Your favourite tried and tested slow cooker recipe

[Crazyoldmaurice]

Sent our slow cooker to charity last year as I was fed up with stuff coming out bland and watery and it took up so much room in our little kitchen. Lo and behold OH came home last week from aldi with yet another slow cooker. No receipt either or I would have sent him back with it.

Tried to do a beef stew last week and left it on low for 9 hours and the beef was as tough as old boots. Did a curry at the weekend which was really nice but last night did chicken teriyaki which was a watery mess. Tried thickening up a bit with cornflour but it was still a fail.

Can anyone give me their number 1, guaranteed to be tasty slow cooker meal ideas please before I send this slow cooker away again?

Re Teriyaki: this recipe from the BBC website looks like it takes under 20 mins beginning to end on the hob - why would one use a slow cooker for teriyaki?

Still not really seeing the point in slow cookers in general tbh - what do they do that you can't do with a normal cooker? Is it an energy efficiency thing?

This thread is making me hungry though.

I have mine away as I just found it ok. Mince came out fine and tasty but everything else was meh.

My true love is my pressure cooker. Absolutely fantastic for so many dishes.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/braised_steak_with_gravy_24508

I do this in a slow cooker but I use probably 300 ml of water (boiling so stock is already hot) and I add mustard (not powder about a flat dessert spoon) at the same time as stock. I also add carrots in as well. Sometimes I reduce the stock with cornflour at the end if it's a bit thin. I do have an instant pot noe which means I can do all the browning and bringing to the boil to reduce in the same pot as well as using it as a slow cooker.

Spaghetti bolognese is much nicer in the slow cooker, make as you would (fry onions add garlic, mince, herbs, beans/lentils and all that hidden veg, chopped tomatoes, Tom purée etc then transfer to slow cooker once everything is already hot and cook)

Beef will come out tough because slow cookers don’t actually get hot enough to melt the connective tissue, so you get dry, stringy chunks. Mince is great in slow cookers though.

My favourite recipe is gammon, sliced onion, seasoning and a tin of pineapple chunks. I still roast the gammon in a hot oven for 30-45 mins afterwards, but the sugars from the pineapple caramelise and it’s delicious.

what do they do that you can't do with a normal cooker?

They are good for braising and cooking for long times on low temperatures. Of course you can do both of those with a regular cooker, but you wouldn't want to leave your cooker on all day (my kitchen would be too hot), or leave the house with it on. I can do either with the slow cooker.

Ooh i just thought of another one - lamb shank is incredible in the slow cooker. Not cheap but worth it for a treat

@footchewer many casseroles take 2 hours to cook in a standard oven. So if I want casserole for dinner at 7 I have to put it on at 5... but I dont get home from work until 5.30

With the slow cooker I can do all the prep the night before or in the morning, bung it in and leave all day and it is ready when i get home from work

@gwenneh thanks. Anything that gets us all eating proper home-cooked food during the week is good news!

add pearl barley to stews to thicken them

@BeanBag7 thanks also, that makes sense.

Slow cookers are great for any casserole, and also for any lamb shoullder, shank or leg, whether in a casserole or not.

Add MUCH less water/liquid than you would in a saucepan on the hob, because it won't evaporate. Only put in what you expect to see at the end.

Brown the meat first - annoying, but it gives a much better flavour.

I use it to make stews, or bologonase. Chilli is nice too, and also pulled pork.

Here's my favourite recipe though - a Christmas one.
Plug SC into living room on a side table within easy reach. Add a bottle of red wine and some mulled wine spices, plus one ladle. Add a wine glass or two and dispense liberally at the correct temperature without having to get up off your arse and plod to the kitchen.

I dont understand at all.

I cantt recall ever adding stock cubes or similar to my slow cook stuff.

Reasons I use it are:

make chicken stock (add loads of water! Bay leaves, carrots, onions) leave to cook on high for a few hours, woth some salt and pepper to taste

Makes an excellent base for soups and stews.

I am going to try cooking a chicken in it though with some potatoes, good idea.

I make stews, and chilli con carne.

The OP is just alien to me for some reason. When I read about slow cookers not getting hot enough (pp) how much hotter can it get, mine boils the liquid and I have to turn it to low to simmer.

Am wanting to try out the lamb shank, and the beef stew. Wil report back if thread's stil running by the time I get around to it!

Also, is it a lot more efficient than an oven? Maybe because its smaller, a mini oven, but it takes longer, so?

@Smotheroffive that can depend on how old your slow cooker is, too. Older slow cookers don't get as hot as new ones due to a shift in food safety standards. My new one is like yours, it will boil if set on high so I tend to only use the low settings.

If you have a newer one they definitely can be hot enough to break down the connective tissue; if you have an older one, it may not hit or stay at 70c long enough to break the tissue down and you get tough-as-boots meat.

BBC Good Food Slow Cooker Favourites has loads of good recipes, only about £5 on Amazon.

Also good is 200 Easy Slow Cooker Recipes by Katie Bishop. Also available on Amazon.

Both have really easy and tasty recipes.

Also Schwartz do Slow Cooker packet mixes with a recipe on the back for when you can't be bothered.

Slow cookers are minging. I have an Instapot Pressure Cooker that serves up curries, stews, soups, porridge, everything really, usually in less than an hour. Because the pressure cooker cooks so fast, all the flavours are preserved, and it seems much nicer, fresher and tastier than slow cooked stuff.

I also meant to say that it slow cooks gammon a treat, I use it for preparing the highly seasoned christmas gammon.

I start by boiling tye water first though, and then chuck the first lot and then boil again for the next lot with all the seasonings in and slow cook for hours.

I do this lamb tagine recipe but whacking it in the slow cooker for the day rather than the oven & it's delicious:
www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/moroccanlambtagine_6696

Also this lamb pasta recipe. It makes a giant vat & I reheat leftovers for lunch. Really delicious with a bit of feta on top:
www.nigella.com/recipes/slow-cooker-lamb-and-pasta

Slow cookers are minging

Goodness, just a tad extreme

Aren't the insta pots stupidly expensive?!?!

Also, why is anyone making porridge overnight in slow cookers? That does seem energy inefficient?

I use mine at least once a week, and everything comes out great! Stew, bolognese, curry, fajita chicken, barbecue chicken, etc. Also have a small one for desserts, make rice pud, bread and butter pud etc. Agree you don't need much liquid if any. I don't do anything that requires pre-browning etc, seems to negate the point of the SC. If I'm going to cook something on the stovetop then I'd just continue it there or put it in the oven. Mine is quite old now but beef always comes out tender.

Beef/lamb stew, I coat the meat in seasoned flour and brown it slightly before putting it in. add the veg, stock and not too much water and cook on low. I find that it is done in about 6 hours or maybe less. Am home most of the day so able to stir it to thicken the gravy. If I don't want thickened gravy I just put the meat in without flour but use an extra stock cube.

A square of dark chocolate helps with beef, or a spoonful of drinking chocolate.

Lamb shanks or a small leg cooks well, add herbs, fresh tomatoes, cut into bits, potatoes, maybe some puree, garlic, whatever you like in it and cook on low. Or just stud with rosemary and garlic and cook on a layer of carrots, garlic and onions with a small amount of water.

My slow cooker is very old, early 80's and has only 2 switches, low and high. I have cooked many good things in it. Google slow cooker recipes for what you want to cook, there are many options. If you just put things in with no flavourings or thickeners you will just get cooked and watery results.

Porridge, scones, bread - love my slow cooker!

@Smotheroffive, you can set it on a timer, so it doesn't actaully take any longer. You can also cook meat from frozen, including chicken, in less than 30 minutes.

Instapots are expensive, but the quality of the food is so much better, I think its worth it.

30 second beef - from the organised mum method book - 1kg beef brisket, put in slow
Cooker with 100ml Worcestershire sauce and season, cook on low for 8-10 hours and it was FAB!
We had it for sunday dinner with roasties, Yorkshire puddings, veg and loads of horseradish. My 3 fussy children loved it!