slow cooker quick questions thread

zippychick

Hi Emzy81

There is Loads of information and recipes for Slow cookers. You will be hooked in no time!

Here is a link to the Complete slow cooker collection which is endless supply of information for you

Also these threads....

In my slow cooker today
In my slow cooker today part 2

Happy reading and if you need any more help just shout. Most recipes can be adapted to a slow cooker so if you are stuck someone can advise. You tend to use half as much liquid as you would for a pot recipe (as not much liquid evaporates), and most people brown the meat before hand (although this varies from person to person - you will find your own way ) Thread discussing browning meat here

Zippychick

Emzy81

Thank you zippychick, really appreciate the help and links

zippychick

No problem. Do jump in the thread and let us know how your first dish goes. It's dead exciting! I started with bolognese I think. Or maybe chicken casserole. Sausage casserole is good too

iwanttoberich

I am planning to buy a slow cooker, but can't seem to find if you physically have to shut them off or do they have timers. In other words, do you have to time your meal so that you will be at home when it is ready? I have looked at pictures, even been to the shops and read manuals (well, just one manual), but have not seen anything written down. Any advice would be appreciated.

zippychick

Hi IWTBR

I *think* some slow cookers have timers (newer ones) but traditionally they don't. (Found one here - first google) A slow cooker cooks generally over 6-8 hours (depending on how hot yours gets, what youre cooking etc) so personally in my experience, if I am home at 6 or 8 my food is not ruined. I have overcooked in it twice - once it was on high, and the other time was ribs which I either cooked too long or with too little liquid.

So it's not really a "set your watch by it" meal if that makes sense. Generally it is quite hard to ruin food in it just by cooking it for too long

If anyone else has any other input I would also be interested to read - just my thoughts. A lot of people also say the newer ones are hotter . Have you looked for one in car boots or freecycle?

You can use a timer to set it to come on at 10am for example and probably one to turn it off but then the food would go cold and kind of defeat the purpose of a meal ready to eat.

There are a couple of threads which may also offer some information to help you.

Timer to use with slow cooker?

slow cooker with timer

billieboy_2

I invested in one of the modern ones (a 6.5L) as I had a very small (2-3 servings) Tower one for a wedding present nearly thirty years ago :eek: and wanted to cook in bulk. I have found this one gets a lot hotter even though the ingredients go in cold and leaving anything in for more than 8 hours would overcook it. It also has low and high settings and I never use the high setting. So, whereas I used to put stuff in my Tower at 8am, go to work and come back at 6pm, I wouldn't do that with my new one (luckily I now work from home so can keep an eye on things). HTH.

ETA It hasn't got a timer btw.

wssla00

I last week invested in the timer one from John Lewis. It's really good. It has a timer and once it finishes it keeps warm for an additional nine hours. Very good machine and very good size too It was £39

wssla00

Also, doesn't seem any hotter than my old one, but mind you it was one from about four years ago so prob a modern one in terms of slow cooker life.

zippychick

wssla00 wrote: »

Also, doesn't seem any hotter than my old one, but mind you it was one from about four years ago so prob a modern one in terms of slow cooker life.

For sure

Billieboy - so you find the newer ones hotter as well? Not sure if I read you right.

billieboy_2

zippychick wrote: »

For sure

Billieboy - so you find the newer ones hotter as well? Not sure if I read you right.

Yes, it seems a lot hotter but it is quite old. The instructions for my old one were always 10-12 hours whereas this one (and all the modern slow cooker books) is 6-8 hours. In a way I prefer my old one but you had to use hot liquid to start if off which I always found a bit of a faff. With this one you can just chuck everything in. My new one's got a glass lid so I can see what's going on. There are always pros and cons with these things .