Thinking of getting a slow cooker to compliment my PV system

superflyguy1971

My wife swears by our 3.5L Russell Hobbs one which feeds a family of 5 no problems. Usually veg is steamed as well if necessary/required. The killer feature on ours is the timer so she can time it to be ready for when we want to eat. I suppose you could manually do this with a separate plug in timer also.

jackyann

I am a slow cooker fan, and think that the 3.5 litre is plenty big enough for most days.
But you really must look carefully at recipes and use it to full advantage. There are some things that will not cook well in a slow cooker.
I do a lot of lovely pot roasts - very good for families. Cheap things like pork belly and oxtail. A roast chicken or pheasant end up lovely and moist.

The main thing to remember is that liquid will not evaporate. So, depending on the recipe and personal preference, you must do one of the following:
use less liquid (works well for pot roasts & some mince recipes)
boil the liquid to evaporate it either before or after the main cooking.

You will often have to heat the ingredients on the hob or give a blast under the grill to get the dish started.

PS: loads of recipes on the "Old Style" board

Mabsabrabcab

Google Wonderbag - if you are cooking casseroles you can simmer for a short time then do the rest completely free. You don't have to buy an expensive bag - an old duvet will do the trick just as well as the bag.

Kernel_Sanders

Mabsabrabcab wrote: »

Google Wonderbag - if you are cooking casseroles you can simmer for a short time then do the rest completely free. You don't have to buy an expensive bag - an old duvet will do the trick just as well as the bag.

Not 'completely free' or even partly so, because you have paid for the electricity to stoke up the heat. What you are doing is simply avoiding most of the wastage, so a good post nonetheless.

Seanymph

I use ours most days - whole chickens or brisket or pork joints...

casseroles, stews, curries...

Chicken thighs with salsa (and peppers and onions) or with soy and sweet and sour.

Probably four nights a week I use the slow cooker, and three nights something swift.

They are awesome - regardless of the electricity saving.