Gravy doesn't thicken cottage pie

[Em2122]

I always fail at making cottage pie. I reduce the stock but it doesn't really thicken it just boils away . What am I doing wrong?
I use flour on the mince, I use 5% mince is that the reason why?

Bung in some bisto.

Bisto powder, the original one in the box

Yeah. Bisto.

Caramelise some seasoned onion until soft and translucent then add some flour/corn starch to coat them, then add it to your cottage pie mix and stir.

And don't add any milk to your mash.

Don't put as much liquid in the first place!

dissolve a little corn starch (a teaspoon or so) in cold water and add to the stock.

Cornflour and proper mince with fat in it.

You need a thickening agent. Gravy granules will do it and add flavour too, or mix flour and cold water until smooth then add a bit at a time to your mince.

cook some red lentils with your mince. They will cook down to nothing but thicken the mixture and add extra (cheaper) protein

My ex mil had the biggest fail at making a cottage pie. She forgot to put the gravy in! Dished up a watery anaemic looking dish which we all had to choke down out of politeness
I thickened mine up the other week by chucking in a couple of teaspoons of gluten free plain flour mixed in with some cold water. Forgot to get cornflour but it worked just as well.

Sounds like you're just not using enough flour. I prefer thickening with wheat flour at the start but if it's still too thin when you've added the stock, mix a bit of cornflour with cold water and blend that in.

My cottage pie doesn't have flour? Tomato paste as thickening agent with the meat.

@ErrolTheDragon

Sounds like you're just not using enough flour. I prefer thickening with wheat flour at the start but if it's still too thin when you've added the stock, mix a bit of cornflour with cold water and blend that in.

Agree with this. My gravy got way better when I realised you actually need to put more flour in at the early stage. How much flour are you adding for eg a 500g pack of mince?

OP is your stock homemade with roasted bones? If it’s not or if it’s shop bought then boiling/ reducing it won’t thicken it. You need the gelatin from bones to thickens it as you reduce it down.

I second bunging in a tablespoon of Bisto as a quick fix.

Use bisto , stock isn’t gravy.

Bisto or thickening granules are good for this, but cornflour will do as well.

I don't use any flour but I also don't add any stock or water? Would never have occurred to me to do so! Just the meat and veg is fine.

What type of stock? Just put less water in?

@CornishGem1975

Don't put as much liquid in the first place!

This is the correct answer.

How are you making the meat layer O? If you share your recipe we may be able to snag it for you so you don't have to use gravy granules/bisto etc.

I don't get it @asnippersdream I never try and thicken my recipes ever, I just reduce the liquid content in the first place. If it always comes out too wet, use less stock!

I use delia smith recipe, but just use normal mash on the top of the pie, its the best recipe ive used and stick to it now for some years. I use mince beef for the meat

You’re using too much liquid, you need less stock and a higher meat ratio.

I add about 2 tablespoons of flour after I’ve browned the mince and veg, thickens up nicely with no need for gravy granules.