Slow cooker question

[chopstheduck]

Argos have a cheap 6.5L slow cooker on offer atm, and I'm tempted. I usually do stews, etc. on the hob. The main reason I fancied one was for slow cooking joints of meat and whole chicken. So I would like to know if a slow cooker has to have a lot of liquid added to recipes. Could I cook meat simply marinated in olive oil and spices or would it dry out too much?

No, you don't need lots of liquid. I have roasted a whole chicken in my slow cooker and didn't add any liquid, when I got home from work that day the chicken was well cooked, so tender it was nearly falling off the bone. I put in in the oven for 10 mins to brown it and it was perfect.

I do also do stews and casseroles etc, using lots of liquid as well. Slow cookers are fab. Get it!

The same slow cooker (Morphy Richards) is avaiable in Asda at the moment for £20

Oh good!

Thanks very much.

I was looking at this one. It's only £14. Do you think it's worth paying the extra £6 for the MP one?

i am a slowcooker novice (got one for christmas) but I cooked a joint of beef in it yesterday just added a little water and omg it was the best beef I have ever had

I couldn't cut the beef very easily as it was just falling apart

Another recommendation for slow cooker here. Especially good for chilli, bolognese and curries too

If you cook curry in it, do you fry off the onions and spices, etc before chucking it in the slow cooker?

yes onions spices etc as norm in your pan first then put them at the bottom of your slow cooker
i tend to brown my meat briefly first too unless it's chicken which i add raw

i dont' brown first as i feel it defeats the point a little. just chuck it all in and leave for 6-8 hours or so. stir once or twice.

What cuts of meat are best to use? Esp beef/lamb?

Like giordieminx I would love to know what type of cuts of meat people recommend- both for stew type things and for whole joint roasting (purple pillow- wow your beef sound great, what type of joint was it??)

I haven't had much success with my slow cooker - chicken casserole came out too watery (guess added too much liquid), beef stew was tough and leathery (wrong cut maybe.

I don't think I have much of a nutural 'feel' for how to use it- I have no idea how much liquid etc and when I guess I get it wrong with disappointing results.

So, any top tips would be very very gratefully received!!

all those cheap cuts work brilliantly but lamb shanks altho pricy are my personal fav

wheresmypaddle if its too watery you can always thicken the sauce with cornflour
tbh it is trial and error at first unless you're following a specific recipe

Does anyone have more then one slow cooker.

I have a 6.5 litre one which is fine when i doing baulk cooking. But I'm thinking about getting a 3.5litre one for when i'm only doing one day dinner.

I've just got a book out of the libraray, as I only bought the cooker last week (on offer at argos).

This weekend is going to be lamb in mushroom sauce on Saturday night and garlic buttered chicken on Sunday - its great for a low carb diet.

We've got two slow cookers, one large, one small for doing stuff like mulled wine & mulled cider at Christmas. Very handy

there are number of threads going at the moment with recipes - i've suggested a few of my favourites - one of which is curry. i don't bother browning things usually - i prefer the chuck it all in method as quicker/easier.

tips - i use normal recipes but adapt them. for example, my normal curry recipe is for tin of chopped toms and 1/2 pint stock - i don't bother with stock liquid as i know it would be too watery.

if your meat is stringy it probably needs to be cooked longer.

best meat joints - well you can chuck any cut in really. its best for anything that you would normally stew

if its too watery - then mix cornflour or flour with a few tablespoons of water and add and cook for 10 mins.

root veg need to be chopped so they cook

only thing which is disgusting is porridge - which i know some people can do, but takes me ages to clean the dish, which defeats the object.

happy to answer questions as i love my slow cooker cause it saves me time and money and produces tasty health food

We've got one, and hardly ever use it

(Must try harder...)

Quick Q though - is it possible to brown meat, add veg, stock etc one evening (while cooking another dinner for example) and then store the 'prepared' dish in the fridge overnight, do you think?

For me, the faff of getting the pan out to brown meat etc is what stops me, as onec I'm fdoing that, then I'm 'cooking' anyway IMHO.

But if I could prepare two meals ones evening (one to eat, and one to store in fridge) then would make mroe sense?

Yes, you can fry stuff in advance, and keep in the fridge for chucking in the slow cooker in the morning.

stuff frying, i only do that if i'm in the mood which isn't often!

you could sling it in slow cooker and cook it during the evening and then warm up next day. lots of things - stews - are better warmed up next day

cornflake that's the easiest way as it saves you even more time

Our fav slow cooker recipe is meatballs. I chuck them in (fresh meatballs) and add a jar of tomato pasta sauce then leave it on all day. I serve with pasta spagetti. yummy

Has anyone done veggie curries and stews in a slow cooker? I have thought about a slow cooker as well but don't cook meat

Lydiane, I've had tesco fresh meatballs and they were quite soft in texture (though nice). Don't they disintegrate after a long time cooking? Like bolognaise in the slow cooker comes out softer than done on the hob?

Quick q: is it safe enough to leave slow cooker on while out?

SOrry- paranoid DH

yes that what they where design for .

Put dinner in
Go to work
Come home eat lovely cooked meal.