Are slow cookers great or crap?

[Whenisitmysleepytime]

Dh is about to start a new job which will mean him being away from home 4 days a week.

The dc are 3&1 so still require a lot of watching which makes cooking a bit tricky.

Is a slow cooker a godsend for bunging stuff in and having a decent tea or do you just end up with slop?

Any thoughts welcome! :)

They are great, I used to have one with my previous partner.

It meant I could buy a relatively cheap lump of meat, chop up some veg and leave it to cook over a few hours, i.e. put it on in the morning and have dinner ready. Cheap as it didn't use gas just runs off the electric, plus you get all the juices and veg goodness.

If you like lumps of meat that are tender like I do it's great. I didn't cook much else in it, but you can do curry etc. :)

They are great as long as you plan ahead enough to use it IYSWIM. Have to think a day ahead really.

Get some slow cooker recipes from books or recipe threads. If you just chuck stuff in it'll get same-y

you can adapt normal recipes as well. for example, i do bolognese and put the stock cube in but only a tablespoon of water. curry works well in it - again, normal recipe but no water - ie tin of toms, curry paste and things. stews are good. chilli recipe but with sliced beef.

you need one with low/high/auto settings. we have a 3ltr one for 5 people. bought 25 years ago and was very cheap

They are great!

def great! we have a big one it has low/medium/high and auto settings and i think its an anthony worrall tompson one by morphy richards? anyway its bloody great and we use it loads!

We have that one and it's fab!

really useful but the stews don't thicken when cooked so slowly.

They do thicken but you have to put very little liquid in - barely anything at all as it makes its own. Then for the last hour leave the lid off.

DH has one (bought before we got together) and likes to use it for stews etc. i don't like it, as i find that the stews/casseroles end up being a bit too 'wet'. I guess because the lid keeps the moisture in, whereas if you cook in a pan, or in a dish in a regular oven, you can remove the lid towards the end to evaporate a bit of the liquid.

Maybe some brands are better than others though?

We love ours.
DP makes a bulk batch of curry for when he's on lates and I do a mean Spicy Pulled Pork!

If your stews are too wet you are adding too much liquid/stock. I never add anything and my stews are lovely and thick. You can thicken with cornflour too at the end but you are best just not adding liquid at all. Even when I add a tin of tomatoes I drain it.

yes dont add much liquid, tho i put wine in actually and it still thickens, i do often brown the meat before i put it in the slow cooker and as i do that i sprinkle on a bit of flour and that helps it thicken.

and yes valium it is great isnt it! i love it muchly and use it all the time. i prefer recipies with no pre-cooking etc, but even if i have to brown off some meat it really doesnt take long at all and i can put it in and then leave it till dinner and then do potato, pasta, cous cous etc to go with it. or dumplings mmmm i LOVE dumplings

and the leftovers are always delicious the next day

Mil brought us one for Xmas
We've used it once

I never brown anything - there is no need.

some recipies say to brown stuff, i often dont but i do like to if i have the time, just as i prefer the meat that way, it depends on the meat and it does mean i add flour which makes a lovely sauce.

i really do think slow cookers are great, we had a few months without one when our old one got dropped and broke, it was either drop the baby or drop the slow cooker, dam multi-tasking! i figured the slow cooker was easier to replace i really missed the slow cooker when we didnt have one.

Even when it says brown stuff I don't - except for sausages - the meat comes out exactly the same.

I love mine. I'm not such a big fan of the looong cooking, but I love it for things that benefit from a slow simmer. Eg when I do bolognaise, I brown all the ingredients in the pan, dump them into the slowcooker, add passata and seasonings, herbs etc, stick it on high and ignore it for a couple of hours. Im a SAHM so I like to have dinner prepped mid-day before the school run, then when all the collecting/homework etc is over, its just about perfect.

Whenever I've cooked from raw in the slowcooker I havn't liked the texture, but this way its just like something that was cooked in the pan, minus the hassle/risk of it drying out, etc.

Right I am putting one on my shopping list! :)
Can you now point me in the right direction for some good recipes please.

I am really not looking forward to dh being away and doing work, nursery pick up, tea, bath, bed on my own. I'm sure it'll be fine but I'd rather not have to do it!

Just do what you normally do in there - chill, bologniase, stew, beef and onion, chicken thighs, gammon, whole chicken,

Or you can bung meat in with a packet - loads in Tescos!

valium, what do you mean with a packet. You put the meat and packet in there?

Whenisitmysleepytime, I think you should get one with auto settings and a timer. How many hours will you be out of the house each day?

Oh, you mean a packet mix.

don't the packets have loads of salt in them? Why not use a tin of tomatoes, meat and then flavourings eg chilli or, curry, or herbs/garlic/onions. just don't add water. i don't bother browning meat , other than sausages. bash any mince into bits though

I didn't get on with ours. Everything sort of merged into one rather than each element of the dish having a distinct flavour.