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I must admit I raised my eyebrows at the idea of doing jacket potatoes in the slow cooker.
I do beef stew with sliced potatoes, carrots, swede or turnip, leeks, onions & a can of oxtail soup.
Pork or chicken stew with sliced potaotes, mushrooms, onions and a tin of tomatoes.
Lamb shank with sliced potatoes, tin of tomatoes and flageolet beans.
Goulash
Stroganoff
The last 2 are recipes that I've adapted from 'normal' ones, the others are just 'chuck it all in and see how it comes out'.0 -
If I was to be charitable then I'd say you'll end up with 'mush' if I was being honest I'd say 'slop'.notjustlaura wrote: »Add a bit less water,chuck the ingredients in and walk away. Simples
I used a slow cooker in my student days but could never get any other texture than baby food. Once a friend used it and had chicken bones almost 'melt' (it was a very poor quality economy chicken in the the slow cooks defence)
Maybe I'm missing something and that's what its meant to be like but if not whats the method?
Have had an unused slow cooker in a kitchen cupboard for about 5 years (can't for the life of me remember buying it). I'm sure a charity shop would prefer it in an unused condition but if there is a way of using it without the mush/slop texture then maybe I'll keep it.0 -
my slowcooker allows me to buy those meats which are cheaper but need long slow cooking...whether it's meat from aldi or the butcher!
my latest favourite is ribs
700g ribs
Salt
2tsp peppercorns or half tsp black pepper
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp English mustard
3 garlic cloves
Tobacco sauce (optional)
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp soy sauce
Put the ribs in the slowcooker, mix all the other ingredients together then pour over the ribs. Turn the ribs in the sauce until they're all covered then cook on low for 6-8 hours. I tend to turn them again after 3 hours.
Comes out lovely and sticky...and leftovers can be frozen. I defrost them overnight and nuke them in microwave for a few minutes and they come out soft not dry and chewy.0 -
Always cook our Sunday joint of beef in our sc. Always tender with plenty of stock for gravy and don't waste time tending it.0
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I think different slow-cookers cook differently.
I have 2 - a large 6.5 litre oval one and a smaller, deeper one.
The smaller one cooks better.
But nowhere near as good as my now-defunct beloved Prestige 'crock-pot' given to me over 40 years ago by my ex- MIL - like this:
It would happily cook for over 12 hours whilst I was at work.
I find the newer ones cook more quickly, even on 'low'.
Mr_Singleton - how long are you leaving it on for and how small are you cutting up the veg?
I've never, ever had 'mush'.
Many years ago, I cooked a whole boiling fowl in my old slow-cooker, when I lifted it out, the legs and wings fell off but the meat was very tender, no melting bones.Mr_Singleton wrote: »Once a friend used it and had chicken bones almost 'melt' (it was a very poor quality economy chicken in the the slow cooks defence)
It could be faulty.
A friend of mine bought one after seeing me cut up veg and chuck it all in one day.
He then complained that his veg was still crunchy.
He admitted he did take the lid off 'a few times' so he tried again and said the result was the same.
He brought it round to my house and we set both mine & his off with the same meat, veg and liquid.
When my stew was lovely and cooked, his veg was undeniably crunchy.
I kept it on for 2 full days and it was still crunchy at the end of it.
It went back to the shop.
Has anyone mentioned veg soup - that cooks very nicely.0 -
I think different slow-cookers cook differently.
I have 2 - a large 6.5 litre oval one and a smaller, deeper one.
The smaller one cooks better.
But nowhere near as good as my now-defunct beloved Prestige 'crock-pot' given to me over 40 years ago by my ex- MIL - like this:
It would happily cook for over 12 hours whilst I was at work.
I find the newer ones cook more quickly, even on 'low'.
Mr_Singleton - how long are you leaving it on for and how small are you cutting up the veg?
I've never, ever had 'mush'.
Many years ago, I cooked a whole boiling fowl in my old slow-cooker, when I lifted it out, the legs and wings fell off but the meat was very tender, no melting bones.
It could be faulty.
A friend of mine bought one after seeing me cut up veg and chuck it all in one day.
He then complained that his veg was still crunchy.
He admitted he did take the lid off 'a few times' so he tried again and said the result was the same.
He brought it round to my house and we set both mine & his off with the same meat, veg and liquid.
When my stew was lovely and cooked, his veg was undeniably crunchy.
I kept it on for 2 full days and it was still crunchy at the end of it.
It went back to the shop.
Has anyone mentioned veg soup - that cooks very nicely.
I have this problem with potatoes. My slowcooker is old and second hand, it doesn't cook potatoes very well so I have a couple of options, either I dice them up small, bung them in the microwave for a few minutes to start them off or use tinned.0 -
I have this problem with potatoes. My slowcooker is old and second hand, it doesn't cook potatoes very well so I have a couple of options, either I dice them up small, bung them in the microwave for a few minutes to start them off or use tinned.
Is it just potatoes or other root vegetables?
I cut my carrots/potatoes/swede/turnip into about 1cm thick slices and they are always cooked.0 -
Its only potatoes I have the problem with but that's because I don't like carrots turnip etc so I tend to grate the carrots and cut the turnip really fine so i can't pick them out of my food :rotfl:0
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Making a stew in mine right now. I don't weigh the ingredients I just chuck them in. It's usually what I can find in the fridge and the cupboards.
Cheap stewing beef
Sweet potatoes (ordinary spuds in the fridge had hair and roots!)
Tin of carrots
Long green frozen beans
A huge handful of stewing pulses
Two oxos mixed with two jugs of gravy made with gravy granules.
Later on I'll give it a taste and add more granules or oxo if needed.
An hour befor it's ready, I make loads of dumplings and pop them in the stew.
This will do five meals. There's only two of us and OH always takes a Sistema potful to work with him when he's on nights.0 -
I agree that SC's vary quite a bit. I had one for years that was lovely, things could cook happily for 8/10/12 hours and taste gorgeous. When that died the next one I got ran too hot and over-cooked nearly everything. Happy with the one I've got now.
My favourite autumn and winter dish is beef skirt or brisket cooked in about 3/4 of a can of Guinness (don't know what happens to the other 1/4 can
) and a bit of beef stock. Usually with potatoes and carrots, peas thrown in towards the end and often whatever veg needs using up in the fridge, I add whatever seasoning that strikes me at the time.
The juices can be thickened to serve the dish with rice or just leave to eat as more of a stew or casserole. It is so tasty and in my current SC it's in for anywhere from 8-12 hours.0
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