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Slow Cooker recipes

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  • Registered Users Posts: 544 ✭✭✭Name Changed


    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.

    Dizzyblonde, have you a particular recipe for this that I can start from scratch? I'd prefer not to use the packet mixes if possible.


  • Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭Betsysquared


    thanks every one , i have enjoyed reading the last few pages. i went out and bought a slow cooker in tesco yesterday, but when i opened it found it to be too small. so i will return it. it was 3. 5 litre, i have been looking at the argos catalogue. just wondering should i go for one that is ceramic? or does it matter ?
    thanks

    I am new to this myself, but I bought the one in Argos on sale now for 22euro. Its big but better to have too much room than too little I think!


  • Registered Users Posts: 440 ✭✭biddywiddy


    Could you actually cook potatoes, carrots and other veg under a pork joint in a slow cooker?

    You could, as in they will cook, but I don't think they will be a nice to eat compared to cooking them in the oven under a roast. Alot of liquid will come out of the meat as it cooks in the slow cooker, and so the vegetables will end up quite soft. Maybe someone else here has more experience in this though?

    Anytime I have "roasted" beef in the slow cooker, I put a few cloves of garlic, some red wine and some herbs (and maybe some onion) in the bottom of the dish, and when the meat was cooked I reduced the sauce down to make gravy.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,521 ✭✭✭Padraig Mor


    Got a small slow cooker when they were on offer in Argos last year for €5 (!). Really don't use it as much as we should. Anyway, pulled it out Saturday and made the following (which I pulled from a slow cooker recipe book I picked up somewhere).


    Sausage and Onion Casserole
    You will need:
    4 - 8 sausages (I got a pack of 8 short dated jumbo ones in Aldi for €1).
    2 medium onions (finely chopped).
    5 - 10 shallots (optional - these weren't in the original recipe).
    Worcestershire sauce (didn't use this as I don't have it!).
    2 tbsp chutney (I used mango chutney I found sitting in the fridge).
    2 tbsp plain flour.
    300 ml stock (beef/chicken - I used beef; easiest to use boiling or near).
    salt 'n' pepper.

    - Preheat the slow cooker on high.
    - peel the shallots and add to the slow cooker.
    - brown the sausages on all sides and add to the slow cooker (I used them whole, but sliced up should be fne).
    - in the same pan, fry the onion until soft but not brown.
    - mix in the flour and fry for 1 - 2 minutes.
    - add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, bring to the boil, reduce temp and simmer until the sauce thickens (couple of minutes).
    - lob the lot into the slow cooker.

    Recipe said to cook on Low for 5 - 8 hrs, but I did High at 3 hours, then Low for 2 hours.


    Served it with proper butter-filled mashed potato. It was absolutely delicious! :D Quite sweet and the sausages were super soft! And all for under €2.50!

    This was for 2, but with the 8 jumbo porkers I used, increasing the stock and onion by 50% - 100% would easily make enough for 4, or two dinners for 2 people.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,550 ✭✭✭curly from cork


    I am new to this myself, but I bought the one in Argos on sale now for 22euro. Its big but better to have too much room than too little I think!

    i intend to go to argos for mine too. tomoro i hope.. i returned my tesco one today .did you get a ceramic one ? what make ? and fianlly what size ? sorry for questions ! thanks.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭Betsysquared


    i intend to go to argos for mine too. tomoro i hope.. i returned my tesco one today .did you get a ceramic one ? what make ? and fianlly what size ? sorry for questions ! thanks.

    No problem,

    I got this one:
    http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4236045/Trail/searchtext%3ESLOW+COOKER.htm

    Its 6litre, stainless steel on the outside but the crock pot bit inside is ceramic.
    Its very big alright, could cook a lot in it, have a stew in it tonight, smells good!


  • Registered Users Posts: 544 ✭✭✭Name Changed


    senelra wrote: »
    You could, as in they will cook, but I don't think they will be a nice to eat compared to cooking them in the oven under a roast. Alot of liquid will come out of the meat as it cooks in the slow cooker, and so the vegetables will end up quite soft. Maybe someone else here has more experience in this though?

    Anytime I have "roasted" beef in the slow cooker, I put a few cloves of garlic, some red wine and some herbs (and maybe some onion) in the bottom of the dish, and when the meat was cooked I reduced the sauce down to make gravy.

    I fell asleep and never put on the pork, so I'm roasting it as normal now. I'll use the slow cooker tomorrow for the first time for my favourite food...Stew.

    Anyway, quick question. How do you reduce the sauce down to make a gravy?


  • Registered Users Posts: 440 ✭✭biddywiddy


    I fell asleep and never put on the pork, so I'm roasting it as normal now. I'll use the slow cooker tomorrow for the first time for my favourite food...Stew.

    Anyway, quick question. How do you reduce the sauce down to make a gravy?

    After removing the meat from the dish, I either turn the slow cooker up to high (lid off) and let the liquid reduce a bit, or if I'm in more of a rush I transfer the liquid to a small saucepan and reduce it there. It makes a runny gravy, so I sometimes add in a little cornflour (mixed with a small amount of water) to thicken it up. It's all a bit trial and error really :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,392 ✭✭✭TequilaMockingBird


    I fell asleep and never put on the pork, so I'm roasting it as normal now. I'll use the slow cooker tomorrow for the first time for my favourite food...Stew.

    Anyway, quick question. How do you reduce the sauce down to make a gravy?

    I just use half the amount of liquid. If your a heathen like me stick a packet of soup in to thicken it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 544 ✭✭✭Name Changed


    senelra wrote: »
    After removing the meat from the dish, I either turn the slow cooker up to high (lid off) and let the liquid reduce a bit, or if I'm in more of a rush I transfer the liquid to a small saucepan and reduce it there. It makes a runny gravy, so I sometimes add in a little cornflour (mixed with a small amount of water) to thicken it up. It's all a bit trial and error really :)

    Nice. I'll try that. Cheers.


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  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,108 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    Dizzyblonde, have you a particular recipe for this that I can start from scratch? I'd prefer not to use the packet mixes if possible.

    I lb/500g of rib steak, diced - or steak pieces
    2 sliced carrots
    2 sliced onions
    2 sticks of celery, sliced
    A couple of dessertspoons of flour
    Pinch of mixed herbs
    Salt and black pepper
    A squirt of tomato puree
    2 red Oxo cubes mixed with a pint of hot water
    Olive or sunflower oil for browning the meat

    Roll the meat in flour, then brown it on the pan in the oil.
    Remove it from the pan and add the carrots, celery and onions. Fry gently until they start to soften. Add the meat, stock, tomato puree, salt and pepper and the herbs. If it's a bit too thick, add more water. Put it all into the slow cooker and cook it on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.

    * You could just throw it all into the slow cooker and stir in just one dessertspoon of flour before adding the stock, but it won't taste quite as nice.


  • Registered Users Posts: 544 ✭✭✭Name Changed


    I lb/500g of rib steak, diced - or steak pieces
    2 sliced carrots
    2 sliced onions
    2 sticks of celery, sliced
    A couple of dessertspoons of flour
    Pinch of mixed herbs
    Salt and black pepper
    A squirt of tomato puree
    2 red Oxo cubes mixed with a pint of hot water
    Olive or sunflower oil for browning the meat

    Roll the meat in flour, then brown it on the pan in the oil.
    Remove it from the pan and add the carrots, celery and onions. Fry gently until they start to soften. Add the meat, stock, tomato puree, salt and pepper and the herbs. If it's a bit too thick, add more water. Put it all into the slow cooker and cook it on low for 8-10 hours, or on high for 4-5 hours.

    * You could just throw it all into the slow cooker and stir in just one dessertspoon of flour before adding the stock, but it won't taste quite as nice.

    Sounds great. That's Dizzyblonde.

    Your recipes seem to be the best, so I'll just ask you one more... I love making stew, but I use Knorr Country Stew Mix packet for the soup. I've tried a load of things including my own concoctions, but this seems to be the nicest tasting one. Have you a recipe for stew for nice soup?


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,108 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    Have you a recipe for stew for nice soup?

    For stew I just use the same recipe as above, with extra water and a handful of barley. You can also make it with lamb pieces and lamb stock cubes - and rosemary instead of mixed herbs.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,550 ✭✭✭curly from cork


    ok im home admiring my new slow cooker puchased in argos. i would like to make a chicken dish tomorrow, this is what i usually do
    sweat red and yellow peppers with onions
    add spoon of sugar
    add chicken peices, (leg, thigh, breast, whatever is handy. although we prefer thigh)
    jar of pasta sauce
    dash of red wine
    transfer into casserole dish, oven for about 90 mins

    is there anything different i should do ?
    and how long will i cook it all for ?
    thanks !


  • Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭duckling10


    hi,
    i have also just bought a slow cooker from argos, the cookworks one reduced to 22 euro half price...
    I have used it once for cooking a ham joint, and that was fine, i just steeped the ham joint overnight in cold water and then put it in the slow cooker for 8 hours with water.
    It turned out fine.
    So now I want to do something different with the slowcooker, so I think i will try this pork chops recipe below from page one of this thread.
    Anyone any idea if 6 to 8 hours at low would be ok instead of 4 to 5 hours at high for this recipe?
    also if other people have used the Cookworks Signature 6.5l slow cooker, does the button stay on high all the time, or does it revert to warm after a certain period of time?
    i don't want to burn anything....
    finally, i have looked at the website A Year of Slow Cooking, but as it's American I find that the recipes have ingredients that are different to ours. so it's great to get recipes where I recognise the stuff!!!


    CJhaughey wrote: »

    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.


  • Moderators, Category Moderators, Politics Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators, Regional East Moderators Posts: 12,108 CMod ✭✭✭✭Dizzyblonde


    I'd say 8 hours on low would be fine for that recipe Duckling. The potatoes would be the last thing to soften, so I'd slice them pretty thinly (1 cm) and make sure they're immersed in the liquid.
    For some reason vegetables take longer than meat to cook in a slow cooker, so if the pork chops are sitting on top out of the liquid they'll still cook very well.


  • Registered Users Posts: 9,521 ✭✭✭Padraig Mor


    Just saw over on Bargain Alerts that Argos have noew reduced their Cookworks 6 litre slow cooker to €15 - bargain! Might be of use to some here.

    http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4236045/Trail/searchtext%3ESLOW+COOKER.htm


  • Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭duckling10


    Just saw over on Bargain Alerts that Argos have noew reduced their Cookworks 6 litre slow cooker to €15 - bargain! Might be of use to some here.

    http://www.argos.ie/static/Product/partNumber/4236045/Trail/searchtext%3ESLOW+COOKER.htm



    That is a bargain, considering I paid 22.49 for it at the weekend!
    feeling green.....:rolleyes:
    oh well, such is life...
    they must be selling them out,


  • Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭duckling10


    i didn't actually make the pork recipe after all,
    but I did make Szechuan chicken for dinner,
    I'm sharing this with you in case anyone is a newbie like me and wondering what works etc.
    I took 3 frozen chicken fillets straight from the freezer and placed them in the slowcooker (Cookworks 6.5 litre), put some chopped onions in with them, and poured half a jar of a Szechuan sauce over them (cause I only had half a jar left), turned on the slow cooker to LOW and cooked the chicken for 5 hours on low.
    They turned out fine. I used LOW because I thought HIGH would be too high and also the chicken might dry out too much and the sauce might burn.
    I was a bit worried about whether it would work or not, but it was perfect.
    So now I know I can repeat that with frozen chicken fillets and any jar of sauce I have.
    You can leave out the onions, they turned a bit yellow and didn't add anything to it.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,550 ✭✭✭curly from cork


    its ok to cook meat form frozen ? even joints or a leg of lamb ?


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  • Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭duckling10


    its ok to cook meat form frozen ? even joints or a leg of lamb ?

    I would only cook chicken fillets from frozen actually, and these were fillets that were not frozen in a big ball, but were frozen side by side on a tray, so they were individually frozen.
    I would not cook a joint or a leg of lamb from frozen. Best to defrost overnight and put in the slow cooker in the morning.
    I only chanced it with the fillets because i knew had time to cook them longer if it turned out that they weren't fully done when i got home. Also I had a childminder at home who was going to keep an eye on the slowcooker so nothing burned either. Also chicken cooks easier than red meats.
    how are you getting on with the slow cooker?
    :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,550 ✭✭✭curly from cork


    thanks for reply duckling. i will remember that. cooker has been used just once so far. did a nice chicken dish in it, it went down well. i have stewing beef in the freezer so i will try that at the weekend or monday and follow the recipe for stew posted here earlier. . as a rule of thumb do most dishes take 6 hours or so ?


  • Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭duckling10


    . as a rule of thumb do most dishes take 6 hours or so ?
    well it seems like that, but i'm just a beginner with slow cookers, so i'm not sure, so i'd say look at your recipe book and instruction booklet that came with the slow cooker and follow that.
    6 hours on high would be different to 6 hours on low and it would also depend on the size of the piece of meat and it's thickness.
    so i guess read the manual as each slow cooker is different.


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,550 ✭✭✭curly from cork


    thanks.. another question for you slow cooker pros please. would it be ok to prepare my stew this evening, veg meat and liquid. place them in the pot and keep in the fridge overnight. i wont have time to prepare in the morning.


  • Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭Betsysquared


    thanks.. another question for you slow cooker pros please. would it be ok to prepare my stew this evening, veg meat and liquid. place them in the pot and keep in the fridge overnight. i wont have time to prepare in the morning.

    I would think would be totally fine, plan on doing this myself from time to time


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,550 ✭✭✭curly from cork


    thanks betsy.. will report on any case of food poisioning !!


  • Registered Users Posts: 440 ✭✭biddywiddy


    I often prepare ingredients the night before and cook the next day in the slow cooker. I always use a bowl for the ingredients, covered with cling film in the fridge. Then transfer everything to the slow cooker in the morning, adding any water/stock.

    I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't "shock the crock" :D by putting it straight into the slow cooker base from the fridge. It can crack apparently. The advice was to take it out of the fridge for a half hour or so before switching on the slow cooker. I never have time for wait around for this in the morning, hence why I use a different bowl overnight.

    No idea if there's any truth in this. It seems a bit OTT considering how moderate the heat is, but just the thought of cracking the slow cooker made me wary! :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 107 ✭✭Betsysquared


    senelra wrote: »
    I often prepare ingredients the night before and cook the next day in the slow cooker. I always use a bowl for the ingredients, covered with cling film in the fridge. Then transfer everything to the slow cooker in the morning, adding any water/stock.

    I remember reading somewhere that you shouldn't "shock the crock" :D by putting it straight into the slow cooker base from the fridge. It can crack apparently. The advice was to take it out of the fridge for a half hour or so before switching on the slow cooker. I never have time for wait around for this in the morning, hence why I use a different bowl overnight.

    They do mention this in the booklet, i would think that it applies to the washing up anyway, as in don't plunge the heated crockpot into cold water,
    My crockpot is too big for the fridge anyway!


    No idea if there's any truth in this. It seems a bit OTT considering how moderate the heat is, but just the thought of cracking the slow cooker made me wary! :)
    I would shed a few tears if this happened!


  • Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭duckling10


    thanks.. another question for you slow cooker pros please. would it be ok to prepare my stew this evening, veg meat and liquid. place them in the pot and keep in the fridge overnight. i wont have time to prepare in the morning.

    Hi, I have a book called Ultimate Slow Cooker as well as the instruction book etc that came with the actual slow cooker.
    It says that if you want to prepare the food the night before that you do this:
    Chop the onion and seal it in a small plastic bag. Put diced vegetables in an airtight plastic container with a little water then use this water to add to the slow cooker pot the following morning. Dice or slice meat and wrap it in clingfilm or kitchen foil. Keep all foods in the fridge overnight.

    FWIW, personally, I would prefer to have the foods refrigerated separately like this overnight rather than all in the one pot, somehow it seems better to have them separate while raw.
    But hey, I've only used the slow cooker 3 times so far....!:)


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  • Registered Users Posts: 129 ✭✭duckling10


    on friday night I bought a Housekeepers cut of Beef from Lidl, 6.99 i think for one kilo.
    I put it in the slow cooker on Saturday morning and cooked it with 100ml red wine and 400ml of stock (made from an Oxo stock cube mixed about 1 pint (400ml) of just boiled water).
    I put it on high for 2 hours then low for 4 hours, but that was a little bit too short time. I took it up and sliced it, it wasn't quite falling apart, but we ate some and everyone loved it.
    I put the rest of the slices back into the slow cooker and cooked it on low for another 3 hours. Today it was falling apart and delicious, and the winy stock made a fantastic base for a gravy, which hubby made. He melts butter in a small saucepan, adds flour or cornflour, mixes to a paste, then added the winy liquid. delicious.....
    If I was doing it again I would have cooked the meat for 5 or 6 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low and it would have been melt in the mouth yummy...
    I will definitely be doing it again.
    Tomorrow is something with chicken. scuttles off to cook book....


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