I'm disappointed with my slow cooker

Diflower

I agree about the funny taste - also about food being 'institutionalised' lol, like school dinners!
But, I love being able to do things in the slow cooker, so I have tweaked/experimented quite a lot. I have just one recipe book, but have made lots of notes each time I've made anything from it and am now really pleased with how the food's turning out.

When I first got it, there were lots of people who said they never pre-fried anything, chucked it all in raw and insisted it was fine. All I can say is, either they're not very good cooks anyway or don't have very good taste-buds;) I do think though, if you're not using onions, some recipes would be ok done like this, and obviously if you're out all day you don't necessarily have time.

Here are my main findings, over the last year or so:
Anything with onions will taste peculiar if the onions aren't pre-fried. If you don't change anything else, pre-fry onions (you could do that the night before).

Raw mince ditto, I always brown it first (and I do mean brown it, in a hot pan, fast - not slowly turned to beige).

I don't use ready-sauces so can't comment on those, but mostly liquids are I think better boiled first.

Cooking times vary quite a lot. I was 'advised' to start the cooker on high for 30-60mins then turn to low for 8-10 hours. This results in school-dinner mush. Pre-frying as above and using just the low setting is far, far better.
Most stew-typw dishes, bolognese, etc, cooked for over 8 hours, will taste like school dinners. My worst disasters have all been due to over-cooking.
I agree about watching the sides too, the bits round there are often burnt.
Don't cut meat into too-small chunks. Either pre-fry OR toss in flour & seasoning then put raw into s/cooker.

Yesterday's chilli was utterly gorgeous and I can honestly say I wouldn't have guessed it was cooked in the slow cooker:

500g pork shoulder chunks (I cut this up myself from a too-large joint)
2 tbs flour, 2 teasp cocoa, mixed in a bag, toss pork in it.
Finely chop onion & celery, fry in a little oil on med heat till getting soft - 5 mins or so.
Add 1 chopped fresh chilli, 2 or 3 crushed garlic cloves, 1 teasp oregano, pinch cumin & cinnamon, 1 dessertspoon chilli powder, salt & pepper.
Stir well, add a big splash of red wine vinegar, let it bubble down then add a spoon of brown sugar, tin of tomatoes, same amount of water, and an oxo cube. Boil, then put into s/cooker, add meat & stir. Cook on low for about 7 hours, taste & adjust seasoning, add sliced frozen peppers and tinned kidney beans, turn to high for 30 mins then serve.

I used dried beans so boiled them for 10 mins then added them at the beginning.
If using mince for this, I would pre-fry (no flour) and only cook for about 5-6 hours, but if using dried beans then cook them a bit longer before adding.
Also, if you're at home, I taste after about 4 hours, it's cooked enough for the taste to be emerging properly, so you can adjust then.

Swan_2

I read on here that more recent SCs cook hotter than older models, I found that mine cooked quite 'hard' even on the low setting
I'm sure it wasn't faulty, because I had to have my original one exchanged as the crock had chipped right through & they both operated in exactly the same way

it was a Morphy Richards 6.5 Lt


interesting that some of you mention the smell, in the case of the whole chicken, apart from the collapsed & slimy carcase, that was the worst thing about it

I make chicken stock in the conventional way & never have a problem, but the whole house was filled with the most revolting stench, so much so, that even if the chicken had looked appealing & tasted nice, I doubt I'd have been able to eat it

I did get a lot of lovely chicken stock out of it, but it was an awful waste of a lovely free-range bird & it took me a while to be able to face it! thank goodness for freezers

PinkPeach

My husband refuses to eat anything made in our slow cooker because he says it tastes funny. I thought he was just being a pain in the neck as I think it tastes nice, but from reading this perhaps there is something to it!

cooking-mama

morganlefay wrote: »

me too, MrsE, me too ! and it's not always an advantage I fear. If it's not the make of SC that's doing it (and I think the growing number of people on this thread who agree with you about the smell suggests that it's not just one make) , I think you might very well be quite right about the sensitive nose problem !

doesnt seem to be make specific as mine is a Breville SC.,and my eldest hates the chemicaly burnt carrot tange..must admit,if ive overcooked i have to agree with her..i try not to cook for so long or at high now.
I never ever understood the theory that veggies cook slower than meat either,if my braised steak,mince, stew or whatever is cooked to perfection,then the veggies often end up as mush...meat definately cooks quicker than vegetables.
PS..a whole chicken reminded me of a cadaver.:D
Reading this its hard to believe i actualy like my Slow cooker.:rotfl:

maltesers_2

I bought an old, one heat setting, slow cooker to se if it was worth buying a new one. I also thought the food tasted strange and was not at all impressed. However, it is brilliant if you are out all day so I tried again. I have found if meat and veg are browned before putting in the slow cooker I get better results. I have only three recipes that work in it beef goulash, liver and onion casserole (actually very nice), steak and kidney for pie which I like because the kidney disappears and just leaves the flavour, and it is good for lamb shanks. I've cooked rice pudding in it but that tastes funny too.

Ladyhawk

Yep - I also got rid of my SC because of the weird taste and smell.

[Deleted User]

No I am very pleased with mine ,in fact I have two.One my DD gave me as she needed a bigger one as her family grew larger (5 children)and my own one which I bought several years ago.In fact I have a whoopsied chicken cooking in my oval one at the moment I defrosted the chicken overnight and am cooking it today so it will do me for several day meals.I only put about half a cup of water into it with the chicken and leave it on all day on low.By tonight the chicken will be falling off the bone and very tender.

betterlife

i find it to sometimes, i find it fine, for making stocks and cooking meat joints or in gravy but i prefer everyting else done on hob or in oven, things like soups and stews either taste over cooked or if i cook for less bits are still hard, (and i use the right settings)

Swan_2

cooking-mama wrote: »

doesnt seem to be make specific as mine is a Breville SC.,and my eldest hates the chemicaly burnt carrot tange..must admit,if ive overcooked i have to agree with her..i try not to cook for so long or at high now.
I never ever understood the theory that veggies cook slower than meat either,if my braised steak,mince, stew or whatever is cooked to perfection,then the veggies often end up as mush...meat definately cooks quicker than vegetables.
PS..a whole chicken reminded me of a cadaver.:D
Reading this its hard to believe i actualy like my Slow cooker.:rotfl:

lol :rotfl: & there was me thinking I'd said every bad thing that could be said about whole chicken done in the SC

I actually tried it twice, because I couldn't believe how awful it was first time & thought I'd done something wrong
I used just tiny bit of liquid first time, none second time, same result, an almost flat chicken with slimy squidgy meat dropping off the bone, it fell apart as I lifted it out of the cooker, absolutely vile

I like my food to have a bit of texture & flavour, & to at least have a passing resemblance to what it started out as

tessie_bear

i love the sc for rice pudding, soup, chilli, spag bol....i think stew is nasty...sort of grey...i also cooked a whole chicken in it and that was very insipid....not keen at all