Question.....

motherkitty

Have used a slow cooker in the past and wasn't really impressed with the results. Much preferred casseroles done in the oven and didn't really like the smell from the slow cooker (OH said it was like an old man had peed in the corner!)
Anyway, wondered whether anyone on here put their oven on very low for the day and if they did how is it as regards safety/results/economy compared with using a slow cooker.
Would anyone recommend doing this?

LJM

i personally unless i was in all day would not leave my oven on all day even on low,quite happy to leave slow cooker on,perhaps thats just me though,not much help sorry

jcr16

yes i've done casseroles in my oven . left it all day. it have a slow cook function. i've a gas oven and i got the usual gas mark 1 to 9. but i also have an S ( before the 1 so cooler than a 1) and it is fantastic. i think it is pretty standard having this feature on an oven but i often forget it is there,lol. i'll go out and leave it on , on low not a prob.

hard to compare to slow cook really as i find it give a totally diff taste. i've got a couple of slow cookers in different sizes which also give the food a diff taste i find.

best thing i can suggest is next time you have a day at home try it out putting casserole in oven on low and then your be able to judge better how long your need to leave it etc.

geordie_joe

I think it all depends on your cooker.

Is it gas or electric?
Does it have a timer so it will switch off if you get delayed getting home?
Are there other people you live with that will sort out the oven if you are delayed.

Have you tried leaving the oven on low all day while you are in?

PollyFlinders_3

I've just rediscovered my pressure cooker, and cooked a casserole from fresh in 15 minutes. Just brown the meat, bung everything else in with enough liquid to cover, bring to 15lb pressure and set the timer for 15 mins. Meat was beautifully tender and can't be any more expensive than a slow cooker left on all day. I'm a convert.

motherkitty

Thanks for the replies.
My oven is electric so I wouldn't feel too bad about leaving it on all day, wouldn't consider doing it if it was gas!
I think I will try it when I am at home for the day anyway and see how it goes. I do have a pressure cooker which I haven't used very much. Tried it for potatoes and easy things like that to start with and found I spent so much time fiddling about with it and bringing the pressure down, finding out things weren't cooked and going through it all again that it took as much time as if i had just boiled them as normal so it put me off a bit. Do you really get the same flavour with casseroles/stews as you would having cooked them slowly in the oven? I think it is an aluminium pc and read about the health scares so that put me off even more! May give it another go though.
Don't really know about the timer thing on the oven. I think it has one that switches it on while you are out, I would have to check that though. And I suppose the kids could always switch the oven off if I did get delayed.

Butterfly_Brain

When I make a casserole or stew I make enough for four separate meals because I always give mine four hours to cook - A tip is to undercook by an hour then when you get it out of the freezer it only takes an hour to reheat thoroughly.
This way I save about 12 hours of electric

katholicos

motherkitty wrote: »

Much preferred casseroles done in the oven and didn't really like the smell from the slow cooker (OH said it was like an old man had peed in the corner!)

I wonder if in part the smell was due to the contents you had in the slow cooker? (leeks can smell a bit like widdle sometimes- dont know if you had them in there)

I have used a slow cooker for years as have other of my friends and family and the casseroles, bolognese, chilli etc always smell gorgeous and no different to if i had cooked them using the cooker.

Personally i would dig out the slow cooker and give it another go if i were you. Put it on in the morning and let it cook throughout the day, make sure you add your stock cubes etc too!

Money_saving_Diva_2

Just remember to put in about a third less liquid than you would for a casserole as there is no evaporation in a slow cooker and a rookie mistake is to have too much liquid which waters down the flavours.

I always tend to taste and if I need to, to add another stock cube or spoonful of marmite or something about half an hour before the end and if the sauce does need thickening, a tsp of cornflour mixed with water can be stirred in.

Diva.x

thriftlady_2

Can't remember who it was or on what thread but someone recently worked out the average annual cost of an electric oven that had pretty heavy use and it came to about £50. Under £1 a week doesn't seem fantastically extravagant to me, but I'm sure others would disagree.

I once cooked a slow roasted pork dish in my oven which required 12 (or maybe it was 24 hours?). My oven was fairly new at the time and I discovered that it can't be left on for that length of time and automatically switches off after 6 hours. Very annoying.

I always give my slow-cooked dishes about 3 hours. If time is a problem you could do them at the weekend or eveing in bulk and freeze as has been suggested (if you have space in your freezer).

Actiongirl_2

A shame you had such a bad experience. When I was working, I would put the cooker on low at 6.30am when I left the house and the casserole would be done to perfection when we came home at 8pm. The house used to smell beautiful. You could try again?

We have an aga now and you don't get any smells with that which is quite weird after years of a normal cooker!