In my slow cooker today...

carole.uk

Mely wrote: »

Hi all...is it worth me getting a slow cooker as im a vegetarian and also can quorn be cooked in a sc?

Hi Mely i cook veggie sausage, quorn pieces and quorn mince in mine and use it just like you would meat, i have never had a problem with it and last week 2 committed meat eaters praised my spag bol n said it was the best they ever had i never metioned it was quorn

Different_Corner

Second day with my new toy
Meatballs were awesome yesterday.
I've just put some pork medallions, seared, along with mushrooms, an onion, dash of white wine and some peppercorns in with Schwartz packet for creamy pork and mushroom- (which required 9 fl oz of milk so I added 5 fl oz.)
Was tempted to put some peppers in but I read they totally disintergrate.

FairyElephant_2

rachelh81 wrote: »

Hi I'm new to the world of slow cookers, so far have just managed a stew....

Please could someone just clarify, is it possible to put the stuff in cold or do you have to heat it first? Also, if I wanted to do a whole chicken or joint of meat how much liquid would need to be added and how long would it need to cook for?

Thanks!

Hi Rachel,

If you are cooking meat like mince or cubed meat fior stews/casseroles, it is recommended to brown it in a pan first before you add to the SC - I usually do but sometimes (like this morning!) if I'm running late I just bung stuff in and hope for the best!
eg. I've got steak & kidney in mine today, with chopped onion, leek, herbs, stockcube and water, and I didn't have time to brown the meat, but I';ve done it before and it is OK. Mince I found is not good if you don't brown it first......

Whole joints - I've done chickens and pork leg joints - I don't brown either of them, but when finished if I want crispy skin I pop them under the grill! I usually put about an inch of water in the bottom - once any fat is drained off I use the liquid for gravy or stock.

Re timings - as I'm at work all day I leave it on all day on Auto - I don't have instructions as my SC was 2nd hand, but as far as I gather, this means it's on high for a few hours and then switches to low afterwards, so I guess it gets maybe 4 hours on high and 5 hours on low - it's a case of experimenting I think!

HTH,

FE

becky_sleaf

Chicken casserole in mine today & boy does it smell good!

morganb

Different_Corner wrote: »

Was tempted to put some peppers in but I read they totally disintergrate.

You could put them in for the last half hour or so, though, depending on how high the heat is

Natty68

I have Caribbean chicken cooking in mine, although I didn't add any celery as both DH and myself can't stand it, and I had to halve it as we have the 3.5l one downstairs, and I couldn't be bothered to get the 6l one from the spare room..lol

Not sure about the vinegar bit, but hopefully the taste won't be there when it is all cooked later.

tim_n

Yesterday I made braising beef curry from the receipe board - though mine was a little modified. I trimed cut and fried the beef 'til brown, fried onion in the juices, added curry powder and cooked for about 5 mins. Added two tablespoons puree and a can of chopped toms and added to slow cooker with a whole cut pepper.
Left for about 7 1/2 hours on 'low' on my tesco cooker.
Beef was incredibly tender and the taste was similar to a thick mulligatawny soup


First meal success!

FairyElephant_2

Yesterday's steak & kidney (+ leeks) cooked fine even without having been browned before I put it in.
I thickened it with gravy granules when I got home and made a suet pastry 'lid' (6 oz flour, 3 oz reduced fat suet, water), put on top of the meat in gravy, lid back on the SC and on high for an hour....it was really yummy!

Different_Corner

I have to admit I was quite scared when I read that you shouldn't put milk in SC, as I added to the pork and mushroom mix yesterday. I could see that at the edges of the sauce it started to 'brown'. As I only used 5 fl oz of milk I guess it was a lucky escape, but the sauce was very thick and rich. Kids weren't over the moon, so I'll put it down to experience.

mummysaver

Got four huge ys turkey legs cooking in mine at the mo! Will strip the meat from them and freeze in portions for future meals. Water will be turned into a turkey noodle soup, with the addition of sweetcorn, a bit of the turkey meat shredded and some broken up spaghetti.