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What is the point of slow cookers?

203 replies

EachandEveryone · 04/11/2020 14:20

My neighbour came around to admire it yesterday. It was her that persuaded me to get one, I am a nurse but have stopped nights for now. I batch cook sometimes but I’ve only myself to feed. I really don’t need a slow cooker do I? What does actually taste better in it? And doesn’t it make you living space smell of cooking all day? I’m in a flat and can’t stand it if I smell cooking in my bedroom😃

OP posts:
SoupDragon · 09/11/2020 12:18

Slow cooker liners must be shit for the environment. Just wash the dish!

RosesAndChocolates · 09/11/2020 12:21

Good tip on the jackets, never thought to do that. I’ve just put a chicken curry in mine. Chicken thighs, onions, peppers, and (I cheated) a ready made sauce! It’s so lazy I love it. Will be ready for when Dh gets home about 8. Everything tastes amazing in a slow cooker you just can’t go wrong. You literally don’t have to have any cooking skills at all and it still tastes great.

RosesAndChocolates · 09/11/2020 12:24

And other faves are Moroccan lamb stew with extra apricots, veggie chilli (loads of beans, and spices), beef brisket (feel like a proper 50’s housewife when I cook that one!).

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Hardbackwriter · 09/11/2020 12:26

Those who complain that everything is watery and mushy, looks disgusting and all tastes the same: do you not htink maybe you're not doing it right? because it seems unlikely that so many people really like that kind of food, doesn't it?

I do think I must be doing something wrong - though I've always used a recipe especially for a slow cooker for everything I tried in it - but I'm also just a bit suspicious that people lied when they said they were just as useful for a vegetarian as a meat eater - both here and in real life it tends to be the meat people rave about. I didn't find anything vegetarian to make in it that was better, or indeed not worse, than it would be cooked the 'normal' way.

AlternativePerspective · 09/11/2020 12:46

There seems to be a huge misconception about slow cookers that oyu are BOILING food in it
Unless you’re pre-browning the meat/veg that’s exactly what you’re doing.

You wouldn’t just throw in a load of cold ingredients into a saucepan on the hob, switch it on and boil it for an hour or two, the slow cooker is the same.

So if you don’t brown the meat etc then you’re boiling the food.

The same applies to soup makers.

sashh · 09/11/2020 14:03

You wouldn’t just throw in a load of cold ingredients into a saucepan on the hob, switch it on and boil it for an hour or two, the slow cooker is the same.

I wouldn't put a chicken in a pot on the hob, it would go in the oven. What exactly is there to boil in a chicken?

If you are making a stew then you add hot water or stock, pretty much the same as a casserole on the hob.

SoupDragon · 09/11/2020 15:37

So if you don’t brown the meat etc then you’re boiling the food.

Even if you are browning it you are "boiling the food" simply because it is in boiling liquid and thus being boiled.

BluTangClan · 09/11/2020 16:30

Isn't it being braised? or er... Casseroled?

doadeer · 09/11/2020 18:24

I don't understand this point about boiling. Am I being thick?

If you think how many cultures have a famous food that is a slow cooked meat for hours and hours - belly pork, gammon joint, beef bourginon, beef stifado - the idea of cooking meat long and slow over heat inside liquid is everywhere. A slow cooker just allows you to do that without leaving your hob or oven all day.

PolkadotsAndMoonbeams · 09/11/2020 19:01

I think a slow cooker is a bit different because you get that 'water seal', and no water can escape so you make it drier to begin with.

But other than that, slow cooking isn't that different to cooking something for a long time at a low heat in an oven/AGA/on a hob.

CarnageAtTheGardenCentre · 09/11/2020 19:33

@AgnesNaismith

Lasagne in the slow cooker changed my life!! Sure you have to cook the meat then assemble in the slow cooker. But it means when you get home from a day/night at work it’s just ready to eat rather than having to wait 45 mins for it to cook!!
@AgnesNaismith, please will you post the lasagne recipe you use for the slow cooker?
billy1966 · 09/11/2020 19:35

@doadeer

Oh I love mine!

I always add bistro if I'm making a casserole so it's never watery.

It's horrid chopping onion at 7am but then I'm so happy when I come home and it's delicious.

I've experimented with browning the meat and without and i can't say I notice a huge difference in taste so I don't bother

Frozen onions are your friend.

I gave mine away.

Much prefer my pressure cooker.

Mintjulia · 09/11/2020 19:42

a - very inexpensive to run
b - I can throw everything in at lunchtime, and have perfect soup or Bolognese or casserole when I get home
c - it makes the best of cheaper cuts of meat

SciFiScream · 09/11/2020 19:49

Plus one for the lasagna recipe please @AgnesNaismith

My aim is to have my instant pot and my slow cooker on the go at the same time. Chili in one, rice in the other (for example) then we just serve and eat.

Slow cooker was immeasurably helpful when we had no oven for 6 months, also to provide good quality meals for our DC when they were tiny and we were in the hectic work/nursery care commute.

It's so much easier now they are older and I WFH (I did so pre-Covid). Instant Pot used daily. Haven't used the slow cooker for months as a result. Blush

ExpectTheWorst · 09/11/2020 20:14

But BOILING implies that there is a LOT of liquid at boiling temperature, no? And generally that's not what you're doing in the slow cooker at all.
You want very little liquid going in, because many, if not most, ingredients release liquid as they cook, and that is partly what gives you the excellent flavour and makes the sauce. And the temperature is usually much lower, so not enough to get a boil going.

Really though, if you've had a slow cooker and found everything was disgusting and watery etc etc etc then it is most likely that YOU were doing something WRONG. Now, it may just be that you can't or won't adapt to a slightly different way of cooking - fine, then clearly a slow cooker is not for you - but it's really not the fault of the slow cooker.

As doadeer so excellently puts it:
"If you think how many cultures have a famous food that is a slow cooked meat for hours and hours - belly pork, gammon joint, beef bourginon, beef stifado - the idea of cooking meat long and slow over heat inside liquid is everywhere. A slow cooker just allows you to do that without leaving your hob or oven all day."

We are not vegetarian but eat very little meat, and I use the slow cooker loads. I've actually found it really good with vegetables - I'd heard tales of tasteless mush but haven't found that to be the case at all. Ratatouille made in there is simply one of the most exquisite things to come home to, the house smells divine. And obviously any type of curry is great, anything with pulses, I did a split pea soup in it the other day (literally just threw in dried peas, stock, seasoning) served with a homemade sourdough bread, was fabulous.

Oh and of course slow cooker rice pudding is HEAVEN.

Fizbosshoes · 09/11/2020 20:20

I've got one but I dont use it that often. My fave thing to cook in it (no pre cooking required) is a whole chicken with red onions, red peppers, chorizo, mushrooms, tin if chopped tomatoes and some wine or stock. It's so good.

AgnesNaismith · 09/11/2020 21:12

Hello! Sorry it has taken me a while! It isn’t very complex or exciting but this is what I do:

Cook the mince on the hob, with tomato purée, oregano (or mixed herbs), onions, garlic and mushrooms.

Make white sauce (or use jarred Wink like me)

Assemble all into the slow cooker, start with mince, then dry lasagne sheets, then white sauce - I usually manage about 3 or 4 layers of mince - pasta - white sauce. Put cheese on top, cheddar and mozzarella. Leave on low all day or high for 4 hours and get home to hot lasagne!

I have to say this has worked better in my ceramic slow cooker rather than the kind of metallic one. It is also the same amount of effort as normal lasagne but the benefit is being able to make it in the morning or at lunch for when the kids come home.

sashh · 10/11/2020 06:06

Just to add another (unintentional use) I once found my cat wrapped round the slow cooker. No I don't recommend it and she is not allowed in the kitchen but a sc does make a nice warm place for a cat.

I turfed her out, she went to sulk on the Sky box and I didn't think to take a pic before I moved her.

userxx · 10/11/2020 09:03

@Fizbosshoes That sounds amazing. How much wine do you add? What happens to the skin?

BertieBotts · 10/11/2020 09:41

I never brown stuff for mine, I know it probably tastes better but it would defeat the whole point for me. The only thing I do sometimes is leave out onions because the taste of boiled onion really doesn't do as much for a dish as the taste of fried onion. I substitute celery instead.

If you're finding things too watery you are probably adding too much liquid/not thick enough liquid/no thickeners. I find cheap meat (esp things like mince/chicken breast) is no good as it's full of water, cheaper cuts of higher quality is better. Too much watery veg is also an issue. Cheaper tinned tomatoes have too much water. Sometimes I just deal with it and skim the water off the top at the end - generally when I make chilli, because I don't want to buy more expensive mince and only buy the branded tomatoes when on offer. Tomato paste/puree, various types of flour, even instant gravy granules can help thicken up a sauce.

If you are finding things bland, add more seasonings, and tend towards dried rather than fresh. If you use fresh herbs they get boiled to death and you won't taste them, whereas dried herbs do much better as they get slowly rehydrated and therefore develop their flavour much better.

BorderlineHappy · 10/11/2020 14:55

I cooked my pork chops in it today. They turned out lovely. Really moist and the spuds underneath soaked up all the stock.

I did fry teh chops and onions because i had time to do so.

BluTangClan · 10/11/2020 17:10

I've got some brisket. Any recommended recipes?
I was thinking of trying this Mexican shredded beef one: www.recipetineats.com/mexican-shredded-beef-and-tacos/
But might fancy something a bit more traditional and 'beefy'.

I've tried this beef curry in the slow cooker with beef skirt and it was delishous yummy (swapped the 45min hob part for high for 45 in slow cooker.)
www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/first-class-beef-curry/

CarnageAtTheGardenCentre · 10/11/2020 17:33

@AgnesNaismith

Hello! Sorry it has taken me a while! It isn’t very complex or exciting but this is what I do:

Cook the mince on the hob, with tomato purée, oregano (or mixed herbs), onions, garlic and mushrooms.

Make white sauce (or use jarred Wink like me)

Assemble all into the slow cooker, start with mince, then dry lasagne sheets, then white sauce - I usually manage about 3 or 4 layers of mince - pasta - white sauce. Put cheese on top, cheddar and mozzarella. Leave on low all day or high for 4 hours and get home to hot lasagne!

I have to say this has worked better in my ceramic slow cooker rather than the kind of metallic one. It is also the same amount of effort as normal lasagne but the benefit is being able to make it in the morning or at lunch for when the kids come home.

Thank you @AgnesNaismith 🙂
BorderlineHappy · 10/11/2020 20:47

Can i ask any Americans on here ,why use chicken soup and ranch dressing in everything.

AgnesNaismith · 10/11/2020 21:24

No worries....I’ve also realised my recipe includes mushrooms....which I never use (but dh does - arguments follow).