Slow cooker- what's the point?

[SaagAloopa]

Every recipie I've tried in my slow cooker has involved me having to cook the meat on the hob first. So please can you explain to me in simple language what is the benefit? How does it cook if it does it so slowly, how is it safe? Is it more or less energy efficient? What is the point.

I always brown mince first - whilst I love the idea of it, raw mince that's cooked in a slow cooker just has a squishy unsavoury texture.

Next on my to buy list is a slow cooker that also sauté's so it can actually all be done in one pot.

Clever

wow, no as a slow cooker doesn’t reach the required temp to kill certain bacteria you can never cook meat from frozen

Don't be ridiculous - it gets hot! Bubbling, burn-your-mouth scalding! Of course it gets to the required temp, in the same way that an oven does 😂

So it's safe for me to leave on if I'm out all day? I guess it's never boiled over and it's just like leaving the fridge plugged in?

I've never had anything come close to boiling over. I've left it many a time at 8am and turned it off at 6pm (on low...which gets to the same 'required temp', just takes longer).

Yes they're perfectly safe all day. I set mine going about 7am and it's on until 6pm usually. I might turn it lower when I get in after school run but it stays on.

My slow cooker is a sear and stew so I can lift out the bowl and use it on the hob to quickly brown the meat. But I've made cold start stews too and there isn't much difference.

The meat should be defrosted thoroughly before it goes in. This is most important for chicken.
I throw everything in in the morning and leave it on low all day. If I'm going to be pushed in the morning I have assembled it the night before, leave in fridge overnight and stick it on the base in the morning.
Curries work really well, tough cuts make most sense as they're cheap but delicious if cooked long and slow.
It's so nice to come home to!

I put mince (or vegetarian mince from the freezer), frozen veg (frozen copped onions, carrots) sometimes frozen spinach or chopped courgette, aubegine or mushrooms. Tin of tomato, stock cube, maybe a jar in the morning on high then turn to low when I get home. Add half a packet of pasta when home and enough water to cover (depends how watery it is from the veg, sometimes not needed) and the pasta cooks for the next 30 minutes. Serve stright from the slow cooker. Not the best food in the world, but takes only a couple of minutes, healthy enough, plenty of veg. It's OK.

Important note, you don't need as much liquid as you would for a non slow cooker recipe. And yes safe to leave on all day.

Ahhh thank you I did wonder about the low vs medium settings

I don’t see the point either, I can do a yummy mince stew very quickly on the hob in a pot or a wok and crucially, it tastes much better! Anytime I didn’t pre-brown the meat for the slow cooker, it would look an unappetising pink colour. The onion really needs pre-frying too imo. By the time you pre-fry, most of the work is done so might as well keep going.

I’ve given away two slow cookers, a simple one and a fancy multi-function one. Hopefully have learned my lesson 😂

You can get slow cookers which allow you to sear the meat in the slow cooker if you want to.

Most slow cookers operate at a lower temperature than you’d normally set your oven to, and one that’s safe to leave on while you’re out. But the food still gets to a high enough temperature quickly enough to be safe.

(Frozen meat may not - UK guidelines say not to use frozen meat, as it may be in the danger zone for bacteria growth for too long. As with many food safety guidelines lots of people will break this one without harm, but it’s more risky).

Put the meat in raw. doesn't matter at all. Cook until it's cooked through. Done

Most recipes will recommend you brown the meat first but I don't bother. It's not cooking the meat just browning the surface.
I bung evrything in, meat spices, veg, add boiling water and put on high for half an hour then turn to low for 4,5,6 hours or whatever.
I do this for whole joints of gammon, brisket or pulled pork.
I do similar for stews or a goulash with cubed pork and tons of paprika.

I wouldn't use a slow cooker for mince or chicken because they cook quickly anyway.

This is my experience too. It does cook tougher meat nicely but the real value, to me, is having the food ready to eat when you walk in the door. Unfortunately, I have discovered I can’t be arsed to be prepping and pre-frying dinner in the morning before I leave for the day!

I love mine because:
it’s really energy efficient compared to the oven.
Massive difference shows on smart meter.
Great for having something on the go if you have a large family and particularly teens that come and go at various times. Leaving something warm in the slow cooker stops them from eating all the packed lunch supplies at midnight.
It makes good use of cheaper cuts of meat in stew etc.
Great for batch cooking even if you won’t eat it that day. Cook/ freeze in portions for later.
Fab more making use of cheap things like lentils that take a while to cook.
I do a simple curry often , something like chicken thigh/ tin tomatoes / spice blend /cream. Throw it in in the morning, everyone fed after a days work. I don’t brown the meat for that.

I’ve got an instant pot which is both pressure cooker and slow cooker. You can sear the meat in pot so you don’t need to transfer. And the slow cooker’s lid seals it so it’s safe to leave it on overnight - it’s been designed to do that.

I make a gorgeous beef curry in mine, I don't brown the beef first - just bung it all in. Such a lovely meal to come home to after a day at work!

If you look on the taming twins website she has some great recipes you can dump in without needing to pre brown.

I love my slow cooker! A few minutes chopping and browning in the morning, and then I bung it all in and leave it. It's so nice coming home on a chilly winters night, or after swimming when the kids are all starving, to the delicious smell of a hearty casserole that's hot and ready to eat - you just need a few minutes to steam some veg/boil some frozen peas and you're good to go! Brilliant invention!

I love mine - throw everything in and apart from the odd stir leave it. I never brown/seal the meat - I did occasionally in the past and couldn't tell the difference when we ate it so don't bother now.

I used to have one briefly that I acquired, but my DH complained it wasn’t actually that energy efficient so when it broke we ditched it and didn’t replace. I WFH, and can pull off a stew in 3 hours if I want one so don’t really feel I need one.

You do not need to brown the meat first. My cousin using conventional oven cooking, never does.
The thing about a slow cooker is that it is ready when you come home from work, etc.
I have never cooked meat from frozen in it; Instead I take the meat out of the freezer the night before, and leave (covered) on the side to defrost (if in summer, I might leave in the fridge).
The only thing I know you cannot just throw in, are dried red kidney beans. If buying dried, then they must be pre-soaked and boiled for 10 minutes first. I remember someone getting very ill from this, so I always buy canned.

Nah just stick it all in and switch it on.

A chicken will literally fall off the bone when slow cooked.
Roast beef is excellent even if using a less excellent cut.
Pork is delicious.
Stew is ideal but needs gravy granules stirring in at the end else it's a bit liquid.

It's the temperature the food gets to that decides how cooked it is, which is affected by the temperature of the oven/slow cooker/air-fryer and how long the food is exposed to that temperature. I generally brown meat (and onions) before cooking in my slow cooker but most veg is added raw. You can see that any liquid is simmering for hours. I probably wouldn't use it for mince which cooks so quickly anyway.