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.

We use it a lot. Best meals in my opinion:

Chilli (with a 50p chilli spice mix)
Spagbol
Chicken casserole
Chicken korma
Beef stew
Meals that substitute quorn for mince.

To me, the main point is it’s ready at dinner time but you can prep it at another time eg when toddler is napping. Same as preparing a lasagne then putting it in the oven later.

We threw ours out. I get the idea that you're able to stick a meal on before you go to work in the morning and it's ready by when you come home but I found everything we cooked was just mushy and unsatisfying.

Slow cookers don't boil. That's not the point of them

This. Takes me 5 minutes to prep before I leave the house and then when I return dinner is waiting for me. I love using mine and love walking through the door to the smell of stew.

For me it just saves a night of prepping/ cooking/ cleaning. I actually prep the evening before (brown mince off for a chilli for example) alongside doing whatever dinner I’m doing that night, then I let it cool, pop the lid on, and pop the slow cooker dish into the fridge. It just means the next day I can stick it on to cook, go to work, then have a hot meal when I get home. It’s like having a night off 😃

If the meat is still pink you haven't cooked it long/high enough

And if you cook on the hob you have to stay with it, the point of the slow cooker is that you can go out and leave it for hours

I put it on for busy working days.
I prep mine in the pot the night before then put it in the fridge and add hot stock/hot sauce in the morning then leave it on low.

Get yourself a meat thermometer and you will be fine (also very handy for all meat cooking tbh!)

The size of meat if using from frozen is the crucial bit - things like mince compared to a frozen gammon is that the size of meat pieces and surface area exposed is high compared to a large joint from frozen which only has the outside.

I do everything from casseroles to pulled pork or pulled chicken, even a whole chicken to chilli's, stews, curries or rice dishes. It's great when short of time after work as all the hard work is done for you.

you don't have to brown the meat - but if you do want to, buy the sear and stew slow cooker - the inner is made of metal and can go on the hob for searing or to reduce at the end

@LadyKenya
Can I come for tea ? 🙏
sounds delicious

I've got a multi cooker that I can sauté onions, meat etc in then add liquid and slow cook. I've got a spag Bol in right now. It doesn't need stirring like it would if it was done on the hob and I can leave it all day and it's ready to serve. I haven't made things I like without sautéing first, but I think that's because I'm not used to doing it that way.

Did you quote the wrong person here?

I always used to cook frozen chicken thighs in my slow cooker, perfectly cooked and safe.

Same - everything I've had from a slow cooker tastes very bland.
Maybe I just haven't found the right recipe.

I have duck legs confit-ing in mine at the moment. Uses much less fat than the standard method and then I stick them in the oven for 30 minutes to crisp up before eating.

Yanbu

However if you are out of the house all day I do see the value in it

Yes you certainly can make better use of it when you're working full-time.
That was the reason why the slow cooker was invented, many years ago, as a quick way to have supper ready for the working woman.

If I remember correctly, the original marketing advertisement for this new invention was: "Cooks All Day, While The Cook's Away".
It is a really good tool, still today, for the same reason!

@LadyAmroth I used frozen chicken in mine and did it for years. There are simple rules to follow with it, but the key is you have to get it hot on the high setting before turning it down to the low setting especially because the other ingredients were frozen peppers and onions. I no longer have the recipes from back then because that was 15 years ago when I had primary aged children. Everyone is still alive. The chicken was always cooked through because I shredded it within the pot.

I remember a sort of Jambalaya, just chicken but the frozen chicken has to be submerged in the sauce. I now have an Instant Pot and cook chicken breast from frozen in that all the time for hot chicken sandwiches for lunch.

Tips for the slow cooker re browning mince etc. I used to brown mince and onions in massive batches when I had time, portion it and freeze ready for slow cooker days or a jump start on dinners when time was tight. I currently have Poppy O'Toole's slow cooker recipe book. She is a Michelin trained chef and I am enjoying working my way through her book.

@Peachy2005 I had a very poorly baby who was under a paediatrician. He was literally attached to me for the first year of his life and I had a 3 year old too, A slow cooker was a life saver for me and safer too than standing at a hob needing to stir something. I think you haven't found a good recipe to be fair but what works for some doesn't work for others.

Tagine, stroganoff, bourgignon, goulash, game casserole with chestnuts and orange zest, goulash etc - definitely doesn’t come out bland. It tastes of what you put in it like any cooking.

Try Poppy O’Tooles slow cooker cook book. I use my slow cooker at least twice a month anyway but this book has given me loads of new recipes I’d never have tried and all have been delicious.

And I never brown the meat either.

Only meat i brown before is for spag bol or chillie con carne everything else.goes in raw.

You don't have to brown meat first, the only thing I brown first is mince to drain fat off. I cook whole chickens in it, just stick it in and switch it on, the meat falls off the carcass when done. I never brown chicken or beef first. I Use it for casseroles and stews, chillli, bolognese, curries. It works for us as I work 9-3 then pick up kids and I'm also the one making tea and running in and out for activities with the kids. So it means we have a cooked from scratch meal when we get in. I also fill it up whenever I use it so I can freeze leftovers.

That's not accurate. The slow cooker doesn't need to cook at the same heat as the oven, the important part is that the food has reached a food safe temperature (depending on times, over 65c hotter it gets the less time it needs to be held at that temp. So 72c for 2 minutes or eg 65 for I think 5 minutes) safe hot holding temp is over 63c
My slow cooker easily simmers on slow.

The reason not to put frozen in is thst the meat will be at the interim warm (prime bacteria growing temp) for longer, however provided you bring it up to the sage temperature afterwards any bacteria that grew would be killed anyway, so it might not be good practice but I bet plenty do it with no ill effects!

As to the use if the slow cooker- it's good if you aren't there to mind eg a stew or chilli, and much cheaper and safer than leaving the oven or hob on. It's good for gammons, I don't love it for normal meats eg joints as although it makes it really tender its all a bit soggy..... I cooked a brisket the other day, was really good and so tender I had to scoop it out with a spoon- but I prefer the outside fatty bits all nice and crispy from the oven 🤣. I suspect slow cooker then 10 minutes in an air fryer to crisp it might be nice but I havnt invested in one of them yet to test..

Over all I use one occasionally but happily live without it, it is economical to run though.

I completely agree OP. I also found that every meal was similar and not particularly nice. Also that it didn't save any time, it just shifted food prep from the evening to the morning.

Got rid of mine.

It’s not safe you were just fortunate the chicken wasn’t contaminated. The chicken would have stayed at a low temperature for a long enough time for the bacteria to breed.

I'm vegetarian so I don't know which of them is right BUT it obviously hasn't killed that poster off yet.

if you're worried about it, just use raw or defrosted meat.?!!!