It's the annual "I got a slow cooker for Christmas, please come and share your best recipes/recipe book suggestions" thread

[BlatherskitedaboutChristmas]

MIL has bought be an enormous Crock Pot slow cooker. It looks lovely but I have no clue what to make in it. It's 5.7 litres but there's only me, DH, 5 yo DS and a very, very picky 3 yo DD.

Suggestions would be very welcome otherwise it's probably going to end up stashed in a cupboard and forgotten about and that would be sad.

[Blatherskite]

Good tips Flatbread. The SC was definitely on low for mine and while there was no wine, it was sat in Dr Pepper which should have tenderised it a bit. The cut might have been my problem as it was fairly lean

[Flatbread]

I wonder if you just had to leave it in longer, then? Sometimes it gets dry and chewy due to moisture loss, before becoming brown and succulent as the collagens break down.

[dreamingofsun]

blather - SC definately benefit from cheaper cuts of meat. how about trying a curry as they are really easy? tin of toms, onion, curry paste, meat, chutney, apple, sultanas - chuck it all in stir and then leave till you need it.

how long did you cook it for - as a big lump of meat takes quite a while - all day on medium in mine.

[Blatherskite]

It wasn't an expensive bit of meat. I got it from Aldi!

The recipe called for a 3-5lb chunk of meat cooked for 7 hours on low. I had a 2lb bit of meat and as as per the advice I had above, I reduced the liquid down to match but still cooked it for 7 hours.

Only DH likes curry. The DC, especially DS, seemed to have inherited my inability to eat anything spicy. Anything too peppery and DS is downing glasses and glasses of water or asking for yogurts - he doesn't drink milk.

[Flatbread]

Blather, do you know what cut it was?

If it is a very sinewy meat, it might need a lot longer than 7 hours. 10 hours, more likely...?

Also if the cut is naturally flavourless, the recipe won't add much flavour to it, I guess...

Sorry, it is such a bummer when these thing go wrong!

[Blatherskite]

It was just a "Beef Roasting joint" as specified in the recipe.

It went in the bin :(

I might try a bolognese next. Maybe a gammon joint. Something a bit more familiar

[Flatbread]

Wonder if you got silverside, which might not be the best for slow cooking?

www.channel4.com/4food/how-to/how-to-do-meat/guide-to-beef-cuts

I got a chart like this (slightly different cuts where I live abroad) and it helps in choosing the right meat.

Especially useful for me, as I have no taste memory, never having eaten the damn thing. Luckily the butchers are very good, so armed with a chart and the butchers knowledge, I usually get it right. Although some butchers have poor, inadequately hung meat and the difference in taste (according to dh) is remarkable!

[Blatherskite]

I doubt it was Silverside. It was cheap in Aldi and Silverside tends to be one of the nicer cuts I believe - Ashamed I don't know more about meat, my Grandad was a butcher! Beef is not a favourite though as my Mum always cremates it and for years I thought it should be grey and leather-like.

[Flatbread]

The problem is no one teaches us this stuff. I used a 1923 cookbook, to get very detailed cuts and precise cooking instructions and times for each cut. For lamb, cow, veal and pig.

[dreamingofsun]

blathe - bolognese also works well in mine. i don't bother browning anything - just bash the mince up a bit. use the normal hob recipe but don't add the liquid with the stock pot - just the stock pot. so it looks very very dry.

or sausage casserole - baked beans, tiny bit of mustard, herbs, onion, browned sausages (only thing i do brown)

hope the beef hasn't put you off. once you get the hang of this way of cooking its so easy

[Blatherskite]

Grandad would know. I miss my Grandad a lot :(

[Blatherskite]

Sausage casserole I fancy definitely. Uber-picky DD likes sausages so that one would probably go down well.

[WingDefence]

Right, I've taken the plunge!

I've adapted pinkyp's recipe above: 3 (or perhaps 4, can't remember) diced chicken breasts; 500g tub of passata; one huge onion in 8ths; one red pepper cut into large chunks; half a whole chorizo, sliced not-too-thinly; some mixed herbs; some paprika; a squidge of tomato purée and a squidge of garlic purée because I am too lazy to chop it.

That's it, I think. Oh no, a tin of butter beans as well. All on HIGH and it went in two hours ago.

Since then, I've also christened my new Kenwood Chef by making DS's birthday cake. So I'm nervous on both counts - will dinner be yuck and will the cake be a disaster?!

[thisisthestory]

Do you need to brown meat before putting it into the slow cooker? I have also had a grey tasteless mass / mess before. My slow cooker only has one heat setting though, so perhaps that is the problem? Can you leave it on high for 8 hours? Or is it just on high to start, then down low for a long simmer?
Loving the pork and Fentimans recipe....

[WingDefence]

Well pinkyp that was an unqualified success!

Absolutely delicious - I only wish I'd put the whole chorizo and the other two chicken breast from the pack in as then I'd have had tons of leftovers to freeze!

DS (once I took onions out of his portion) wolfed it down and DH loved it too. We had it with plain cous cous to soak up some of the lovely tomato sauce but it wasn't watery at all. I did take the lid off for the last 20 mins while I was getting the cous cous out and cooking but I think it would have been fine otherwise anyway.

Hurrah! I feel inspired for the future . I may leave doing full joints of meat until I'm really happy with what I'm doing and stick to casseroles, stews, ragu etc but when I do brave a joint, it'll be one of the yummy pork recipes above.

[Wingdingdong]

Ooh, I'm v excited to find this thread. DH bought me a slow cooker for Christmas (not exactly a surprise, I specified the one I wanted on my Amazon list and on a post-it on the front door - and 3yo DD came home from Christmas shopping shouting "Daddy brunged you a dough cooker, Mummy" ).

Only thing is I don't know what to do with it!

The gammon and brown sugar sounds good, especially as I have a gammon in the fridge.

Somebody said their fussy DD doesn't eat sauce (on mobile BFing DS, can't check) - neither does my DD. any good tips/recipes? And anything suitable for a 10m baby - would prefer to avoid wine as although it evaporates I guess with a SC it condenses back into the food. I know nothing about the chemistry of cooking alcohol in a sealed container though .

[Blatherskite]

Hoorah! Our first success. It sounds really nice. I think I'm going to try it :)

[BluelightsAndSirens]

I have bought a big shoulder of pork for tomorrow. I have done pulled pork before but a smaller joint.

Does anyone know how long to cook 6lb of pork? I'm going to do it on a bed of onions and some ginger ale and then towards the end remove the liquid, shred the meat and add BBQ sauce.

I'm assuming low for maybe 6 hours and then another hour with the sauce?

[dreamingofsun]

blue - if i do a big lump of meat i would put it on all day on high or at least auto. i read some recipes recenlty for large lumps of pork and they were on for a lot longer. if it were me i'd do 6 hours on high....but i'm no guru

[dreamingofsun]

blue - unless your slow cooker is very hot - might be different to mine

[bringbacksideburns]

I might try the Gammon with Cherry Cola one everyone seems to be raving about.

I have to admit i am now bored to death with my Slow Cooker, have had it a few years and now rarely use it.

[Jayne266]

Just had the gammon and brown sugar it was lovely a touch sweet but yum I turned it every hour and there was a brown glaze on it. I made it for DH as I don't like gammon and I ate lots of it!

[Tiny12]

Going to attempt the gammon cooked in coke tomorrow in SC

How would you make the spaghetti bolognese in SC?

[dreamingofsun]

tiny - for spag bol or chilli i use the standard recipe but don't add the liquid with the stock - just the stock-pot or cube. it looks very dry but thats fine. i don't brown mince, just bash it up a bit. just put all ingredients in the pot and stir a couple of times

[BluelightsAndSirens]

Thanks dream ill give it 8 on medium and then drain and cook for another 2 and let you know how it turns out!