In my slow cooker today.... part 2

andygb

Sublime wrote: »

I'd love to have a hot one, but have been brainwashed by my young children. Yours sounds lovely btw. :T

I misjudged the amount of liquid, so I will have to reduce it when I heat it up on the hob tonight.;)

motherkitty

Hi everyone. Am quite new to the slow cooker thing. Have put a small-ish piece of gammon in it today with about an inch of water, a little onion and a carrot and a few peppercorns. Firstly , do you think I have put enough water in or should the gammon be covered, and also how long do you think it would take to cook on low.
I am going to try a turkey leg in it tomorrow so what would be the best way to do that and also how long to cook?
many thanks
MK

Taadaa

My sc is out after a lengthy break - been too busy planning my wedding to cook!

My DH (:D) has got a stinking cold, so a lamb balti has promptly been put into the sc.


200g diced lamb
two chopped toms
pinch of coriander, cumin, chili powder and tumeric
clove of garlic
half an onion
half a courgette (it needed using)
1/2 pint of vegetable stock
one tablespoon of tomato puree

Haven't done this before so will see what happens, I have got some balti paste on standby just in case it needs thickening

silligilli

Please help!!!!!
I have had my slow cooker for years (morphy richards) but have only used it a couple of times. No instruction booklet to be found. It has three heat settings low, med and high.

After reading about all the great things you make, I thought I'd dust it off and try again. I made a veg stew - don't eat meat at home - and it was awful. I put it on high for a while then reduced to medium. The veg were hard and even though I'd put lentils in it was watery and quite tasteless. Should I have pre-fried the veg? Why didn't it have the usual flavour and what setting do you suggest? I had to thicken it with cornflour and finish off in the oven, when it tasted like it normally does.

I'd really like to come home to nice hot dinner rather than a watery pot of veg, btw I only used enough veg stock to cover.

All suggestions would be appreciated - thank you x:(

Sublime_2

Slow cookers vary to how quickly they cook things. Perhaps it might be best trying it on high setting for 6 hours while you're at home, to see how you get on. Also have you tried doing an online search for your model?

Veg stew. Place chopped veg in bottom of slow cooker, stir a couple of tablespoons of cornflour around the veg (or whatever flour) then put lentils, then liquid on top to barely cover.

La_escocesa

motherkitty wrote: »

Hi everyone. Am quite new to the slow cooker thing. Have put a small-ish piece of gammon in it today with about an inch of water, a little onion and a carrot and a few peppercorns. Firstly , do you think I have put enough water in or should the gammon be covered, and also how long do you think it would take to cook on low.
I am going to try a turkey leg in it tomorrow so what would be the best way to do that and also how long to cook?
many thanks
MK

I never cover it - just about an inch at the bottom. The juices from the gammon will make a bit more too. It's also great with a can of cola! I think I did it for about 5 hours the last time.

Oooh, never did a turkey leg but do chicken pieces quite a lot and leave them for around 5 hours too. I usually put them on a bed of something - onions, carrots... - just so they don't stick to the bottom.

ETA - also, even though you're not supposed to open the lid, I sometimes turn my gammon over towards the end of cooking since the bottom half is in the water and the top isn't - don't know if that makes any sort of difference though!

gillian62

I've dusted off my slow cooker too. Made a quorn stew yesterday so that was ready when I finished work at 7pm. Today I cooked a pork joint - 1st joint I had ever cooked in a sc. It was beautiful, used some onions, herbs and hot water. The suggestion of apple juice or cider will be great for next time.

La_escocesa

invisiblecabbage wrote: »

ooh I did a ps joint thursday for the first time, just a layer of veg then joint and water. Meant to put 1/2 pint cider but someone:mad: had found it the night before. did you have sufficient liquid to cover joint?

Sorry to laugh but that is quite funny about the cider. My apple juice didn't have the same appeal:rotfl:

The juices from the pork itself meant that I ended up with over double the amount of liquid I put in.

Think I would try it with stock next time though - the texture is lovely and it's tasty enough but just not salty enough for me. I'm more used to using smoked gammon joint so I guess it's just the difference between that and this.

Spiggle

Hello All,

I've been advised to post on this thread from a very kind contributor on the GC thread.

As my breadmaker has been so beneficial in bringing down my costs and I'm always reading about wonderful food cooked in a slow cooker, I'm considering getting one.

There's only me and OH in our home and with the exception of soups through autumn/winter we don't tend to freeze meals (we eat them over a couple of days btw no waste in the house is a rule! ). So my question is what size of slow cooker would you recommend please?

I've seen that they are predominantly available in a 3.5 ltr and 6.5 ltr (plus the odd 4.5 ltr) and wonder which would be best. Also, it seems to me a very long time (5/6 hours) to have an electric appliance on for, have you noticed the difference the slow cooker makes? Is it really as cheap to run as it appears?

I ask because these are all questions the OH will ask (he does the cooking for us).

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Spigs

Sublime_2

I love my slow cooker because it is time saving more than anything. Throw everything in in the morning, forget about it, and have a lovely meal ready for the evening.

I've not checked energy usage, so cannot comment, but they are not higher than using a conventional oven.

I have a 2 litre value argos one (bought in sale £4.89), and a Cookworks 6.5 litre. Both get used.

I used the small one for cooking yesterdays curry, as there will only be me eating it this weekend. For batch cooking mince, for bolognaise sauce, cottage pie, chilli, etc, I always use the large one. Also for joints of meat, such as leg of lamb, or a whole chicken.

If I was to buy one I would go for a 3.5 litre oval one, if you're not going to be freezing anything. This size/shape should be suitable for cooking whole poultry, and joints of meat in still.