Slow cooker beginner - question/s

B0bbyEwing

Katiehound said:

I then thought maybe you can cook your microwave rice in the juice rather than boiling water?
 It would give it added flavour.

Err, now I'm not sure which of us is not seeing the picture here. 

On the face of it I'm thinking you may be having a moment but in these situations it tends to actually be me so I'm not saying this with any real confidence in myself other than leaving the key parts in bold.

Either way, the rice gets flavour when I pour the juice on. Sausage casserole tonight.

Only thing is, whenever I have a slow cooker meal, I'm always hungry soon after. It's strange.

Katiehound said:

Perhaps you could get a cheap timer plug and set it to start cooking later?

ps bog-standard rice in Aldi is microwavable- it was around 45 pence per kg- 10 mins in microwave. I haven't bought any for a couple of weeks-so  might be dearer / OOS!

1) I'd have to get a new slow cooker as well as the timer - as said, the slow cooker turns off once you leave it for a while (as in once you leave the display on but don't press start)

2) I'm talking about the 2min packet microwave rice. Basic white/brown at 35p per bag. I think maybe 250g. Flavoured is I think 49p per bag.

B0bbyEwing

pickledonionspaceraider said:

I know people rave about slow cookers, but I have given up with mine for some foods.

Some meals just taste strange when coming out of it a slow cooker, bolognaise sauce for example has a weird twang to it, that I hve never been able to figure out

Stews hve always been ok though

Yes agreed, although we haven't given up.

There was something my wife tried in the slow cooker and it had a real weird taste to it. She did it a few times and it was the same every time. It was just weird. I think it might've been chilli, but in the wok on the hob it was fine.

Fajitas was another. She saw online I think how to do them in the slow cooker & the pictures etc looked good. When she tried it, she followed the guide but just so much juice running out of the wrap was a problem.

We now tend to stick to sausage or chicken casserole as a meal.
She'll put jacket spuds in there on their own in order to go with something.

Think that's it. Would like to branch out.

Pollycat

I had a slow cooker when they were new to the market, about 50 years ago.
It was a Prestige Crock Pot and would happily cook for 12 hours.
When the electric base failed, some 30 years later, replacement ones seemed to cook much faster - and not so well.
I'm still on the lookout for a Crockpot base.
I add flour to the ingredients and toss meat in flour to aid thickening.
I don't add water, I use stock or tinned tomatoes.

B0bbyEwing

Just a thought but there's probably YouTube channels on slow cooker meals. Do any of you follow any or do you just go by slow cooker books (or even just go by your own thing)?

maisie_cat

I always saute the mirepoix veg and brown meat before adding a small amount of liquid. I find it prevents the meat juices leaching into the liquid as much. Too much liquid is disappointing, I use a large glug of red wine for a joint of beef, no water.

Katiehound

When I got my slow cooker I just googled for recipes online- found a few I really liked.
I don't have a recipe book and at the price I paid the item didn't come with a book!

maman

I don't use my slow cooker to prepare meals when I'm out. Instead I use it mainly for batch cooking Bolognese and chilli for the freezer. I think the food tastes better after it's been marinating than when it's freshly cooked. It's a big time saver (and healthy) to have home made ready meals. 

My smallish Crockpot does about 4 meals (8 portions). I use an adapted version of the Hairy Bikers chilli, using a red wine stock cube, extra vegetables and leaving out the flour. Sometimes I do a veggie version with extra beans instead of meat. Any Bolognese recipe will do but I always add extra vegetables and often a handful of lentils. I don't do any precooking, just throw it all in. 

Incidentally @BobbyEwing, why are you using microwave rice? Unless it's to save precious time then you're saving money on fuel with the SC and spending it on precooked rice. 🤔 I like brown rice and as it takes so long to cook, I make my own microwave pouches. I cook rice on the hob in my largest saucepan. Cool it quickly and portion up in freezer bags. 

QrizB

B0bbyEwing said:

But then my wife pointed out that the slow cooker itself goes off after a certain amount of time. Basically it needs you to be there to press the timer twice which knocks it in to low heat, then you need to press another button to set the duration you want, then you need to press the start button. You can't set it & leave it for it to then click on in x-hours time as all the display goes off & you have to start again.

Sounds as though you need a dumber slow cooker (one without any smarts) or a fingerbot to press the button for you.

Something like this:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/265850885199

Although spending £30+ to switch on a slow cooker seems a bit much to me - not very moneysaving!

A dumber slow cooker is half the price:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/325284713626

Pollycat

B0bbyEwing said:

Just a thought but there's probably YouTube channels on slow cooker meals. Do any of you follow any or do you just go by slow cooker books (or even just go by your own thing)?

There's actually lots of slow cooker threads on here but I can't search very well on my phone.
I've been cooking for 50 years so don't rely on recipes, even ones I haven't used before, I tend to do what I think.
I know lots of people brown meat but I've never done that.

goldfinches

I think you could do a lot worse than have a look at these Good Housekeeping tips and tricks which includes one specifically to help with your excess liquid problem Slow cooker recipes: ​How to add flavour to a slow cooker recipe (goodhousekeeping.com)

I've made several of the GH slow cooker vegetarian recipes and found them delicious so do persevere. Other good sources of recipes online are BBC Good Food and Olive magazine as well as the Skinny Slow Cooker series of books published by CookNation available on Kindle. The other recipe source I've found helpful particularly when I first got my slow cooker was my local library which had lots of books dedicated to slow cooking so do have a look in your branch to see what they've got.

As I say, I found recipes especially helpful when I first got my slow cooker but once I'd used it for a few months I began to be able to adapt other recipes and am now quite confident at doing that. As others have said above it is a learning curve but it doesn't take very long to become familiar with your new equipment and I do think it well worth the effort. I wouldn't be without my slow cooker nowadays and have even made Delia Smith's mincemeat in mine.