Are slow cookers shit?

I do too always put a bit less liquid….you can always add more if needed…

I will be honest, I always thought certain dishes taste better the next day as they have had time to thicken IYSWIM? Such as chilli or stew or bolognese. 😋

So now, I do my slow cooking the night before, and place all the contents in the pot at about 9-10pm, then leave it on low overnight, so it's thickened and perfect fot the next days tea at 5pm. 🙌

@RampantIvy

i always sear first - which is another reason for my dislike of them. I sear in a Le Creuset casserole for optimum browning and then that has to be washed up as well as the slow cooker. I might as well just leave it all in the casserole dish and slow cook at 110 degrees in the oven.

I would agree with OP that slow cooker food isn't thatpretty and a lot of recipes (even actualy slow cooker recipes) end up too watery.

Normally MN threads about slow cookers are from people that have bought one but don't actually enjoy eating the type of food they do best, like stews, casseroles etc. Ours gets used every week in winter, i work FT and leave it on all day when I'm not in the house, which I wouldn't do with the hob or oven.

Scott Baptie's slow cooker recipes are fab, they use much less liquid and actually come out like the photso!

My slow cooker is fab, we use it a lot at home, everything I make is delicious, and I find meat (especially chicken) cooks so nicely and is so tender. As many people have said, put in less liquid than you need. I’ll often make a cornflour paste and add that to thicken things up if needed, and meals always come out very tasty.

Yes, I agree . I make my normal stew, bolognaise whatever in a pan in my usual way, then tip it into the slow cooker. I can cook about 3-4 meals worth of bolognaise at once and freeze some.
Another tip I learned here I think is to put a tea towel over the pot, then put the lid on, it soaks up condensation leaving less wateryness.

I have a multi cooker which is brilliant, I can sauté and brown off meat and veg, then have lots of cook options including slow cooking but I generally use the pressure cooker function, then put the cooked food in the fridge for later, then reheat, curry, stews, bolagnaise etc taste better reheated

😂 wtf. Folk on Mumsnet are properly bonkers

I have used my slow cooker to cook but i tend to whip up meal like cauliflower cheese, casserole etc and then put it in the slow cooker to finish/keep hot till dinner time

If you are using a recipe that is not specifically for a slow cooker the rule of thumb is to use 1/3 of the liquid recommended.

@ThisCanFuckOffToo have you tried a joint of meat cooked in one? I have a friend who once came round when I was cooking lamb so she invited herself for dinner. By the next week she had her own and a couple of weeks later so did her brother. They had both been traumatised by their mothers slow cooked slop.

OP I have the old version of this book, mine is from the 1980s, this is updated. I recommend it because it does explain how to use a slow cooker, how it works and what to do if things go wrong.

www.littlebrown.co.uk/titles/dianne-page/slow-cooking-properly-explained/9780716022213/

No they aren't. If you start a recipe off the traditional way then finish it off in the slow cooker the results are the same for casseroles, bolognese etc as in the oven.

I was a latecomer to slow cookers and I think people aren't using them properly if the food is rubbish.

I suspect this also. Always brown meats off, reduce red wine etc before throwing in the slow cooker.

I love mine! It has saved me so often as a single mum, coming in from work and dinner is ready!
I always brown off the meat first and don’t add any liquid / unless I’m making a bolognaise/chilli when I usually add lentils! I just thicken it with tomato puree if I need to but find it’s usually a great consistency with the lentils involved!
I love doing lamb on the bone or a whole chicken (none of us eat the skin so it doesn’t matter if it’s crispy or not. Also love the deeper flavour of a slow cooked curry.

For stews, browning the meat is the key I think otherwise there’s no colour.

some things are better left in for longer, others for less.

Yes, they are rubbish. Unless you are making baby food. Real grown up food requires proper cooking.

Are you frying ingredients off in a pan first or just bunging everything in?

I fry first and get the same results as I do when I slow cook in the oven.

I love my slow cooker. I do curry, beef bourginion, bolognese, beef rendang, Moroccan stew. Basically anything I would usually do on the hob or in a casserole in the oven. I prepare it at lunch time (working from home)and I leave it until early evening and put it on warm and then everyone helps themselves when they are ready for dinner. It's great for my family as they all get home at different times and can eat when they are ready. I don't follow recipes and just cook my normal meals in it. I think the beef dishes taste much better slow cooked and wouldn't do them any other way. As others have said use a bit less liquid and make sure you leave it to cook for long enough for the flavour to develop.

I find my slow cooker quite useful, but they do vary in efficiency. My tips are 1) use less liquid- if your recipe is not slow cooker specific take at least a third of the liquid out 2) brown all meat first before it goes in to the slow cooker 3) Be patient and do not continuously lift the lid- it looses heat very quickly if you do.

do you like tacos?
i use mine to make them all the time and they taste delicious and since you’re shredding the meat, it doesn’t matter how they look.

i personally think that americans are great at slow cooker recipes for some reason, so i usually seek out their recipes on pinterest

this one for pork ones is outstanding

vikalinka.com/slow-cooked-pulled-pork-tacos/

Among my family and friends I'm known as a good cook so I trust my judgement when it comes to food and IMO slow cookers are absolutely shit. Everything I've ever cooked in one comes out looking and tasting bland and slightly muddy. I've bought or been given 4 over the years and have ended up donating them all to other people/charities.

OTOH one of my best mates (also an excellent cook) loves her slow cooker and I've never eaten a bland or muddy tasting meal at her house.

It definitely gives a distinctive taste to many things.
I find it good for the Christmas red cabbage as, poached pears and have had relative success with slow cooking beef casserole type things and meatballs. I don’t like it for chicken dishes much, but would throw curry ingredients in the morning if we were both working in the office and that was ok.

Thank you - will give that a try!

It sounds to me that people are just bunging ingredients in and expecting the same results that you get from browning and frying off onions and other aromats first.

I always do the frying steps first before transferring to a slow cooker and get exactly the same results as I would if I had oven cooked.

I bought a slow cooker 4 years ago, used it twice and gave it to a friend. I didn't like it at all - total waste of money.

On the other side, I've had pressure cookers most of my life and can't do without them. I can cook lamb shanks in 1 hour with an incredible sauce and with meat falling from the bone.

We rarely use our slow cooker - I find it sometimes adds steps in like browning meat and generally transferring separately cooked ingredients across and into it.

We’ve got a massive cast iron pot with a lid now that lives on our hob permanently. Great for casseroles, chilli, bolognese etc. Can brown meat/veg off, generally chuck the rest of the ingredients in and also pop it in the oven. I use it so often, it cleans really easily and I’ve also found that the cast iron keeps the food warmer for longer after it’s been taken off the heat

But I have found recently that the slow cooker is great for soup. Literally chuck all the veg and stock in, leave it on high for around 3-4 hours then all I have to do is blend it with the hand blender and add cream/cheese at the end if we fancy that.