Slow Cooker recipes

A_Sober_Paddy

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Sorry only getting to this now.

The sauce was reasonably thick. I used my homebrew stout, so the sauce was totally amazing

I use a handful of Pearl Barley at the start of cooking.

Much difference between pot and pearl barley?

Dizzyblonde

I use pearl barley - I never knew there was another type.

Lovely Bloke

never heard of pot barley myself, but this link after a quick google says they are interchangeable

A_Sober_Paddy

Just had my slow cooked stew, tasted a little on the bland side

400g stewing beef

160g each of the following
Onion
Parsnip
Carrot

80g celery

Tinned Tomatoes x1
Oxo beef cube made with 200mls of water

Thyme x2tbsp

Wirchestershire Sauce x1tbsp
Butter 10g

Bay leaves x3

All in the cooker for 8 hours

Any suggestions?

Dizzyblonde

I add a splash of wine or balsamic vinegar these days and it makes a big difference. Was it a bit thin? If so, stirring a tablespoon of flour into the meat and veg before adding the liquid helps thicken it.

Lovely Bloke

Pepper!

Did you brown the meat beforehand?

A_Sober_Paddy

Baldy Conscience wrote: »

Pepper!

Did you brown the meat beforehand?

I used salt and pepper, I never brown meat just find it tastes better without doing so in all my other dishes, wethrr its lamb or beef

beertons

Chilli flakes. Mightened be called a stew then, but sure we all have our own names for things. I made a chilli a while ago and forgot to put the flakes in. The cayenne and paprika did the job though.

FortuneChip

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Just had my slow cooked stew, tasted a little on the bland side


Any suggestions?

Nothing wrong with the ingredients, although maybe some crush garlic? And I agree some chilli flakes (it won't be hot, it won't even add much of a kick when slow cooked, but it's there)

Fry everything first.
I'd toss the beef in some seasoned flour and the fry it in a pan.
Fry the veg in a second pan.
Add both to the slow cooker then use a glass of red wine to deglaze the beef pan. Scrape up all those tasty bits and add it in.

Everything into the slow cooker.

A_Sober_Paddy

FortuneChip wrote: »

Nothing wrong with the ingredients, although maybe some crush garlic? And I agree some chilli flakes (it won't be hot, it won't even add much of a kick when slow cooked, but it's there)

Fry everything first.
I'd toss the beef in some seasoned flour and the fry it in a pan.
Fry the veg in a second pan.
Add both to the slow cooker then use a glass of red wine to deglaze the beef pan. Scrape up all those tasty bits and add it in.

Everything into the slow cooker.

Can't have alcohol in the gaff, so rules out wine, oh I have garlic in, its in all my stuff

ahlookit

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Just had my slow cooked stew, tasted a little on the bland side

400g stewing beef

160g each of the following
Onion
Parsnip
Carrot

80g celery

Tinned Tomatoes x1
Oxo beef cube made with 200mls of water

Thyme x2tbsp

Wirchestershire Sauce x1tbsp
Butter 10g

Bay leaves x3

All in the cooker for 8 hours

Any suggestions?

I make this pretty regularly (without the celery). Pretty much the same basic ingredients as yours, with a few small alterations. Always find it comes out well

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/10/slow-cooker-rosemary-garlic-beef-stew-slow-cooker/

A_Sober_Paddy

ahlookit wrote: »

I make this pretty regularly (without the celery). Pretty much the same basic ingredients as yours, with a few small alterations. Always find it comes out well

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2014/10/slow-cooker-rosemary-garlic-beef-stew-slow-cooker/

Rosemary with beef, thought rosemary with pork ?

Also cheers for the link

the beer revolu

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Rosemary with beef, thought rosemary with pork ?

Also cheers for the link

Rosemary is typically paired with lamb but will really go with most things if you like rosemary.

Great with tomatoes, roast potatoes with garlic and rosemary etc. I'd be wary of dried rosemary, though - it can be very pungent and harsh.

FortuneChip

A_Sober_Paddy wrote: »

Can't have alcohol in the gaff, so rules out wine, oh I have garlic in, its in all my stuff

Ah, apologies.

I'd still recommend deglazing the frying pans with some chicken/vegetable stock after frying the meat off.
It's those leftover bits that stick to the pan that carry so much flavour.

spurious

I add a blob of tomato ketchup to anything stew shaped.

stoutykid

I have recently tried slow cooker spice mixes by Gordon Rhodes... I picked them up in my local butcher but they do have a web page you can buy from. They are very reasonable. I tried the lamb tagine one and it was really spicy and flavorsome. I sometimes find that my food out of the slow cooker can be a little bland spice wise. It can be hard to get the combination right. Will def be using these again...I can highly recommend if anyone was wondering about them.

Here is the website if anyone is interested....http://www.gordonrhodes.co.uk/shop/gourmet-sauce-mixes

b.gud

Slow cooker coming up in Lidl for €20 next week for anyone interested

54and56

Hi all,

Have a bit of a slow cooker emergency on my hands. I'm making a version of the Rosemary beef dish linked to above but totally overdosed it with ground black pepper and having just sampled it (5 hours into the cook) it nearly burned the mouth off me. Didn't think I put that much black pepper in but obviously I did. I got a phone call as I was preparing it and I think I dosed it with black pepper twice

Any suggestions as to how I can tone down the black pepper/hot taste?

harr

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Hi all,

Have a bit of a slow cooker emergency on my hands. I'm making a version of the Rosemary beef dish linked to above but totally overdosed it with ground black pepper and having just sampled it (5 hours into the cook) it nearly burned the mouth off me. Didn't think I put that much black pepper in but obviously I did. I got a phone call as I was preparing it and I think I dosed it with black pepper twice

Any suggestions as to how I can tone down the black pepper/hot taste?

All that I would think of is ,take it out of the cooker and put into a normal saucepan and add cream or something similar and keep adding till hotness has gone down a bit... Obviously won't taste As ment but might be saved..you might need to re thicken sauce near end...
Good luck

Just found this ,it might help
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/964475/in-a-pickle-what-to-do-if-a-dish-is-too-spicy

54and56

harr wrote: »

All that I would think of is ,take it out of the cooker and put into a normal saucepan and add cream or something similar and keep adding till hotness has gone down a bit... Obviously won't taste As ment but might be saved..you might need to re thicken sauce near end...
Good luck

Just found this ,it might help
http://www.sheknows.com/food-and-recipes/articles/964475/in-a-pickle-what-to-do-if-a-dish-is-too-spicy

Thanks Harr, you saved the day!! Cream worked very well. Two of us had that and I tried using some freshly cut pineapple as I'm not a big fan of heavy creamy dishes which made the dish a little fruity but less hot and quite nice actually.

Thanks again.

harr

Je_suis_Jean wrote: »

Thanks Harr, you saved the day!! Cream worked very well. Two of us had that and I tried using some freshly cut pineapple as I'm not a big fan of heavy creamy dishes which made the dish a little fruity but less hot and quite nice actually.

Thanks again.

No problem,glad it worked out for you,I have never tried pineapple for this reason before and it's a handy tip to know...

D'Agger

Just got a slow cooker so I'll be reading up on plenty of these recipes over the coming days/weeks

Simple question to start off though - I have football training, can I hoof on some chicken/turkey, potatoes & broccoli/carrots at the same time to be ready when I'm back I.e. 2-3 hours later? In my mind I figure the meat & potatoes would be grand but the veg would be cooked to the point where they're useless, I'm basing that on general cooking times for veg compared to meat

The Black Oil

Veg such as carrots can take a very long time, at least on low setting. When I make Jamie Oliver's beef and ale stew, for example...that'd be ticking over for about 8 hours.

You can do spuds in their jackets in a few hours on high setting, ime.

Baggly

Wouldn't be doing much in 3 hours that you couldn't also achieve in a normal pot in any oven.

If you want the most from your SC, plan to cook things well beyond the 4 hour mark.

D'Agger

Pter wrote: »

Wouldn't be doing much in 3 hours that you couldn't also achieve in a normal pot in any oven.

If you want the most from your SC, plan to cook things well beyond the 4 hour mark.

Understood, days I'm not training I'll look to use long cooks & on weekends too but id like if I could fire on something for 3-4 hours days I train that's reasonably plain and healthy like plain chicken breast, sweet potatoes & carrots or broccoli - on high for 3-4 hours, would the veg be alright? I just have it in my head the broccoli would be shíte

The Black Oil

There's been some discussion here re whether chicken comes out well or not. Have a look from here on. http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=96581696&postcount=607

Maybe try some veg on its own to start, to get a feel for it.

Baggly

Trial and error as well. What might be fine for me might not suit you

heldel00

D'Agger wrote: »

Understood, days I'm not training I'll look to use long cooks & on weekends too but id like if I could fire on something for 3-4 hours days I train that's reasonably plain and healthy like plain chicken breast, sweet potatoes & carrots or broccoli - on high for 3-4 hours, would the veg be alright? I just have it in my head the broccoli would be shíte

Buy a plug timer for your slow cooker. Make your dinner the night before, put slow cooker pot in fridge, take it out that morn before work, set timer and Bobs your uncle!

Mrs Fox

Folks, I own a 3.5l slow cooker that i haven't been using for awhile, but since I've started work again I'm going to blow the dust off the cooker. I used to only cook soup or small round beef in it, but I'd like to be able to cook a whole chicken with veg. I take it that a whole bird won't fit in a 3.5l cooker, so I'm thinking of getting a bigger one. I only need the extra room for a chicken, or bigger piece of roast; I'm not interested in making big batches for the freezer. If I'm making the likes of chilli/bolognese i would prefer to make a batch that's just enough for dinner and some leftover for lunch the next day. So, would a 5/5.5l cooker suffice? Or should i just go for a 6.5 and not fill up the pot? I'm very tempted with cookworks 6.5 from Argos just because it's a bargain at only €29. Any thoughts?

Dizzyblonde

I have a 6.5l slow cooker and mostly use it to cook for two, so I'd advise you to go for it if you have the space. It's so handy when you want to cook something bigger, and no more trouble to wash than a smaller one.