To ask about your views on slow cookers and recipes

[oldishladyinashoebox]

Okay I'm sure this has been done a lot but I just wanted to ask

.what do you think of slow cookers ?
. Do have any favourite recipes to share?

I like my slow cooker but I don't love it. To me, meals cooked in the oven do taste nicer but it's a nice( and smug ) feeling to throw something in the SC at the start of the day and come home to a nice hot meal without having to get an awful takeaway.
Recipes that work for us so far are.

1. Vietnamese chicken curry
2. Butternut squash risotto

3.a whole chicken ( not as nice as oven roasted but still nice)

1. Mumsnet cowgirl stew
2. Homemade baked beans

A Korean style beef stew 5 ratatouille

1. Baked potatoes
2. Soup stock

The biggest total flop was mac and cheese . That was awful, resembled 🐱 sick 🤢.

It's also nice to not turn the oven on when it's really hot outside

Thanks everyone

I don't love mine and have to say chicken cooked in it isn't very pleasant🤢
However I often use it to cook a gammon joint with either coke or cider
Then serve pulled with stir fried cabbage

Do you have a recipe for the chicken curry? Would love to know that one!
We mostly do stews using up whatever's in the fridge in the slow cooker. I like using the slow cooker but the food always has a certain taste.
A good one is chicken and chorizo ragu

Am thinking of trying a chowder soon as the weather is so unpredictable. I have a SC cookbook but it's a bit rubbish to be honest

I love spaghetti bolognese in mine.
Also do a shredded chicken fajita thing that is nice.
Hunters chicken.
Haven’t tried a curry yet but I will.
Stews ect.
Sausage casserole.

Not gone on mine. Never had anything wow out of it. I would consider myself an ok cook. I find the sauce is always the wrong consistency and needs to be reduced.

I used to use my slow cooker a lot, but then I got an Instant Pot and there's no going back. I've always thought that slow cooker meats were dry and very meh. Pressure cooking is simply amazing. The flavours are so superior than when done in a slow cooker there's just no contest.

Indian style curries (Chinese don't seem to work), beef stews, pork'n'beans, pulled pork shoulder are the big winners for me.

I found everything I put in the slow cooker came out looking and tasting so similar that was offputting - also the texture / consistency wasn’t appealing after a while.

I got an Actifry in a product test on here and that on the other hand has been a game changer - we’ve got salt and pepper chicken cooking in it right now for tonight and I love it so much (so much in fact that I’m tempted to start an equivalent thread to this for actifry users to extend my repertoire!)

I too need more slow cooker recipes. Sausage casserole and ham are my go to recipes. But I am so used to using my Le Cruset and popping in the oven on timer, I struggle. Much prefer using one pot and keeping all the flavours in my casserole, than having to brown and transfer to slow cooker.

I love mine as it works well with getting home from work and wanting to eat together before DS bed time. I've got a pork shoulder joint in there at the moment, which will make bbq pulled pork wraps/fajitas. We use it a lot in the winter and a little less in the summer.

Please do an actifry thread!! Love mine but literally cook chips in it and thats it 😂😂

Cuts of meat which need slow cooking, in a rich sauce are what work for me. And never let vegetable poke their heads above the surface of the sauce.

Used to do a lovely dark chocolate upside-down cake with pears.

Spent 3 years without a kitchen, doing all cooking with a slow cooker, an electric frying pan, and a single electric ring. The electric frying pan had a lid and was ace for roast chicken.

Meatballs are great in it!

I used to swear by my slow cooker and then I got an instant pot! Game changer.

I've only got the £20 Argos one and spent about £9 on a trivet and stacking thing.

Its amazing, did a joint of beef in 11 mins yesterday. It keeps all the the flavour in. Love it.

Best then we do in ours is a turkey leg. Just put it in, squirt over whichever condiments you fancy (mustard and honey is good as is pomegranate mollasses) and cook for about 5 hours on medium. Best turkey I've ever eaten.

Is an instant pot just a pressure cooker or does it do something else?

I found everything I put in the slow cooker came out looking and tasting so similar that was offputting

I find this too. Everything has a slightly... wrong.. taste? Only thing I ever bother doing is campfire stew.

An instant pot is not just a pressure cooker.
Can also be used as a slow cooker.
You can set a delay timer to start at a time to suit your plans.
Also you can sauté in it. So it is truly one pot cooking.
Once it finishes cooking under pressure it switches to keep warm mode.
Also good for reheating dishes.
You can cook stuff from frozen.
Best thing I’ve bought.

Lamb rogan josh
Chilli
Sweetpotato and lentil curry

Before I got mine, I spent quite a while researching recipes and cooking methods for the slow cooker, as you do need to adjust. I now use mine loads and about 90% of what I cook in it is as good as or better than if it were cooked any other way.

Off the top of my head:

curries (all of them, Indian, Chinese, Thai)
soups
beef goulash
casseroles and things like chicken chasseur
pulled pork / pulled beef
cowboy beans
brisket
sauerbraten (german sour beef)
stuffed peppers (in sauce)
ratatouille
lasagna
sarma (stuffed cabbage)
chinese : sweet and sour etc
bolognese
chili (both with mince and a fabulous veggie one)
meatballs in gravy (it's a German thing)
swedish meatballs (yes, like at IKEA)
meatballs in tomato sauce
meatloaf (this is fabulous)
Swabian Lentils
whole chicken (not as a substitute for roast - I strip it down completely and use the meat in other recipes, and make stock with the bones)
chicken fajita filling
caramelised onions
gammon

rice pudding

An actifry is a better investment!

I made BBQ ribs in mine the other day, they were amazing.
3lb pork ribs
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1tbsp chilli powder (I used paprika)
1tsp salt
1tsp black pepper
2 cups tomato ketchup
1/2 cup cider vinegar
3tbsp mustard (not powder)

Mix everything together, cook on Low 9 hours.

great for slowly caramalising onions even if they are used as an ingredient for cooking something on the hob

oil the inside of the slowcooker first. Slice the onions, dot with knobs of butter. Stir very occasionally.

Anything mince based works well, just don’t add any additional liquid

Gammon and whole chicken good, but chicken falls apart and is hard to serve

Pulled pork was rank, really didn’t like it

Baked potatoes didn’t work

We do a Thai salmon dish which was delicious, but other fish dishes didn’t work well.

I did debate buying one, but was afraid that it would end up shoved in the back of the press keeping the George Foreman company.

I use mine 2 or 3 times a week. I don’t love it, but do love the low effort meals.
Curry
Bolognaise (veggie or meat)
Pulled pork
Casserole or stew
Cauliflower cheese
Rice pudding