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Another way to thicken a casserole is to toss the meat in the seasoned flour before browning it. It is exactly the same principle as for the thickening of a white sauce. The most popular way is to add some flour to the casserole after the meat has been browned (so that it can mingle with the juices and fat in the pan) and before the liquid is added. Some casserole recipes call for the liquid to be thickened, and this can be done in various ways.
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Cider is also delicious in casseroles – but it must be dry cider. A good alternative is hot water enriched with tomato purée. Tomatoes – fresh peeled or tinned Italian plum tomatoes – also give body and flavour to certain casseroles, like goulash. Beer (pale or brown ale, or stout) makes a deliciously rich sauce: the long slow cooking transforms it completely, leaving no trace of its original bitterness. Red or white wine will add extra flavour of its own, and its acidity will actually help to tenderise the meat as it cooks. Bone stock is good for beef casseroles, but failing that plain hot water enriched with a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and mushroom ketchup makes a handy instant stock. The liquid in a casserole, mingling with the meat juices that do escape, provides the finished sauce. So remember, brown only a few pieces at a time. If you do, there will be too much steam rushing out and the meat will never brown because it will have become damp. And one final point: never overcrowd the pan during the browning. One important note, if you’re browning meat in batches and removing it to a plate, is to make sure that whatever juices do run out are re-incorporated into the casserole and not lost. I would also add that this dark, mahogany-coloured crust on the outside of the pieces of meat gives a richer, better flavour to a casserole. Meat fibres contract when heat is applied, squeezing out juices from inside: but if the heat is high enough these juices will be burnt into a crust on the meat instead of being lost in the cooking fat. I have found that searing meat at a high temperature, as compared with browning it over a medium heat, results in far less visible loss of juices. Most, though not all, meat benefits from being seared in hot fat before the liquid is added. Moreover in all meat recipes I have allowed a certain latitude, indicating they could serve two to three or four to six etc, so that you can choose for yourself.
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For a normal appetite 6 oz (175 g) per person is usually adequate. This depends on all sorts of things – how much the meat needs to be trimmed, what extra ingredients go into the casserole, what other dishes you plan to serve at the same meal and so on – but, on average, I find that 6-8 oz (175-225 g) of meat per person is needed if someone has a large appetite, like my husband. Trim off excess fat and gristle before using, but remember that some connective tissue and marbling add richness to the dish. Therefore it is preferable to buy a piece and cut it up yourself. For braising in whole slices, cuts of ¼-¾ inch (1-2 cm) thick are all right, but for many casseroles the ideal sized pieces are 1½ inches (4 cm) square and 1¼ inches (3 cm) deep. One thing that’s often disappointing with cuts of braising steak (and this is especially true of the packaged meat found in supermarkets) is that they are sliced too thinly. Delia explains everything you need to know, including trimming, browning, skimming and reheating, for perfect results every time. Casseroling is really easy if you follow a few guidelines.