I'm disappointed with my slow cooker

quintwins

i've never browned any of my meat in the slow cooker i like 2 do it all one pot to save washing , last time this happened it was stew and time before was veg soup so i it might be something i'm doing wrong , i get it in both my slow cookers so know it's not a fault with my slow, i've turned it off do u think i shud turn it bk on?

shellsuit

It's probably something that's been cooked in it and it is still harbouring a smell from that. That's what put me off using a slow cooker, because the food is cooked in one for so long, of course some of the aromas will cling to the bowl even if it's been washed thoroughly.

I know when I use my George Foreman for burgers, even though I clean it straight away afterwards, for a few uses after that, I can still smell a horrid burger fat smell and it's rank.

Same as when I used a plastic jug once to make strawberry jelly in. Washed it out afterwards, it looked and smelt fine. Till I used the same jug to make gravy. Made aroast, poured the gravy on and the whole dinner was ruined because all I could taste was strawberry flavoured gravy, bleugh!!!

quintwins

oh strawberry roast....yummy

i never thought of that but i love my slow cooker i don't wanna stop using it and it only happens sometimes

i do find that with my george foreman aswell when i turn it on even tho it's clean u can still smell the burgers when it's warming up

puddy

its the slow cooker, i find this, it makes everything taste the same, im getting fed up of it. i think there was a thread on here at some point about how some slow cookers taste a bit funny and things come out a bit homogenous. its nothing to do with previous food in it

quintwins

but it's not all food it just happens randomly anyhoo were off 2 the chippy lol and our dogs will be getting a lovely treat

i turned it bk on again but it's no better and i'm feeling abit tender today so can't stomach it even tho im sure it's fine

zippychick

puddy wrote: »

its the slow cooker, i find this, it makes everything taste the same, im getting fed up of it. i think there was a thread on here at some point about how some slow cookers taste a bit funny and things come out a bit homogenous. its nothing to do with previous food in it

i'm sure it was merged in here - i'm dissapointed with my slow cooker. (yes i checked, it was merged)

Admittedly i don't use mine every week but I've never had the strange smell/taste - although a lot on here do , so i'm sure more people will be along to agree with you soon

I'll merge this later on

Zip

rebeccaxoxo

I recently got a slowcooker and every meal ive made in it has been disappointing.
ive tried chicken curry ( the chicken breast was so dry and tough it was horrid)
and soup ( it all sort of congealed together into a thick mess) and chicken casserole ( again the chicken breast changed into a wierd darker colour and was bone dry).
I really dont know what im doing wrong, i follow each recipe to the letter and Ive never had any problem cooking in a normal oven or on the hob, 99% of the things i cook turn out great, so im totally baffled.
Any help would be greatly appreciated and any recipes that should work out well ?:T

kingkano

Did you use slow cooker recipes for those? I'd not use chicken breast for slow cooker meals as it doesnt like long slow cooking, better off using thighs.

I can post loads of recipes if you give me an idea of some of the things you like ie lamb or beef, spices? etc.

Basic chicken and mushroom casserole

8 chicken thighs on the bone (skinless)
1 tbsp flour
25g butter
1 onion
2 celery sticks sliced
225g mushrooms
1 garlic clove
300ml chicken stock
3tbsp sour cream (or double cream fine too) ADD AT THE END after cooking finished

You can do it 2 ways, brown everything off and transfer boiling to the slow cooker, then cook on low 4-6hours. important that veg is covered in stock, chicken thighs dont need to be.

OR

Chuck everything in cold, veg on the bottom, pour over the stock hot and then put the slow cooker on Auto if you have that - or low but aim more 6-7hrs.

oh I gladly use the same quantities and use less chicken thighs as we don't need 8 lol.

Lippycow

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2197233 here you go have a look and i'm sure you will find some lovely recipes:-)

sonastin

When I first got my slowcooker, I couldn't get veg to cook properly at all. Decided slow cookers should only be used for meat. Then I spent some time on this forum and realised that other folks use theirs for veg so it must be something I was doing wrong! I think I used to cook everything on low and it didn't really get hot enough to cook the veg but since then, I've been starting things off on high and turning down to low once its started simmering nicely - about 4 hours later sometimes. Its been much more effective since then.

So basically, keep persevering and spend a bit of time reading up on recipes and how to on this thread!