How Do I Cook Bolognaise Sauce in the Slow Cooker?

carl310166

Got my slow cooker,now i am ready to try something.

Will i have to brown the mince,onions and mushrooms BEFORE bunging them in the slow cooker?

If not,how does the mince untangle itself?

Sorry if i am being simple!

ET03

I would think you need to brown it 1st
althouh not tried it yet

Pal

You MUST brown the meat first before you put it in. It is the browning that creates all the really nice flavours.

After you have browned everything remember to deglaze the pan with a bit of red wine, stock or water so that all the brown bits go in the cooker as well.

It is also worth browning some streaky bacon first, then using the bacon fat to brown the mince and veg. Use lots of tomatoes and onions and cook for as long as possible. Makes the sauce go really rich.

crazyhazy

I do my spag bol in the slow cooker and brown the mince first, then add water bring it to the boil and drain it to get rid of all the fat. Then I just put it with everything else in the slow cooker, never browned the onions or anything else.

Pal

Nooooo! It is the fat that makes the sauce taste great! (It slows the food down when it hits your tastebuds, the same reason chocolate tastes good).

Personally I use tinned toms and the juice rather than water, and add beef stock if I have any around.

Curry_Queen

Pal wrote:

Nooooo! It is the fat that makes the sauce taste great! (It slows the food down when it hits your tastebuds, the same reason chocolate tastes good).

Personally I use tinned toms and the juice rather than water, and add beef stock if I have any around.

I totally agree!!!! ... although if you use a good quality mince there should be very little fat in it ... I made some burgers last night and cooked them on my George Foreman grill and there wasn't a drop to be found in the collecting tray

Whether using mince or diced steak always brown it off first before putting in the slow cooker, and with diced steak it's better to toss in seasoned flour first and when browned add a glassful (or almost half a bottle as I did this morning ) of red wine to de-glaze the pan and add extra depth of flavour

I am sitting here drooling at the smells coming from my kitchen right now and it won't be ready till at least 5pm

carl310166

Thanks all,i will have a go when i come home from work in the morning.

Iona_Penny

Had my sow cooker since Eater and I LOVE it and use it a couple of times a week (today chicken thighs in sweet and sour sauce)
For bolognese I do brown the mince but it's interesting to see the variations on a theme I :
put chopped onions and red or orange pepper on the bottom
then a layer of sliced mushrooms with my mince on the top.

From trial and error I have found that the only pasta sauce I like is 'Gross Lloydman' tomatoand basil which has no nasty tang so I use half a jar (keeps in fridge ) couple of tablespoons of tomato puree and tesco value tomatoes(to balance the expensive jar sauce) I dont stir until end and it's lush.

What I do now is make loads and then freeze it and somehow it goes further than making in smaller lots.

Anyway good luck whatever you do.

Poppy9

I don't eat mince meat so I use veggie mince. I sweat my onions, garlic and red and yellow peppers with a little olive oil. Then add mince and a few tins of chopped tomatos. Little bit of worcester sauce, lots of black pepper, basil and mixed herbs. I like to cook it then freeze half and keep half for the next day as it always tastes better the following day.

MissMuppet

I'm going to make some tonight and leave the SC on overnight... how long should I cook it for?

If say I go to bed at 11pm and get up at 7am... is that too long? I don't have a timer yet!

black-saturn

I usually just give the mince a 120 second go in the microwave and then drain the excess oil off.