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Slow Cooker recipes

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Comments

  • #2
    CJhaughey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,907 ✭✭✭✭CJhaughey


    I use recipezaar.com , you can look for recipes by cooking method.
    Crockpot recipes are what they call them in the US.


  • #3
    CJhaughey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 14,907 ✭✭✭✭CJhaughey


    I did one today and it was very successful.

    4 pork chops
    225g Sliced button mushrooms
    1 large onion sliced thinly
    2 smashed cloves garlic
    1 tsp mixed herbs
    salt and pepper
    ~ 1kg spuds peeled and sliced
    enough chicken stock to cover.

    Sauté the onion in a pan with a little oil until translucent, add garlic and mushrooms and cook the mushrooms until they sweat.
    Remove from heat and add a shake of herbs (I used Lidls Herbs de Provence)

    In crockpot make a layer of mushrooms, chops, potato slices, mushies, etc etc
    Cover in chicken stock, I usually put a stock cube in a mug and dissolve it, then add to the cooker, and then pour boiling water until it covers the food.

    4-5hrs on high.

    eat.


  • #4
    elainee40
    Registered Users Posts: 217 ✭✭elainee40


    hmm that sounds lovely, will give it a go.

    Must admit it seems to be well worth the buy


  • #5
    sorella
    Closed Accounts Posts: 923 ✭✭✭sorella


    In the slow cooker right now... a ham shank - soaked overnight to removes excess salt - dired peas - also soaked overnight - a chopped onion and a chopped potato.

    When it has simmered a few hours, will remove the shank, let all cool so the excess fat can be removed, takle the meat off the bones and return to the slow cooker.

    Wil check then for seasoning and if too salty add a couple of raw potatoes to take up excess salt.

    It will be a thick broth, ideal for these winter days. Freezes well also

    The slow cooker is a treasure indeed. And very versatile.


  • #6
    Overheal
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 85,034 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    Pot Roast
    2 Cans Campbells condensed Cream of Mushroom (do not add water or milk)

    Cook long time

    ???

    Profit!

    Also Good to add fresh sliced mushrooms and chopped onion. Mashed Potatoes are a great side.

    We just got a crockpot recently and so far have done 2 roasts and a Chilli in it - Oh man, you can make epic chilli in a crockpot. Hell, we have a 3rd roast in there right now: its been low-cooking all night.


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  • #7
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    This is what I'm cooking in mine today - a recipe for meatball casserole of my own invention. It's really nice :)


    I lb of lean steak mince
    2 sliced carrots
    2 sliced onions
    Half a tin of tomatoes
    Sliced potatoes
    A dessertspoon of flour
    Pinch of mixed herbs
    Salt and black pepper
    A beef Oxo cube mixed with a pint of hot water
    Olive oil

    Season the meat with salt and pepper and shape into meatballs. Roll them in flour, then brown them in the oil.
    Remove them from the pan and add the carrots and onions. Fry gently until they start to soften. Stir in the flour, then add 3/4 of the stock and the tomatoes. If it's a bit thick, add the rest of the stock. Add some more salt and pepper and the herbs. Put it all in the slow cooker with the potatoes on the bottom. The meatballs will be on top but that's ok, I stirred them gently a couple of times while it was cooking.

    I cook it in the slow cooker on high for 4 hours, then turned it down to low for the last 2 hours because it was ready early, but 4 1/2 or 5 hours on high would do it. Or you could cook it in the oven for an hour and a half.


  • #8
    corblimey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,475 ✭✭✭corblimey


    I've been using my slow cooker every few nights since I got it just a little while ago. The stuff that comes out is usually just as good as if not better than if it was roasted or fried or whatever (and when it isn't, it's usually my fault) but what can't be beat is the smell it makes, just that lingering warm smell when you come in on a cold wintry evening. Mmm.

    Anyway, I went and read the archives for A Year of Crockpotting. It's American recipes, so you'll need to convert most of them (or get American measures) but I've not had a bad meal from this yet. About.com also has a load of great recipes that I've been using.


  • #9
    elainee40
    Registered Users Posts: 217 ✭✭elainee40


    Thanks girls, these sound yum, put my roast beef in the slow cooker for sunday lunch, omg it was so soft and nice, defo be doing it like that every time


  • #10
    gonker
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,290 ✭✭✭gonker


    I bought one of the tesco ones for 15euro . How do you roast in it :confused:. There is no recipe leaflet in it at all.


  • #11
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    gonker wrote: »
    I bought one of the tesco ones for 15euro . How do you roast in it :confused:. There is no recipe leaflet in it at all.

    You'd need to brown the joint in a pan first for colour, then put it in the slow cooker with some chopped veg underneath (carrots, onions, celery). You'd also need some stock or water in there.
    There are tons of recipes on the web, try the link corblimey posted for ideas.


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  • #12
    gonker
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,290 ✭✭✭gonker


    Hmm thanks a million Ill try that. I didnt realise you could do so much in them!!


  • #13
    corblimey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,475 ✭✭✭corblimey


    Apologies for resurrecting an old thread, but I figured why start a new thread? I'm wondering how to up my usage of the slow cooker - it's dropped off steadily as the 'thrill' of it has worn off.

    Last weekend, I made a beef stew on the pan and then in the oven and it was only after putting it in the oven for 3 hours, it occurred to me that I could have used my slow cooker. As long as I brown the meat off first, everything else should be good to go? Would I need to fry anything else (like I sweat some onions and garlic at the start)? Is there any timeframe ie oven X 3 = slow cooker? So if it's to cook in the oven for 3 hours, I'd leave it in the slow cooker for 9? That sort of thing? Some one-pot recipes I have call for a hour of cooking time, so I'm just wondering how to translate that.

    Basically, any good tips for transforming a normal one-pot meal into a nice slow cooker meal?


  • #14
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    I find it best to sweat off veg such as carrots, celery, onions before putting them in because they cook better. For some reason veg cooks slower than meat in the slow cooker. Today I have a meatball casserole in - I rolled the meatballs in flour, browned them and put them in the slow cooker, the sweated off the veg in the pan. Then I threw in a dessertspoon of flour and stirred it. Then half a tin of tomatoes, a pint of beef stock (oxo cube), salt and pepper and mixed herbs. I'd give it 3-4 hours on high or 5-6 hours on low since everything's been pre-sweated. Sometimes I cut my potatoes into slices and place them on the bottom.
    I think anything that takes 2 hours in the oven will take 4-6 hours on high or 8-10 hours on low.


  • #15
    corblimey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,475 ✭✭✭corblimey


    Tks, DizzyBlonde. I get the distinct impression that it's virtually impossible to f**k up a slow cooked meal and burn it or something. It seems that 8 hours at low is recommended for most meat and veg combos and after that it's a matter of deciding how well done you like your meat and veg.

    Or is that all nonsense?


  • #16
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    I think you're right. It's great for casseroles and stews, though once or twice I had chicken stew in too long on high and it didn't taste as nice as it should have. But then I'm not that fond of chicken stew anyway.
    I put a loin of pork in the other week in a char siu marinade and after 9 hours it fell apart, it was delicious.
    Some things like chicken chasseur cook in 2-3 hours on high because the chicken joints are browned first, but I like the convenience of putting it in the slow cooker and not having to worry about it for the afternoon.


  • #17
    elainee40
    Registered Users Posts: 217 ✭✭elainee40


    Girls i LOVE my slow cooker, always have something cooking in it, last week i put a ham joint in it put it on a bed of brown sugar, it was quite a lot of sugar, rub the ham in some of the sugar too and put it on for 5/6 hours on low and OMG it was so so soft and yummy, hmmmmmmmmmm


  • #18
    Overheal
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 85,034 ✭✭✭✭Overheal


    It really has become an awesome cooking tool. We use it easily 2-3 times a week now for everything from pot roast to spaghetti bolognaise and chilli. Absolutely great when you know you arent going to be up to cooking something when you get home - chuck the ingredients in and itll be hot and ready when you come back.


  • #19
    mags16
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭mags16


    Does the lid of your slow cooker fit snugly? I bought a prestige one today and the lid was quite loose. In fact there was a 1/4 inch gap between the lid and the ceramic pot at one point. I emailed their customer care and they said it was the design of the slow cooker and it wouldn't effect performance. Anyway I brought it back to the shop and am going to get the Morphy Richards 3.5l one, I think.


  • #20
    elainee40
    Registered Users Posts: 217 ✭✭elainee40


    yeah there suppose to be tight, as its steam mostly that cooks the food, it says in books that if you open the lid add another 20min's on to cooking


  • #21
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    I have a Breville one like THIS and the lid doesn't fit so snugly that it 'clicks' in, but it definitely doesn't leave a gap for steam to escape.
    mags16, think carefully before buying a smaller one - you might regret it if you ever want to do a large piece of meat in it.


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  • #22
    mags16
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭mags16


    Thanks dizzyblonde. Any slow cookers I have seen have lids that sit on the top of the ceramic pot without any gaps.

    I am worried that the 3.5 l Morphy Richards one is too small but their next one up is a whopping 6.5l. Is that not too big? I normally cook for the 2 of us but like to make things in batch to put in the freezer. And I also love to have a crowd around to dinner from time to time.

    Would you recommend the Brevillle? Can you cook larger pieces of meat in it?


  • #23
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    6.5 l does sound very big, but you'd probably have to see it to be able to gauge it properly. I did a 3lb piece of pork loin in mine a couple of weeks ago with room to spare.
    The one I have (it's the older version of that Breville one and only the dial is different) is perfectly adequate for anything I've done in it.


  • #24
    denat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 189 ✭✭denat


    Have just got a chance to use my slow cooker for the first time today.

    I didn't saute or brown in advance.

    I put the following in, from bottom up:

    2 small onions, 3 medium carrots, 2 medium sticks celery - all of these cut to about 5mm thick
    500 gm round beef very lean 1 inch cubes
    1 pack schwartz beef casserole mix, prepared as directed on pack with .5 pint water.

    Cooked for 10 hours on low setting.

    Everyting was perfectly cooked, meat was tender. However, onions and celery mostly disappeared into the liquid, there was far too much liquid after cooking and that liquid did not thicken.

    Flavour was ok but probably not as good as it should be because it was too diluted.

    After using most of the liquid to mash into potatoes and fishing out any small solid pieces of food I'm still left with about .5 pint thin liquid soup in the pot.

    What I wanted at the start was a nice thick stew.

    This is kind of frustrating because, if I had taken much of the advice I'd been given beforehand, I'd have at least covered all the veg with stock/water at the start and, indeed some people suggest covering the whole lot with stock/water.

    If I'd taken that advice I'd probably have ended up with 1.5 pints of surplus thin liquid at end of cooking.

    any opinions, please?


  • #25
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    When you cook in the slow cooker you should always use less liquid than in a normal casserole dish, because nothing evaporates. If I'm sauteeing first I'll throw on some flour at the end, then when I add stock or water I do it gradually so that it's thick because I don't like my casseroles thin. If you use plenty of flour, you can have lots of thick liquid.
    I've never used the packet mix you used so I don't know how thick it's suppposed to be, but maybe next time you should use less water. Or don't use a packet at all, do it from scratch - it's not difficult and tastes better.
    I cut my onions and celery quite chunky when it's going to be cooking for so long.


  • #26
    mags16
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭mags16


    denat wrote: »
    Everyting was perfectly cooked, meat was tender. However, onions and celery mostly disappeared into the liquid, there was far too much liquid after cooking and that liquid did not thicken.

    Flavour was ok but probably not as good as it should be because it was too diluted.

    I generally have to thicken the sauce after cooking. I don't mind doing that as it means your sauce is as thick as you want it to be.

    Yesterday I cooked meatballs in the slow cooker. The meatballs contained minced onion and garlic and chopped parsley. I browned them first. I laid them on a bed of chopped carrot, celery, garlic and onion. I added a can of tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of balsamic vinegar. The meatballs were delicious but the sauce was sludgey and greasy. I quickly made another sauce from exactly the same ingredients (leaving out the carrot and celery, but adding yellow pepper) and used it with the meatballs. The resulting dinner was lovely but it is a shame about the sauce that came out of the slow cooker. I suppose it is trial and error for the first while.


  • #27
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    mags16 wrote: »
    Yesterday I cooked meatballs in the slow cooker. The meatballs contained minced onion and garlic and chopped parsley. I browned them first. I laid them on a bed of chopped carrot, celery, garlic and onion. I added a can of tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce and a dash of balsamic vinegar. The meatballs were delicious but the sauce was sludgey and greasy. I quickly made another sauce from exactly the same ingredients (leaving out the carrot and celery, but adding yellow pepper) and used it with the meatballs. The resulting dinner was lovely but it is a shame about the sauce that came out of the slow cooker. I suppose it is trial and error for the first while.

    I do something very similar, but I roll the meatballs in flour before browning them.Then I take them out of the pan before sauteeing the veg. I then stir a dessertspoon of flour into the veg before adding around a half pint of beef stock and a tin of tomatoes, worcestershire sauce etc. The sauce is nice and thick.
    As a rule, I'll always have the liquid slightly thicker than I'd like it when I'm putting it into the slow cooker. Once you know the amount of flour this takes, you can pop it all in raw, stir the flour in before you add the hot stock and this saves you sauteeing everything if you're in a hurry.


  • #28
    Snowie
    Closed Accounts Posts: 22,048 ✭✭✭✭Snowie


    any one cooked a from scratch chicken curry in one ?


  • #29
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    Snow-Monkey wrote: »
    any one cooked a from scratch chicken curry in one ?

    No, I start mine on the hob and then chuck it in the slow cooker.


  • #30
    mags16
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭mags16


    Hi there, recipezaar.com is a great site for slow cooker recipes and the reviews are really useful. I did a search of chicken curry and came up with this list.

    http://www.recipezaar.com/recipes.php?q[]=chicken+curry&q[]=crock+pot&ls=h&Search=Search&s_type=%2Frecipes.php

    (you might want to highlight, copy and paste the whole link - just clicking the link didn't work for me)


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  • #31
    Curvy Vixen
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,131 ✭✭✭Curvy Vixen


    Because there is no opportunity for liquid/steam to escape the juice in a slow cooker will not reduce or thicken.

    It sometimes doesn't thicken at all or enough if you brown your meat in flour first either.

    My party trick is a couple of spoons of cornflour with a little cold water stirred into the bubbling juice at the end of cooking. Instantly thick :D

    I made a fab oxtail stew (yes, with a real oxtail) last week and it was a little watery so I just did my cornflour trick and it was beautiful!


  • #32
    mags16
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭mags16


    I'm cooking this lamb recipe this weekend.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2009/0404/1224243692755.html

    I think I'll do it in the slow cooker. I'll reduce the liquid of course, but by how much? 0.5litre maybe? It is still a lot of liquid if you consider the tinned tomatoes too.

    I'll serve it with cous cous.


  • #33
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    That recipe looks yummy Mags. As a rule, you'd usually halve the amount of liquid when using a slow cooker. If you halve the stock you might want to use less tinned tomatoes though, so the ratio is ok?


  • #34
    Dolbert
    Closed Accounts Posts: 6,154 ✭✭✭Dolbert


    I've just bought one for 14.99 in Tesco and I'm dying to try some of these recipes out! :)


  • #35
    mags16
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭mags16


    mags16 wrote: »
    I'm cooking this lamb recipe this weekend.

    http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2009/0404/1224243692755.html

    I think I'll do it in the slow cooker. I'll reduce the liquid of course, but by how much? 0.5litre maybe? It is still a lot of liquid if you consider the tinned tomatoes too.

    I'll serve it with cous cous.

    I made this today and it was fabulous. I had 900g of meat and added 1 1/2 times more spices but kept the original amount of tinned tomatoes and chickpeas. The onion, garlic and meat was fried before being added to the slow cooker. I only added 400ml stock. I cooked it for 10 hours on low. Served it with rice and veg. Really tasty.


  • #36
    TequilaMockingBird
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,392 ✭✭✭TequilaMockingBird


    If your sauce is too thin, mix a spoon of flour with water and gently stir it through, a half hour before serving. It will thicken nicely.

    I did pork medallions in the slow cooker. Gorgeous. I just cooked them in a little stock with a glug of sherry. I sieved the sauce and added a little cream, salt and pepper. Served it with baby potatos and salad.

    I only ever brown a roast, I never bother with other cuts. I also never sweat or parboil anything, just chuck it in.

    Housekeepers Cut of Beef is really nice slow-cooked. And cheap.

    I read somewhere online about doing baked potatos in the SC, can't remember how, but its an interesting idea.


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  • #37
    corblimey
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,475 ✭✭✭corblimey


    Okay, so most cuts of meat (from Tesco chilled counter anyway) have a wrap around (piece of string, plastic sleeve, etc) - do I leave that on when cooking or take it off? I would normally leave it on when cooking in the oven, etc, so I assume it's okay to leave on when slow cooking - the cut loses its shape without it. Is there any danger of I don't know, this wrap "reacting" with the meat in some way when it's being cooked for such long periods?


  • #38
    TequilaMockingBird
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,392 ✭✭✭TequilaMockingBird


    Leave the string on. I remove the plastic, simply because I don't like the thought of it, but it is apparently safe to leave it on. In the slow cooker the food is cooked so gently anyway, it should stay in the same shape as it went in. As soon as you take a knife to it it will fall apart anyway, its so tender. You could always remove string/plastic and cut it before you cook it if you like.


  • #39
    denat
    Closed Accounts Posts: 189 ✭✭denat


    mags16 wrote: »
    I made this today and it was fabulous. I had 900g of meat and added 1 1/2 times more spices but kept the original amount of tinned tomatoes and chickpeas. The onion, garlic and meat was fried before being added to the slow cooker. I only added 400ml stock. I cooked it for 10 hours on low. Served it with rice and veg. Really tasty.

    This sounds really nice and thank you for link to recipe.

    Did you drain toms and chickpeas before you added them?

    Excess liquid seems to be a problem with many slow-cooker recipes.

    I've only used my sc once but the amount of liquid was astonishing. It's not just the amount of liquid that bothers me and that it dilutes flavour but the fact that, the thinner the consistency, the faster it cools.

    I like substantial hot food, rather than warm and watery.


  • #40
    mags16
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 479 ✭✭mags16


    denat wrote: »
    This sounds really nice and thank you for link to recipe.

    Did you drain toms and chickpeas before you added them?

    Excess liquid seems to be a problem with many slow-cooker recipes.

    I've only used my sc once but the amount of liquid was astonishing. It's not just the amount of liquid that bothers me and that it dilutes flavour but the fact that, the thinner the consistency, the faster it cools.

    I like substantial hot food, rather than warm and watery.

    Drain the chickpeas but not the tomatoes. In fact, I used tins of chopped tomatoes from lidl. There was just enough thick tomatoey sauce. I also trimmed the meat very well so there was very little fat in it. If you like more of a kick to your food, you could add some chopped chillis.


  • #41
    molloyjazz
    Closed Accounts Posts: 353 ✭✭molloyjazz


    gonna try this tomorrow, looks lovely.. anyone got any good recipes using asian ingrediants?


    Ingredients

    2 tablespoons peanut oil
    1 1/2 pounds beef chuck roast, boneless, cut into 1-inch pieces
    3 green onions, cut into ½-inch slices
    6 cloves garlic
    2 teaspoons ground ginger
    1 teaspoon Asian chile paste
    1/2 cup water
    1 cup chicken broth
    1/4 cup soy sauce
    9 ounces fresh udon noodles, cooked and drained
    3 cups bok choy, trimmed, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
    1/2 cup fresh cilantro, minced


    Directions
    1. In a large skillet placed on stovetop set to medium-high heat, heat peanut oil and sear beef on all sides, turning each piece as it browns. Sear the last batch of beef with the onions and garlic.
    2. Place all the seared beef in the stoneware along with the ginger, chile paste, water, chicken broth, soy sauce. Stir well to combine ingredients. Transfer the stoneware to the slow cooker base unit. Cover and cook on High for 3 to 4 hours or on Low for 7 to 8 hours, or until the beef is very tender.
    3. Just prior to serving, add the noodles to the beef and stir well. Add the bok choy to the beef and noodles and stir again. Heat on base on High until the bok choy is tender-crisp, about 15 minutes. Garnish the beef with the cilantro and serve while hot.


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  • #42
    kylith
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,736 ✭✭✭✭kylith


    TequilaMockingBird wrote: »

    I read somewhere online about doing baked potatos in the SC, can't remember how, but its an interesting idea.
    It's very easy. Just wrap a few spuds in foil and stack them in the SC, no need for any liquid. Cook on low for about 8 hours. The best baked spuds I've ever tasted.


  • #43
    kylith
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 17,736 ✭✭✭✭kylith


    Does anyone have any summer recipes for their SC? Can you bake in them? I'd love to use it for bread


  • #44
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    I've a slow cooker recipe question so thought i'd add it to this thread instead of starting a new one.

    I bought my first slow cooker today! This 3.5L Breville: http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4201276.htm
    (Reduced from €54.00 to €19.19 in Argos! :))

    I cooked this (Jamie Oliver) Beef and Guinness stew recently and it was by far the best stew I've ever tasted. I took 3hrs in the oven.

    I'm going to give it a go on the slow cooker tomorrow. So how long should I do it for? I'm guessing low for 9hrs?? :confused: And both times I did it in the over before it reduced to almost half the volume despite a loose cover... from what I read in the manual you should use about half the liquid when adapting a recipe for a slow cooker. So less guinness and less chopped tomatoes?

    Also Jamie says not to pre-brown the meat... I didn't before and it worked out great, is that still true for slow cookers?

    Anyone got a good slow cooker recipe for chicken or vegetable curry? An Asian food shop has opened around the corner so hoping to try out some nice spice combinations!

    Thanks!


  • #45
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    You really do need to use half the amount of liquid in a slow cooker because it doesn't reduce at all - in fact you'll end up with more liquid than you started out with. For some reason meat cooks quicker than vegetables so you need to make sure your veg aren't too chunky and are sitting in liquid. Meat can sit up out of the liquid and still cook perfectly. 9 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high will definitely do it.


  • #46
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    Dizzyblonde wrote: »
    You really do need to use half the amount of liquid in a slow cooker because it doesn't reduce at all - in fact you'll end up with more liquid than you started out with.

    Thanks. Would you brown the meat or not (like in the recipe)?

    Well I've got 800g meat (rather than the 500g in the recipe). So I'm thinking I'll use the original recipe quantities for the tomato and guinness so the proportions and non-reduction should cancel out.... I'll throw in an extra onion and carrot too.

    I'm also very interested in the electrical efficiency of these things compared to cooking in the oven. I've a plug energy monitor thing I picked up in ALDI a few months ago, I'll run it through that and see how much it uses over the 9hrs.

    Now that I'm thinking, I might just cook it over the night on the night units.... :cool:


  • #47
    Dizzyblonde
    Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,110 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    Sometimes I brown the meat, sometimes not. It all depends on the recipe. You don't have to brown it in order for it to cook.

    Something you should look at doing in the slow cooker is pulled pork. It's really good.


  • #48
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    Put my stew on last night.

    When I came in this morning it was nicely cooked through but very watery compared to the oven version. Meat was very tender. A lot of the flavour was also missing though. :( Had a bowlful and it was still a very nice stew, just not as flavoursome as the oven version.

    So half an hour ago I thought I'd simmer it in a saucepan on a medium/high heat for 20mins to thicken it up a bit. Went to check my emails and when I got back to the kitchen the place was smoke - the bottom had burned solid to the bottom of the saucepan and now it's just all black burned lumps through it. Disaster! :mad: :o

    So first impressions: makes nice tame stew.

    On the energy point of things, on low it runs on 125W, doesn't seem to switch on and off on a thermostat like I'd have expected. So came to 1.25kWh over the 10hrs. On night units, that cost me about 10cent! :D


  • #49
    joeKel73
    Closed Accounts Posts: 3,689 ✭✭✭joeKel73


    Have since made chilli and today chicken korma and both were excellent! Faith restored.


  • #50
    nyeb2007
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 145 ✭✭nyeb2007


    just wondering has anyone made rice pudding in their slow cooker - bought the rice today and would like to try this in the morning - wondering would you reduce the liquid you add by a half or even more?

    BTW it was actual rice pudding rice I bought not just long grain - although basically the only difference is the price:mad:


  • #51
    psycho-hope
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 7,245 ✭✭✭psycho-hope


    found this website during the week, the auther/owner set herself the target of using her slow cooker every day for a year, the receipes are all gulten free too. the mesurements are american but theres plenty of sites that will convert them to mls/grams
    http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-chicken-makhani-indian-butter.html


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