...to think there’s nothing that a slow cooker does better?

[Bebepoor]

Cheaper running costs maybe. More convenient with timer etc, granted. But not better tasting than the traditional way of simmering for hours on hob or sitting in low oven.

There's no need for anyone to choose between the sc and some other cooking method

I think the slow cooker evangelists with Facebook groups and posts of things that really should not be slow-cooked may be giving us a bad name, when we are just "People who use a slow cooker, sometimes, when we feel like it".

Christmas gammon slow cooked in apple juice then 30 mins in oven with maple syrup mmmmm

People do go a bit slow cooker mad. I’ve even seen hot chocolate made in the slow cooker.
I cooked something in mine the other day and it spurred me on to do more, I had a look on one of the slow cooking fb pages and was disappointed to see that there were not bun fights occurring....what has happened. Is it all peace, love and slow cooked fudge these days...?

Certain things work really well in a slow cooker - casseroles, cheap joints of meat etc. And tbh they are things I'd do on a Sunday so I'm not making a full on dinner on a Sunday night. Stuff like spag bol and curry which requires careful seasoning/reducing etc is shit in a slow cooker. My mind is boggled at slow cooked lasagna.

I've never understood the logic of it being ready for you when in from work and saving time...great but now I have to make tomorrow night's tea?!

It makes my grandad's permastew. We think it's been in there since I was 15. I'm 50.

Pizza works really well in the sc. It looks evenly on the bottom and you get a lovely, crispy but not burnt base and a nicely done topping.

I can never understand the saving time either, you still have to prepare the food, chop the veg etc.

It's safer than leaving stuff on the hob, in oven etc all day - I feel like it is anyway!

Jassmells - I don't use mine every day, and usually when I do it lasts a couple of nights as makes so much for our small family. So it's useful for saving time on dishes which would take longer, or for days when you're short on time e.g. DC have after school clubs or there are longer working hours etc.

My children hate casseroles made in a slow cooker, however, I think they can be fabulous, but it’s best to brown meat in it first ( my crock pot can go on the gas top first) .
The main trick with slow cookers is, but barely any liquid in, because it condenses the liquid in the food, and that’s why you end up with watery messes.
For example if you add tinned tomatoes, don’t add any of the liquid with it ( plum tomatoes) and if it’s still too liquid when you get home, take the lid off and turn it up to high, checking your seasoning .

You can make fabulous vegetable curries etc, my tip would be to avoid peppers ( American recipe books refer to them as bell peppers,) as they end up nasty, and sometimes mushrooms do too.

A quick google for how to make successful slow cooker recipes gave these three basic tips...brown meat if possible, no added liquid, and no bell peppers.
I’m thinking of trying a pressure cooker next, I can hear the howls of protest now from the family 😀

Wateriness simply needs to be reduced or thickened or have stock powder added (or combination).

I wouldn't want a slow cooker that wasn't also a pressure cooker (e.g. Instant Pot) but I do a lot of casseroles on slow cooker - boeuf bourguignon, lamb tagine, chicken with lemon and olives, pheasant with chestnuts and orange for eg.

It's much more convenient being able to leave it on for a long time without constantly having to check it.

I don't find any obvious difference between casseroles I've done in the slow cooker and in the oven tbh.

But it can't cook for you if you don't know how to.

I've also done bolognese in a slow cooker and it was great - no different to doing it in the hob.

Boils barley and linseed for the horses.

@MerryShitmas. I’d like some of your recipes please. Is it rude to ask for all of them!

I notice a lot of people who like slow cooker results are saying they use Bisto/packet mixes etc - I wonder if people who like powder flavourings are content with slow cooker output and people who would never touch stock cubes or packet sauces are the ones who don't like slow cookers?

Nope. I never use packet anything. The curries I make in the slow cooker - all the spices are fresh milled by me. Same with tagine etc.

A slow cooker meal shouldn't be any different from one cooked any other way. It's just less hassle than fiddling around with heat diffusers and constant checks for burning or sticking.

Some people don't seem to know how to use them - what to do with watery sauce, for eg or that if your veg are hard after 6 hours the heat setting is too low.

There seem to be lots of people suggesting that those of us who find slow cooker meals tasteless sludge are doing something wrong.

I am a very good cook - I have few talents but I can cook. I find the texture and flavours of dishes made in a slow cooker to be ‘off’. I really wanted to like it, I gave it a good trial, I followed all the tips I could find, I adjusted recipes for the slow cooker and yet.....sludgy flavours and strange textures every time.

As I said, it is very handy for the Christmas pudding. Mine is back languishing on the shelf until it’s christmas pud time again.

So 2 hours to do a pizza in the SC that looks undercooked or 20 minutes max in the oven depending on toppings, thickness etc.

I found it complete crap. Not watery - I understood to put very little in - but just bland at best, slippery and unpleasant at worst.

I would rather cook a stir fry if I wanted to eat straight after getting home. Actually I would rather eat toast than a slow cooker meal.

I like some stuff in it stews, casseroles, chilli, pulled pork etc ie things that lend themselves to slow cooking but I don’t understand some people’s obsessions with them and cooking stuff like cooked breakfasts/cakes and stuff in them

GoldilocksAndTheThreePears

I have two slow cookers, one full size one half size. The liners work but are huge in a small sc.

Easy recipe for you

1 tin kidney beans
1 packet passatta
pork - chops, ribs or steaks work well.
sliced onion
sliced pepper
salt and pepper - paprika is optional
pepperoni - not sliced get a chunk from a deli counter or buy the U shaped sausage and cut in to 1 inch chunks - this is the only cutting you need if you are using pre prepped veg.

Boil the kettle.

switch on the slow cooker

Put all the above ingredients in the sc (drain the beans first) and if you do not have an electric tin opener then get one, they are fantastic, mine runs on batteries.

Add a dash of hot water to 'start' the heat - leave until you are hungry.

If you use ribs the bones will separate from the meat - I take them out with chopsticks.

Eat with crusty bread to dip in the sauce.

You might find the onion is a bit under cooked - my small sc doesn't deal with onion as well as the big one.

Thanks sashh I'll give that a go! I do need to find a tin opener and bottle opener and stuff, and one to open ring-pulls. Also plan to try baked potatoes in it maybe, my oven doesn't work so there are a few things I've missed.

Slightly off topic but this is the can opener I have. YOu put it on the tin and it travells round it as it opens it.

www.argos.co.uk/product/8426253?cmpid=GS001&_$ja=tsid:59157|cid:199888953|agid:17471341473|tid:pla-92281179513|crid:74692320873|nw:g|rnd:23623888171459313|dvc:c|adp:1o2|mt:|loc:9041126&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIz53MzfG_2AIV8hbTCh1YLwu9EAkYAiABEgIxfvD_BwE

I love mine. I'm a SAHM but still use it often as it's low interaction required. I can quickly set it up when I get a minutes peace and then just leave it (or add things like beans later as they don't require as long). I also take the lid off 30 minutes before end time to reduce any sauces. I add very little liquid.

It's much easier for me than trying to cook at the same time as the witching hour strikes, when baby wants to cluster feed and toddler wants to touch everything.

Mine gets really hot so I can add oil, prep things to be fried off, then fry them in the slow cooker, before adding the rest of the ingredients and turning it to low.

The best thing is it doesn't matter if I need to walk away for half an hour mid way through prep, as I can be pretty flexible with the temperature and timings to make up for it.

And no, I don't like bland and watery food either, nor do I always use packet mixes. But I think pp explained it well when she said "you wouldn't criticise a bread maker for its ability to fry an egg". I do put whole chickens in mine, but when I want the meat for other things, not when I want crispy roast chicken. Cause that isn't happening in a slow cooker.

merryshitmas I would love details of all your veggie recipes! We have had ours for about a year and at first I loved it but now its just sitting there - all I seem to be able to produce is tomatoey stews that all taste the same.

The only downside is browning the meat at 6am for me. I do stews and curries, for the curry I pop the rice in at the end, it soaks up the water make yummy rice.