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The following is a casserole recipe (I don't know where from). The last attempt came out of the oven and was quite watery after resting for 15 minutes. I'm aiming for a casserole that has a rich, gravy-like texture.

Here's the recipe/method I'm using (I'm just an everyday home cook). I'm using a 30cm cast iron frypan with lid, but keeping the lid off.

  1. Dice 3 carrots, 3 celery sticks and 2 large onions.
  2. Add olive oil in the pan and cook vegetables on a medium-high heat to caramelize. Season with salt, pepper, rosemary.
  3. Sear appox. a dozen (1.7kg) chicken drumsticks in a second frypan. Put aside.
  4. Sauté white button mushrooms in the second pan to remove water. Add to vegetables.
  5. Add 1/2 bottle of red wine to the vegetables and reduce for approx. 5 mins.
  6. Add a tin (400ml) of diced tomatoes and 500ml of beef stock.
  7. Add one heaped teaspoon of horseradish and one heaped teaspoon of dijon mustard.
  8. Add 2 heaped desert spoons of standard flour. I use a strainer and whisk to add the flour via sifting and avoid clumps.
  9. Simmer to reduce down for approx. 5-10mins. At this point the consistency is not as thick as I'd like, but close. My expectation is that it would thicken or reduce further in the oven.
  10. After reducing for a bit, add the chicken drumsticks, ensure they're settled well into the dish.
  11. Place into the oven, uncovered, and bake for 90 minutes at 160°C (320°F).
  12. Take out of the oven and rest covered for 15 minutes before serving.

After this, the consistency is watery and doesn't have the thick, rich, gravy-like consistency I'd expect out of a Chicken Bourguignon or Coq au Vin.

The consistency coming out of the oven is actually much worse than when it went in.

I'd previously cooked with the lid on, but got much the same result. I baked with the lid off this time hoping it would help it reduce but it didn't.

I'd cooked the same recipe before but using lamb shoulder chops and leaving in the oven for longer, like 2.5 hours. I'd observed that it seems like the longer you leave it in the oven the more watery it gets?!

What am I doing wrong?

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  • 1
    How many mushrooms did you use (approximately)? How much did you sauté them/ how much volume did they loose after sauté and how much more after the oven? The only other potential source of water I see would be the meat.
    – quarague
    Commented Jun 3 at 11:39
  • @quarague I also see half a bottle of wine in the recipe, as well as canned diced tomatoes and half a liter of beef stock. Honestly, this recipe looks like a soup to me, rather than something that I would call a "casserole". Though perhaps casserole means something different outside of American English?
    – Xander Henderson
    Commented Jun 3 at 15:48
  • 1
    Reducing half a liter of wine for 5 minutes probably won't accomplish much, ditto for the tomatoes (mostly water) and stock. IMHO you should be reducing it to a certain volume/consistency. Figure out the time needed from your own circumstances.
    – Dan Mašek
    Commented Jun 3 at 23:14
  • @XanderHenderson Can you suggest more appropriate volumes for these liquids? Am I better off adding less volume to start with or reducing for longer? Maybe I will reduce with lid off on the stove and cook the casserole that way instead of putting in the oven. Thanks.
    – DaveO
    Commented Jun 4 at 1:07
  • 2
    It seems to me that @DanMašek gave you good advice on this. It isn't necessarily about how much liquid you use, but that you aren't cooking it down enough.
    – Xander Henderson
    Commented Jun 4 at 12:11

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