Slow cooker.

[Tengu]

Never take a friend to a car boot.

Not only do you have to deal with suppressing your own urges, they will badger you into purchases

This one thinks I need a Slow Cooker...

So, £2.50 later, I now have a Slow Cooker.

True, as you know, I have a great love of stews...but mine take an hour to cook.

I am told that with a slow cooker I can put it on in the morning and it will be ready for the evening...But I dont plan that far in advance with food!

Now what do I do? And what recipes are good?

 

[Lost in the woods]

"the slow cooker recipe book" by Catherine Atkinson ISBN 1-84477-376-0, is good. tells you how to adapt ordinary recipes for the cooker. I normally just toss in what ever I've go in the cupboard / freezer, switch it on and forget about it. Be careful of the amount of water in food stuffs, as water will not evaporate, but it will boil over and mess up your kitchen. Enjoy your find.

Dave

 

[nicksteele1990]

It's worth remembering also that slow cookers work a bit differently to cooking in the oven. In the oven, hot air across the food browns it and develops different flavours. In a slow cooker, the only flavours you get out are the ones you put in at the beginning.

 

[dwardo]

Great tool and one we use atleast once a week. Stew, Chilli, Spagbol, chicken soup using the left overs from a Sunday chicken roast.

They are not a cook all solution but certainly have their place. Also nice to come home to the smell of food cooking

 

[Janne]

My way to slow cook is to start on the hob ( browning and cooking for sbout 15 minutes) then plscing in the oven, heating up the oven to 225 C , keeping it on heat for another 10 min then turning oven off.
This I do in the evening
Leave in oven overnight, place in fridge in the morning. Heat up and eat in the evening.

I am off now to do a beef Pörkölt, tomorrows dinner!

 

[Paul_B]

You can do a lot in one. Puddings for example are easy. Get your hands on a book about it. Or Google.

For example, anything you cook standing in hot water in ramekins can be cooked in a slow cooker. Not just stews.

 

[Janne]

Is it really a good idea to hsve sn applisnce ”on” when you are outside the house, at work?

 

[Hammock_man]

Slow cookers are low power devices so are much much better at keeping things hot rarther then heating them up. So start by bringing your stew up to full temp on the stove top while the slow cooker is powered up and warming itself, maybe with half a cup of water in the bottom to spread the heat. Then add the now hot mix to the slow cooker put the lid on AND LEAVE IT. Each time you lift the lid the temp drops and you add 30 mins to the cooking time. fight the temptation. Leave the thing to work it's magic for 6 to 8 hours. You will have meat that jumps not falls off the bone and veg that shout out flavour.

 

[Janne]

Low power as in W but not in V.

I personally do not leave the house if any electric appliance is on. Nor is anyyhing charging.
Maybe I am overly cautious.

 

[Hammock_man]

What about your fridge, freezer, heating boiler, Router, fish tank electric meter, gas meter, water meter.......

 

[Janne]

Fridge, freezer and router - I know. Worries me!
Plus the tv.


I disconnect those when going on holiday.

I have a German made direct water heater. I trust the Germans. Watermeter - mechanical. Electricity meter - outside, 15 meters from house. No oldfashioned phone.

Technically the cooker and dishwasher are plugged in, but in ‘off’ position, to my knowledge no fires have happened when in off position?

 

[Hammock_man]

some things do not come across well from the keyboard... so think we are chilling by a fire early evening in a wood some where and I turn to you, look you in the eye and softly say...... "your bl87dy bonkers mate"

 

[Janne]

The Pörkölt is now getting tasty and tender on the shut off oven!

 

[Janne]

some things do not come across well from the keyboard... so think we are chilling by a fire early evening in a wood some where and I turn to you, look you in the eye and softly say...... "your bl87dy bonkers mate"

I am. Paranoid. 100%.

Then I am happy to drive my boat 90 miles offshore to fish.......

 

[Hammock_man]

"shut off" its called a thermostat here in the 21st century

 

[mrcharly]

We have a slow cooker, just getting into using it.

Did a gammon joint in it last week - nearly 10hours on low, the meat was falling apart when finished, fantastic flavour.
Sunday a spanish chicken dish - Ingredients part cooked (browned chicken, sauce thickened) in frying pan before being added to slow cooker.
The heat isn't all that low - it went in with hot stock and was very gently bubbling on low setting.

 

[shaggystu]

Low power as in W but not in V.

I personally do not leave the house if any electric appliance is on. Nor is anyyhing charging.
Maybe I am overly cautious.

What are you worried about? Because it's clearly not food poisoning...

 

[Janne]

Fire.
No, food poisoning I am not worried about as the temperatures are above a certain level.

 

[sunndog]

food poisoning I am not worried about as the temperatures are above a certain level.

What, during a house fire?.......every cloud eh

 

[Janne]

That would be a nice BBQ