"phaeton" > wrote in message
...
> In my BH&G there is a crockery recipe for "Beef and Brats":
>
> 1 pound boneless beef round steak, cut 1" thick
> 4 ounces uncooked spicy bratwurst, cut into 3/4" slices
> 1 TB cooking oil
> 1 small onion sliced and separated into rings
> 2 TB quick-cooking tapioca
> 1 tsp dried thyme, crushed
> 1/4 tsp salt
> 1/4 tsp black pepper
> 1 14 1/2 oz can chunky tomatoes with garlic and spices, undrained
>
> 1) trim fat from beef, cut into 4 pieces. Sear beef and brown brat
> slices in oil.
> 2) place onion in crock, sprinkle with spices, pour in tomatoes, put
> meat on top.
> 3) cook on low for 10-12 hours. Serve on noodles or rice.
>
> a) I presume that the tapioca's role is to thicken the sauces? If
> so, I presume that you'd do this instead of the usual water+flour into
> drippings method so that the flavor isn't diluted?
>
> b) What is the consistency of this supposed to be like? Watery like a
> soup, or thick like a stew? I've never had it before (nor heard of it
> prior to owning this book) and it is referred to as an "American
> classic". The Internet hasn't heard of it either.
>
> It's a fairly simple, inexpensive recipe and not so bad. I doubled it
> so that I could have leftovers for the week, but maybe I screwed up,
> because mine turned out watery like soup. If that *is* how it's
> supposed to be, how much should I increase the Tapioca to make it more
> stew-like?
>
> Or, would it be best to skip the tapioca, separate the fat from the
> juices, then do the flour+water+plus juices method to make a "gravy"
> out of it?
>

I've used it in a couple of desert recipes to thicken the filling and it
does indeed coagulate quite copiously. The fact that it didn't thicken might
have more to do with when you added the tapioca than how much. When did you
add it? I don't think you mentioned that.

I would want to do it near the end, say 30 minutes before serving, for fear
it would break down whatever binding power it has over the long cooking
period. However, the flour + water to juices would work too.

Jon