Casserole help!

[jinglejangle6]

This afternoon I’m cooking this beef casserole dish for my baby:

www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/beef-casserole-for-baby/

I’m an inexperienced cook and am hoping someone will be able to help me with the following questions:

1. When it says add 400ml water, should the water be boiling or cold? I went for boiling!

1. Should the water cover all the ingredients in the pot? It didn’t when I poured it in so I added more until it did.

1. When it says a sprig of parsley/thyme, do you put the whole sprig in the pot or pull the leaves off first?

Thank you in advance!

1. It doesn't matter, I use boiled water from the kettle for speed

1. You might find it's a bit runny and needs reducing down a bit (just simmer with the lid off for a while until the sauce is more saucy and thickened)

1. Either is fine

Thank you so much @HardAsSnails Does the water need to cover the ingredients fully when it’s cooking in the oven or is it not necessary?

I find as vegetables release water as they cook you don't need to cover it over otherwise it will be runny, your baby won't mind but for yourself I'd add gravy granules to thicken it (too salty for baby)

Yes there is liquid comes out of vegetables

Also If there is a lid , the water streams so stops things drying out

To thicken ,mix ( use fork ) a tablespoon flour with a splash of cold water... keep adding splashes and stirring till it goes smooth , add it to the casserole ( I take water from the casserole to add to the flour mix till it pours out )

That's baby safe too I think

Thanks everyone! I’ve just tasted it halfway through and the meat is rather chewy - not tender or “melt in the mouth” as I was hoping for. It’s cooking at 160C in the oven so shouldn’t be too hot, and the meat is good quality stuff. I did coat it in flour and browned it on the hob before cooking in the oven. This seems to happen whenever I cook a beef stew - where am I going wrong?

Just give it longer in the oven.

Maybe not for a little one but I usually find adding alcohol to the casserole helps tenderise the meat.

For beef casserole I always just use slow cooker and it falls apart.

In the oven I'd say it needs a good 4 hours to be tender. How long has it been?

No, the water/stock doesn't need to cover the meat and veg as both release moisture as they cook.

I would strongly recommend simmering to reduce and thicken rather than adding flour/thickener, you get much more flavour that way.

Decent (meaning cheap!) stewing beef should have a decent proportion of connective tissue which helps thicken and create that unctuous texture you want in a beef stew.

I just looked at your link to the recipe, and whilst it claims to be gluten free, it contains flour! Now I know that most people would spot this and substitute gf flour, but honestly, it's a bit slack.

It won't be tender halfway through cooking. Just leave it longer on a low heat and if you need to thicken it take the meat out and put liquid on the hob to reduce down.

Thanks all. I kept the faith, went back to it an hour later and it was delicious and tender!

I just wanted to say well done for doing this. Finding the energy to learn new cooking techniques with a small child in a pandemic is no small feat. I'm glad it turned out well.

Thank you @UniversalTruth, that’s really kind of you to say

I second that, @UniversalTruth .

I might try casseroles a whirl again on the back of this thread. Mine are usually chewy, need to cook it more obviously

@UniversalTruth

I just wanted to say well done for doing this. Finding the energy to learn new cooking techniques with a small child in a pandemic is no small feat. I'm glad it turned out well.

Yes, this, well done.

What's next?

Thank you everyone!

I was planning on trying these soon, although I don’t own a microwave so it’ll take considerably longer to cook the potato!

www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/sweet-potato-kale-croquettes/

They look yummy though.