First time slow cooker - help

astep70uk

Ok, so i've done gammon joints before, overnight in my slow cooker and they're fab.

This morning i've been adventurous and put in a piece of rolled brisket (9.30am) to have for our tea (5.30pm)

Will it be cooked by then? I put boiling water in with it if that makes a difference?

Also, i'm going to put in some of those whole chanterey carrots, but how long will they take? What time should I be putting them in??

Many thanks

LittleWelshRareBit

I think you are supposed to put everything in at the same time otherwise you lose all the heat when you lift up the lid.

I used to have slow cooker in college and I used to shove it all in together in the morning and it was always done by the time me and my housemates got home. It always seemed to taste ok but that may have been something to do with stopping off at the Students' Union for a quick one on the way! :beer:

squeaky

The brisket will be fine and starting with boiling water will certainly help

As for the carrots, like most root vegetables they take a lot of doing in a slow cooker so the best way to do them is to parboil them (seven to ten minutes) and then put them in early. Like now!

Edit: Raising the lid should be done as seldom as possible because it typically takes the cooker twenty minutes to regain the lost heat. So get all your carrots and anything else you want to add ready, and then bung it in in one go.

MATH

Root veggies take longer to cook than the meat does so start everything off together. Here's what i do when I cook brisket if it is any help.

Brisket

Sliced onion, mushroom, celery, parsnip (this will mushdown to make the sauce thicker)

One tin of oxtail soup made up to 1 1/2 pts with stock.

Stick it all in together and forget until dinner.

Take the brisket out and break up (it will be too tender to carve)

Stick back into sauce to keep warm while you cook roasties, yorkies and other veggies.
Eat;) HTH

astep70uk

Oooh - -thanks guys - better get those carrots in . . .

absolutebounder

astep70uk wrote: »

Oooh - -thanks guys - better get those carrots in . . .

Are they cooked yet