Slow cookers

dlusman

I should have also said that it is the sort of thing that comes up frequently on freecyle ( which is where I got mine ) - as a lot of people buy them and then stick them in the back of a cupboard.

jamgirl

I got the Morphy Richards 6.5 lt earlier this year and it's FAB! Not sure how i managed before, i cook loads in it :-) tonight is Goulash, all chucked in the pot at 7am this morning and ready to eat now (as soon as they all get in!) wouldn't be without it.

forgot to say, there are 5 of us and this is the perfect size... plenty of space and sometimes i manage to sneak some out to freeze first

dasophster

Edwardia wrote: »

The only thing to remember is that if you use dried and soaked kidney beans they need to be boiled first before you put them in the slow cooker, to get rid of toxins. Lakeland has a slow cooking cook book 5.99 on Amazon.

The same goes for any beans or pulses; even those you don't need to soak first xx

LutonGirl

I agree with earlier posters - cheap slow cooker works very well and a timer plug is a must. Just remember to make sure the pot is on the right setting before you leave it. I once came home to a raw dinner - I'd set the timer plug up right but left the pot switched off. You only do that once!

Mine is a Cookworks one from Argos. It's ancient, has a big heavy ceramic pot in the metal heated outer and a glass lid. It's done some miles. Good for pot roasting cheap cuts of beef - brisket etc. I peel two onions and cut them in half to make "feet" for the meat so it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

It's also good for things like Tagine. The recipe I used was on the BBC website by Antony Worrall Thompson.

The first time I did it, I faffed on with spicing the meat overnight as per the recipe. The second time I just bunged everything in the slow cooker and left it. Same result, delicious.

I also make a giant pot of a ratatouille type mix - tinned toms, onions, peppers, courgettes, whatever's cheap and to hand. Lasts for days and tastes better every day. Can be used as a pasta sauce, a jacket potato topping, a side dish and it keeps on giving. Mushrooms can go a bit slimy though, so don't put them in if you intend to leave something going for a while.

Middy

My favourite thing in the slow cooker is my own lamb tangine
.400-500g diced lamb
. tin of chopped tomatoes (with 2/3 of the juice drained)
. red onion diced
. tin of apricot halves in juice, drained, cut into quarters (leaving 4 uncut)
. cinnamon
. garlic
. paprika
. chilli powder

Throw everything into the pot and cook on low for 8-9 hours. Come home to a kitchen smelling bloody gorgeous. I cooked this a few weeks ago whilst at work. Dad came in to a couple of jobs and he was very tempted to take the SC home!

dasophster

I need to get a new one as I currently have an ancient tefal one that is a 3-in-1 slow cooker, steamer and rice cooker. As such the slow cooker function isn't that great and the inner bowl (non stick) has got badly scratched over time. Only problem with slow cookers is they do let a lot of lovely food smells out and my OH can't stand cooking smells, especially onions and peppers. My kitchen door does close but they built this flat on the cheap (housing assoc) and thus there are big gaps around all the doors so the kitchen door doesn't keep anything in properly xx

ms_night_ryder

Just get a cheap one, they are all the same.

LannieDuck

Thanks for all the replies, I really appreciate it. It sounds as if a timer is v useful, and I'll have a look at the autocook feature too.

Thanks for the suggestions for specific models - it's so helpful to have some particular ones to compare