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.

Does it even heat non frozen meat up hot enough ? Someone's said it doesn't boil! So not as hot as an oven

How can korma be similar to cassoulet?

It simmers rather than boils - gets plenty hot enough

Of course it does. It gets hot enough to simmer. If you're cooking say bolognese on the hob you would let it simmer you wouldn't have it boiling away on maximum heat, and it's the same with the slow cooker, the good gets piping hot.

Enough people have explained to you how it works. Millions of people use them, without killing their families off- so what do you think??

you don't need to boil meat!

Buy a food thermometer if you’re worried about the temp but it definitely gets hot. Like too hot to eat straight out of the cooker. It won’t boil over though and you can go out when it’s on.

It all came out like mushy bland slop. So I suppose it was the texture that was all the same. I've never had anything from a slow cooker that wasn't 100 x better cooked in the oven or on the hob.

The big advantage, with work or small kids or both, is that you don't have to watch it.

We do chili, Bolognese, curry, meatballs in sauce. And chocolate pudding sometimes! All taste good and different from each other - and better than I can do on a job while chasing a toddler.

I brown the mince or meatballs very quickly, in the slow cooker dish itself either at breakfast time or lunchtime. Takes minutes, and then I can leave it alone and work / do school pick up / play with the kids.

Try Bored of Lunch or Taming Twins (both on Instagram, Taming Twins also has lots of free recipes on her website. Both have really good simple recipes. Once you do a few you get a sense of the right amount of liquid etc.

Oh, and it all comes out incredibly hot, don't worry!

I do find it useful but it does make the house smell like cat food tbh so I'm wavering as to whether I bother. You can cook sausage bacon and onions down in two tins of tomatoes in 15 mins in a pan and leave it in the fridge to warm up next day if you want a quick winter warmer that will keep.

How can korma be bland with slow cooked spices? Why was it mushy?

Sorry but that's down to you.
You do have to cook with appropriate timings and amounts of liquid.
I have Judith Finlayson books and the meals are delicious, I use a timer switch to ensure the correct timings
When I worked FT I would prep recipe bags with everything chopped and in the bag, even the seasonings, then frozen.
Take out and put in the fridge the night before, put in slow cooker in the morning and add water.
Sooo nice come in in to a lovely cooked meal after a long day at work plus leftovers

Incorrect timing probably

If that was the case you wouldn’t be able to put any form of poultry in a slow cooker.

I got a really cheap slow cooker from Asda that has a metal container that can go on the hob. So I heat that up, brown off the meat in there then just pour in any other ingredients, put the container in the base unit bit and turn it on. Then I can completely forget about it till dinner time.

I generally only brown mince because otherwise the texture isn't great, I find with chunks of beef stewing steak it's just fine put in raw. I also buy all my veg pre-chopped so it really is just a matter of opening and pouring. No prep work at all.

I am a lazy and reluctant cook but I'm on a diet so need to have food in the fridge that I can just grab and eat or I end up having nothing or something with no veg at all. The slow cooker means I have a constant supply of casserole, chilli or soup available that meets my calorie/protein needs and only takes 5 minutes of active cooking.

Slow cooked spices do often have a more mellow flavour than food cooked in their traditional styles. The same is true of many foods. That’s not to say they taste bad, but they are not authentic to many cuisines and so if you’re used to freshly cooked food the food from a slow cooker won’t taste ‘right’

Slow cooker mango curry is very nice
Good for pulled pork too
Lazy lasagna
Beef peppercorn sauce
Beef rendang

I have an instant pot but they're the best for having meals ready and hot when you get home
Never found my meals all taste the same although I've seen people say that. Maybe if all you do are stews and casseroles?

I have no idea how hot it is as whenever I've used it hasn't simmered

That's fine that it works for you. It doesn't work for me and so I'm just sharing my experience. It's easy to find other people with similar experiences 🤷

@SaagAloopa you said:

have no idea how hot it is as whenever I've used it hasn't simmered

What slow cooker do you have? Are you sure it's working properly?

I was pointing out that you need to follow a proper recipe and timings not just randomly chuck it in .
I think that's the main issue when people say " it's mushy" plus too much liquid

There is the odd meal I like from the slow cooker but I find a lot of times things taste bland. I'm not into curries in it or anything.

I use it all the time, never brown the meat. It's very handy to prepare in the morning and home into a home cooked meal.

Slow cookers make everything taste like slow cooker too.

@SaagAloopa it doesn't need to be as hot as an oven because you cook food in it for much longer

If you are cooking in the oven, you set it to say 180degrees and then leave it in there for 30 minutes. That is long enough for the inside of your chicken breast for example to get to 74degrees.

A slow cooker might only be 90degrees but you leave the chicken in for 5 hours which is plenty of time for the heat to get to the middle and cook it thoroughly.

I never brown the meat on the hob first. I use mine to save time so that means chucking everything in in the morning and leaving it to so it's thing