Browning meat (merged)

MrsB_2 · 9 August 2005 at 4:55PM

Ok Wish me luck! I'm away home this evening to dig out the slow cooker my mum gave me (which is probably the same age as i am!) and have a go at cooking my first ever slow cooker meal!! _pale_

I've got some pork steaks in the fridge to dice and pop in with some packet mix (didnt dare go fully home made on the first attempt

) and the veggies it mentions on the packet. If i just bung everything in and add the packet mix and water and switch it on - is that all i have to do?? Do i need to brown the meat / soften the onions or anything? my aim is to get the pork diced and the veggies chopped tonight and leave them in the fridge so that in the morning i just need to put them in, add the mix and water and go.

Also - any ideas how long it'll need to go on for? We leave the house at 8am and we're lucky if we're back by 6.30pm.

Thanks

squeaky · 9 August 2005 at 5:01PM

Browning the meat is recommended but you don't HAVE to. No need to soften onions.

Most recipes advise the use of hot water for the sauce but since you'll be cooking for a long time you're better off starting from cold.

Turn it on just before you go out - have it on its lowest slowest setting if it has more than one - and there ya go.

If you find that ten to twelve hours is too long (a rare event) outlets like currys sell plug in timers for £3-4 so you could delay things to meet the cooking time in your book to be just perfect when you get home.

MrsB_2 · 9 August 2005 at 5:04PM

Fab, thank you.

Do i need to worry about the volume of liquid at all? Will it dry out??

Princess_Fiona_2 · 9 August 2005 at 5:10PM

I'd extra because you can always thicken the sauce with cornflour mixed with a little water. That's until you get used to slow cooking again. Have fun.

A cheap cut of meat is braising steak. Add onions and peppers and tinned toms. yum yum. I use a timer to that it turns on about 12 noon and then cooks through till 7pm. I think it is a great investment. PF

MrsB_2 · 9 August 2005 at 5:12PM

Thanks Princess,

I've got one for the lamp in the living room - think it might be dark in there tomorrow!!

MrsMW · 9 August 2005 at 6:41PM

The only meat I ever brown is brisket, everything else just gets thrown in. We've just had a lovely leg of lamb. Yum.
Good luck MrsB.

Shez · 10 August 2005 at 5:04PM

I did my first "slow cooker" meal the other weekend, thought I would just do a whole chicken, from a recipe i got on here, with just garlic, onions and glass of white wine - I didnt really like it though, seemed very watery texture to the meat??? I imagine its better if you do a more flavoursome sauce with it? eg spanish chicken - or does anyone have any better tips for just the whole chicken itself? (i did brown it first too)

(but for sunday lunch with roast potatoes i think i prefer to roast it)

competitionscafe · 10 August 2005 at 7:48PM

Shez wrote:

(but for sunday lunch with roast potatoes i think i prefer to roast it)

Agree with you there - for cooking a whole chicken I think it's very hard to beat a good roast - one of the best meals in the world, especially with a good quality free range chicken and some roast spuds, yum, yum.

I like to put some tarragon or thyme in the cavity, rub the chicken skin all over with softened butter mixed with chopped tarragon/thyme and crushed garlic, salt, pepper, squeeze half a lemon over the chicken, put the squeezed lemon half inside the cavity too. When done I take the chicken out to rest (cover in foil) for 15 minutes and make a gravy with the juices - add a glass of white wine/Vermouth to the roasting pan and reduce it over the hob, then strain through a sieve. Delicious!

I have not used a slow cooker (yet) but I have 'pot roasted' a whole bird on the stove top in a casserole dish and I added some chicken wings, plus the following veg: 2 carrots, 2 onions, a leek, celery stick (all just chopped in half) plus threw in 2 bay leaves and some peppercorns, then filled the pot with water - basically you end up with a poached chicken (nice, but different flavour to a roast obviously) and then you have about a litre and a half of broth/chickn stock which can be used for loads of recipes (freezes well) or as a soup (add noodles for chicken noodle soup) or add finely chopped lime leaves, lemongrass and chillies plus some pieces of chicken and mint or coriander for a Thai style chicken soup.

So I imagine (guessing) that with a slow cooker you would need to add lots of water/wine to 'poach it' or add things like tomatoes to get a sauce?

squeaky · 10 August 2005 at 8:03PM

Heck no! I always seem to end up with more liquid than I started with. For doing joints on their own an inch in the bottom is enough. For soups and casseroles just enough to cover the veg with the meat on top. You'll find you rarely need to add any liquid at the end and in fact usually have to add a thickener such as cornflour or arrowroot.

Keith · 29 January 2006 at 1:08AM

I've been reading the slow cooker recipes, and I've cooked a few. One thing that springs out at me is where things have to be browned before being put in the slow cooker.

I'm lazy and I always sleep until the last moment in the mornings, so is it possible to brown things the night before, throw everything in the slowcooker crock pot and leave it in the fridge overnight? Then put it in the slow cooker, on a timed plug the next day?

Thanks
Keith

skystar · 29 January 2006 at 1:57AM

To be honest I never brown meat before I put it in the slow cooker.

Did try it once and didn't notice any difference.

I just thought it was too much faffing about!

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Browning meat (merged)

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