Weezie - Re: thickening stews

[Guest guest]

Weezie,

I've heard of 2 ways to thicken the sauces or gravies in crock pot recipes - -

1. Leave the lid slightly open for about 20 minutes (or longer, if needed)...

Of course, I would only do this after the meat was thoroughly cooked.

BTW, when cooking on LOW setting, I've read in many places that cooking for an extra hour or so won't affect the outcome of the food...

Also - I heard that if the lid of the crock pot is removed, even for a look-see, the heat is lost and it takes up to 20 minutes for most crock pots to attain the proper heat level when recovered...Thus, I would let the recipe fully cook, and then let the sauce thicken...

2. If it's a dish like BBQ ribs or chicken, remove the meat and then transfer the sauce to a saucepan to thicken.

In the case of a stew, I would use method #1.

Hope this may be helpful!

Love,

Cherie

Subject: Re: Re: Cherie's Journal for Weds., June 26th XO

I made a stew in my crockpot the other day and I was not impressed. It seemed watery and not very flavorful. Yet when I simmer them on the stove all day they are thick and tasty. That is about all I've tried in mine. I've heard you can even make cakes in them. I must try again but I'll do something like the chicken where there will be a thickened sauce on it.

Weezie