Are slow cookers shit?

[rainbowstardrops]

I mean, I know they’re not shit but I’m currently cooking a Thai beef dish and it looks absolutely nothing like the picture in the recipe book. It looks dull and watery and just so unappetising.
Am I being unreasonable to think that the bloody recipes in these books look nothing like the final result photos?
Oh and I put half of the chilli flakes in because one of mine doesn’t like spicy (I do) but this is even setting my mouth on fire!
Pah!

No they’re not right or wrong of course, but people are stating that all slow cooked meals are “slop” and flavourless and this is clearly not true. It’s not like how some people love coriander and some can’t bear it because it tastes like soap. Of course slow cooker meals can be delicious and rich in flavour. To call it slop tells me there are people who don’t know how to cook with them. The meals I cook are anything but. My bolognese in a slow cooker vs non slow cooker is different but both taste very good. I go with the slow cooker as it’s just as delicious but I can start it cooking and get on with my day and it just needs plated up with spaghetti and fresh basil at dinner time. It’s convenient but not shite convenience like a crappy microwave meal.

I guess my point is that for me, I’ve never had a meal cooked in a slow cooker that tastes better than that same meal cooked in a different way. So I don’t use a slow cooker. In my experience (and yes, it may well be that all the people who have ever cooked for me in a slow cooker are just simply not very good at it!), food cooked in a slow cooker just doesn’t have the right texture or depth of flavour.

Are you stomping your feet as you write?

It does take time to learn how to cook with a slow cooker and I think people try it and think it’s a watery mess and give up. It needs barely any liquid whatsoever, none of this ⅓ what the recipe asks. I find it’s always even less. And you need more spices or garlic etc than you would normally use. You also learn when to add certain veg towards the end vs what can go in right from the start.

Oh definitely, you are spot on. But very few people actually do. And some things can’t really be adjusted for without changing the recipe beyond what would normally be. A ragu, made properly, means reducing the tomato by a half or even two thirds to concentrate the flavour, and that’s not really possible in a slow cooker. Sure, less tomato to start with and more purée and a bit of anchovy will approximate the flavour, but not consistency. That doesn’t mean it will taste bad, but it won’t taste the same as a ragu made conventionally. Some things will be far easier to modify, and absolutely seasoning is key.

I’m sure every slow cooker user on mumsnet is completely on top of how to adjust seasoning, quantities and ingredients to make the most of a slow cooker, but in my experience these things are used for convenience and so short cuts get taken. I get it - if you are time poor then being able to prepare a hot meal easily so that it’s ready when you get home from school / work is invaluable. But the moment you start searing meat, browning onions, adding ingredients part way through, taking the lid off for the last hour or whatever, then convenience has gone out of the window and you are left with something that would have been better cooked another way.

It does remind me though, that regular ovens also have timers and delayed starts. My mother used to occasionally use the delayed start on the oven for, I think, just reheating a casserole so that it was ready when we got back from wherever we’d been. I suspect nowadays there would be hand wringing about leaving a dish containg meat out of the fridge for 6 or 7 hours though. I have never used the timer on an oven and I’m 54!!

I have a vonchef one that has different settings a stovetop setting etc thats brilliant . But I dont think they make them anymore!

I definitely don’t understand the browning and faffing about with it. I fling it all in and leave it! That’s the point of a slow cooker to me- the convenience.

The only thing I will do is take the lid off once before serving to take a portion out for my 4 year old because I then add chipotle or chillis etc for us that he can’t have and let it cook a while longer for us. I prefer not to do that but that’s just a compromise while I have a young child who won’t eat the meal if it’s too spicy. I’m already home by that point anyway so I can separate a portion for him.

Everything I cook is delicious and I’ve never been told otherwise by guests who eat everything and ask for the recipes. I think some people must be getting it spectacularly wrong to create such horrible meals.

I definitely don’t understand the browning and faffing about with it. I fling it all in and leave it! That’s the point of a slow cooker to me- the convenience.

The type of meals I would cook in a slow cooker definitely benefit from browning before being placed in the slow cooker. A good curry needs onions fried slowly for ages to get the right flavour and texture. Although, to be fair, I don't make most curries in the slow cooker as I tend to make vegetable or chicken curries, neither of which need a long slow cook.

I really only use the slow cooker for a minced beef ragu, chilli or mince for mince and dumplings. It's cheaper than using the oven.

Are you sure you are nor cooking old shoes?