In my slow cooker today.... part 2

23rdspiral

23rdspiral wrote: »

oooh, i've got a whole chicken in mine. never done that before!

co-op happy chicken reduced to 1.50, 2 chopped carrots at the bottom, some bendy garlic poked into the chicken and a few slices on the bottom too, and an inch of water. put on high at 12.15, will turn to med/low i a bit and hope we can eat at 8.00ish. fingers crossed!!

update: i needn't have worried. on at 12.15 High, down to Med at 3.15, now at 5.15 it looks done! i just ate a bit off the top and it's very tasty! we still wont eat till 8.00 though as that's when OH comes in. now, what shall i do with all this meat?

renegade

Loopshoe
I would not put raw sausages , pork chops, or any meat that needs browning first in a sc.
Fry them first with onions, then put into sc with the canned tomatoes and whatever else you are using. It takes no time at all to prepare them first this way.
SC are intended for just that sloooow coooooking, especially for the cheaper cuts of meats that can be braised overnight to get all the juices out and the meat falls off the bone.
If you are wanting to do dumplings they will not be very successful as the liquid does not get hot enough, transfer food from sc to large pan cook dumplings for 20 mins, if you like them browned on top put inside oven for 10- 15mins.

Sunnyday

renegade wrote: »

I would not put raw sausages , pork chops, or any meat that needs browning first in a sc.

Browning is really a personal preference, it can make the food taste different and it can make it visually more appealing but it does depend what dish you are cooking. With todays slow cookers there is no danger of pork being undercooked. On this very thread there are many people, some who brown meat and some who don`t.

The early slow cookers some years ago were quite different and cooked for a lot longer over lower temperatures and just about every dish needed the meat browning or precooking in some way, with todays cookers that are a much higher wattage this isn`t necessary for food safety.

SD

loopyshoe

Thankyou renegade and sunnyday.
I have browned meat before putting it in the sc and also just put meat straight in and i agree with sunnyday i think its just a matter of preference.
xx

thunderchild

Second attempt at rice pudding. The last attempt even followed recipe to the letter was waaaaay to liquidy. Less liquid this time and on low all day, hopefully I won't come home to a solid lump! LOL

furndire

Just to say, I made herby dumplings in mine yesterday. They were lovely. They don't end up crisp on the top, but more like suet pastry. Just used half weight of veg suet to self raising flour, a pinch of salt & fresh ground pepper + a fair amout of dried oregano, and enough water to bring the mix together. I had made the stew on Sunday, so had to reheat it,
When needed it, I put slow cooker on high for about an hour, then put the dumplings in. I don't know if anyone else finds that their cooker does bubble away nicely on high, but mine does - my finest (whoopsied) Scottish beef cut in strips cooked in about 4 hours on high.
I alway brown my meat, onions and veg first (not too much) - gives a much better flavour and colour. Its only one pan to wash, and well worth the extra effort. I think the flavours can be very bland otherwise.
A small amount of treacle (sounds disgusting - to some), but does add a lovely extra flavour to beef stews.

thunderchild

I must look out for whoopsie meat, never seems to catch my eye but would be idea for popping in the old SC!

I cheat with my dumplings, i use Aunty Bessie's frozone ones. Just pop them in for about 45 mins. As you say they dont crisp up but they are lovely! :T

passthewine

Now I have cleaned the dust off my SC I'm going to get into using it before I go back to work;)
I got some reduced meat yesterday, most of it has gone in the freezer but I have some chicken legs and some chorizo that need using up today. I know the 2 are meant to go well together but I'm not sure what to do with them.

Any suggestions please:D

MissyMAD

Today I have sausages (raw just chucked in), tin of tomatoes, tin of baked beans some paprika, just enough beef stock to cover and some corn flour.

I am trying to make the sausages with a sauce that is thick and then I can use either as sausage casserole or with pasta.

sexki11en

furndire wrote: »

Just to say, I made herby dumplings in mine yesterday. They were lovely. They don't end up crisp on the top, but more like suet pastry. Just used half weight of veg suet to self raising flour, a pinch of salt & fresh ground pepper + a fair amout of dried oregano, and enough water to bring the mix together. I had made the stew on Sunday, so had to reheat it,
When needed it, I put slow cooker on high for about an hour, then put the dumplings in. I don't know if anyone else finds that their cooker does bubble away nicely on high, but mine does - my finest (whoopsied) Scottish beef cut in strips cooked in about 4 hours on high.
I alway brown my meat, onions and veg first (not too much) - gives a much better flavour and colour. Its only one pan to wash, and well worth the extra effort. I think the flavours can be very bland otherwise.
A small amount of treacle (sounds disgusting - to some), but does add a lovely extra flavour to beef stews.

Mmmmmm sounds lovely. Horseradish dumplings are fab too. Make your dumpling mix as normal but substitute some of the liquid for a couple of teaspoons (I chuck in a tablespoon as I love the taste!) of horseradish sauce. I chuck them in the SC about 45 minutes before it's done.

Lovely with a beef stew.

SK x