold water and then stir it into the sauce/gravy .. get the plates out and serve. thickens the gravy/sauce perfectly, whether its stew, curry or a pasta/ragu type sauce.


Ive also started to use the slow cooker liners .. saves on washing a bloomin great big cooking pan!! work perfectly well, even on high for 12+ hours lol!! (left it on high one morning and was late getting home!)