help rescue my bland beef casserole in slow cooker

[outinthesticksmummy]

Hiya

Have got a beef bourginon casserole type thing in the sow cooker at the mo , chucked in my meat /carrots/onion/mushrooms/ stock and schwartz packet mix thing added extra tom puree .....but whenever i do these things the sauce always tastes bland and watery ;-((( still got few hours to go ....what else can i shove in to make it taste bit more interesting ??? Have added garlic too.

Just read few old poists and seems i should be adding less water .....too late now ....arrrghh

Beef stock cube?
Tin of condensed oxtail soup (take some liquid out & replace?)

marmite will help or a bot of worcestershire sauce.

balsamic vinegar?

Horse radish?

tip a bit of liquid out. i usually add some mustard and maybe gravy granules

Will you be having it with mash? You could always add a bit a Dijon to the mash.

I always add a big BIG glug of lea and perrins worcester sauce and also a huge glug of tomato ketchup. That'll do the trick, I promise!

Small tin of anchovies - once cooked in they don't taste fishy, just savoury.

If it's too watery when cooked, you could always stick it in a pot on top of the cooker and reduce down at the end (a bit self-defeating on the slow cooker front though, I must admit).

worcestershire sauce will add flavour and depth. Have you added enough salt? I know people like to be careful for health reasons but it is called a flavour enhancer for a reason, and if you had more water than intended, then it will need extra seasoning.

I wouldn't tip the water out - better to boil it fast and reduce it down or alternatively add gravy granules to thicken it and add flavour.

Add some balsamic vinegar. Take the lid off and boil to reduce liquid. Next time use shallots instead of onions as they are tastier.

you could add lentils which will make a thicker liquid and bulk out the recipe.

How long has it still got to go?

If you want to thicken it, you could mix a coiuple of spoonfuls of cornflour with a small amount of cold water, then add it to the casserole. To improve the flavour I would add red wine.

cream?
philadelphia?

lots of idea !! its on Low so will serve tea about 4.15 as its a swimming night.

Pretty sure i need to add more salt ...husband always complains i don't use enough ...will add the wocester sauce ...just debating ketchup or balmatic vinegar ?? We only have low sugar low salt stuff ?? Husband doesn't like lentils ...fussy bugger. Should i reduce it at very end then ???

If you're at home anyway, maybe reconsider adding the carrots straight away.

Or try somehting fresh at the end - like a mountain of fresh chopped parsley. Or some fresh chopped tomatoes.

gosh ...my typing errors are bad ...sorry !!!Have tried the cornflour thing before ...usually about 20 mins before i serve ...maybe i don't use enough ?

Oh philedelphia ....have loads of that as was BOGOF ...would that go ???????

Will end up with a right concoction if not careful

frozen peas also work to give more varied flavour.

For future, if you;re at home, i find it works well to 'layer' the flavours. So start off with a base sauce (say, onions, celery, galic softened down in oil. Then cooked for a few hours with tomatoes herbs, red wine etc, then put in the sealed meat and veg.

IME main slocker mistake is overcooking, paradoxically, Some modern ones seem to be much higher powered that older models.

What fortuitous timing. I made more or les the same thing yesterday. Juice, sauce whatever was lovely and thick but it was lacking something. Will have to buy some worcestershire sauce for the first time in my life maybe.

Don't add salt, your husband can always salt it at the table.

I would slap it on the hob, bring it to the boil, reduce a bit and add a generous slug of red wine. If watery, mix a couple of teaspoonfuls of plain flour with a drop of water to make a sloppy lump-free paste then add to the stew. Boil until thickened.

I also like to add a wee sprinkling of rosemary (dried is OK) to these things.

Chopped bacon (salty mmm) and
a whole jar of redcurrant jelly (sweet mmm)

serve with sweet potato mash

can I come round for a helping?

thats interesting Kit ...mine only has 3 settings Low High and Auto ...i always stickit on Low as Auto seems too high....meat can often taste over cooked. HOw long do you reckon the meat would need to be in for to be cooked safely then ?

SHould i boil it up now then ??? or at the end ?

yumm ....redcurrant jelly ...thats interesting, have that in the cupboard too !!!

As yet haven't done anything lol!!!

Take out some water or when it is 20 mins off eating move it into a saucepan and boil it to reduce the liquid (We have to do this with Guiness stew, it's wasteful not to use the whole can but makes it far too runny)
or add potato now to thicken it.

I did one the other night (beef and redcurrant) and got a round of applause. It's a great combination.

Bit of curry powder. Not enough to make it a curry but to give it a kick in the pants iyswim