Sorry, another slow cooker newbie

elsien

I've been given a Lakeland 1.5l slow cooker that comes with miniscule instructions, the idea being to turn it on before work and have a hot meal when I get in. However with dog walking etc it could be 9 or 10 hours unattended. I'm less concerned about spoiling the food and more about it boiling dry or whatever the sc equivalent is, and it blowing up, setting the house on fire etc, if the recipe says it only needs 5 hours.
Please can someone lay my paranoia to rest.

PasturesNew

This is why I've never seen the point of them; when working I'd expect to be out of the house for a minimum of 10 hours/day and my fire phobias and fears would kick in. Like what if you had to stay longer at work, by 3-4 hours ... or got caught in a road shut down due to accident, 3 hours, on the way home.... all things that can and do happen.

Lilyplonk

Mine has a 'digital timer' on it - then after that it goes into 'stay-warm mode' for around an hour.


Could you attach a 'socket timer' set to come on around 5hrs before you're due home from work instead of setting it as soon as you leave the house ............. :undecided?


Or how about cooking something the evening before when you're at home - then warm it through in the microwave quickly when you get home from work?


I know it kind of 'defeats the object' but it will give you a home-cooked casserole - it'll have just been cooked the evening before and then warmed up. Lots of casseroles actually benefit from allowing their flavours to 'merge/mingle' before being served up .

elsien

Not a fan of reheating things in microwaves - it seems to do funny things to the texture. Although that might just be me being weird. Timers possible though.
Just looked at the instructions again and they don't say anything about leaving on too long or boiling dry, which is why I was uncertain how much of a risk it actually is?

Arlandria606

Lilyplonk wrote: »

Could you attach a 'socket timer' set to come on around 5hrs before you're due home from work instead of setting it as soon as you leave the house ............. :undecided?

This is what I was going to suggest.

seabright

Try a recipe on the weekend, when you are at home to keep an eye on it, then you'll be able to see how much/if at all, the liquid evaporates.


I do often re-heat in the microwave, and find that for stews it doesn't alter the texture. I tend to cook big batches in the slowcooker, so then freeze into meal-sized portions & re-heat.


Or, you can re-heat in the slowcooker, it doesn't take as long as cooking, as you are just heating it all through.


I use a socket timer too sometimes.

ALIBOBSY

I think the chances of it boiling dry are pretty slim. The thing I have found with the SC is that, unlike simmering in a pan, very little liquid boils off at all during the cooking process.

TBH it doesn't get that hot and as they are designed to be "left alone" I would imagine it has to be made to cut out rather than set on fire.

Doesn't it have more than one setting? Mine has a high setting which cooks things in around 5 hours, but the low setting is for much longer say 8-9 hours.

I have to admit I work from home so only pop in and out during the day and can keep an eye on mine, I find it useful if I get a bit of free time in a morning after the school run, to bung stuff in it and know, no matter what happens during the day, tea is covered with perhaps a quick addition of pasta/rice.

If this is the one you have
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/content/documents/13662_Lakeland_1.5_Slow_Cooker.pdf

The instructions suggest the lower settings can be used to leave food in for 8-10 hours no problem.

Ali x

Tanswell88

Does it have a hi-low button on it? I often do casseroles on low from like 9-5.30 when we have our evening meal. I've never had a problem with it boiling dry.

sKiTz-0

+1 for the socket timer. I am out of the house for just over 10 hours from 6:45am until 5:00pm. I just plug my slow cooker into a socket timer set to come on at 12.

So by the time I come home I'm walking in to a house filled with the smell of lovely food, and just enough time to grab a shower and pour a beer/wine before I dish up my ready made tea.

twiglet98

When delaying the start time by using a socket timer to switch the slow cooker on at lunchtime, I'm wondering how you prepare the food for cooking. Do you put raw fridge-cold meat into the pot before leaving for work in the morning - so it has a few hours slowly coming up towards room temperature - and not add hot stock? Brown the meat and veg and put it into the pot with a little hot stock, so it cools over a few hours before the timer switches it on? Prep it the previous evening, browning onions and meat, then cooling and putting fridge-cold but part-cooked meat in the next morning? Am I missing any other methods? Using a timer would be ideal for me on the days I work 15 hours, but I'd love to know the best way to prepare for timed cooking!

Lilyplonk

I really wouldn't worry too much about 'liquids boiling dry' - when folks first start to use a slow cooker, the biggest complaint is that there's a bit too much liquid because it just doesn't evaporate away.

I'd use it, at least for the first time, when you're at home all day so you can see for yourself how things cook - I'm sure that'll will put your mind at ease. You'll soon get a feel for how much liquid to add PLUS how to thicken the liquid to suit yourselves

• - thicken with lentils - I use barley quite a lot cos we like it
• - some dry powdered 'mash'
• - add some 'slaked cornflower' and stir in
• - add some 'gravy granules'
• - take some veggies out of the pot and give them a 'good whizzy-ing' then stir back in again
• - you can flour and brown the meat before putting in as this also helps to thicken the liquid