Browning meat (merged)

Mrs_Veg_Plot

I put it all in the cs crock the evening before and put it in the fridge overnight then put the crock straight from the fridge into the sc and put it on low for the rest of the day. I brown sausages and cubed beef but do not brown anything else.

morganlefay

Thank you all for that ! I'll give it a whirl as that would make it all a lot easier, and no grappling with early morning onions :beer:

[Deleted User]

I actually put all my stuff for a casserole in and switch it on just before I go to bed at night around 10-11.p.m.when I come down in the morning around 6.30.a.m. its all done and my kitchen has a slight warm heat from the slow cooker Its takes the edge of a freezing cold kitchen nicely and its ready to either portion up and when cold freeze, leaving a portion for my dinner that night to go cold and be reheated in the microwave laterI always put it on the lowest settimg as its got plenty of time to cook so there is no rush.I never precook anything before throwing it all in the cooker.

morganlefay

JackieO have you ever done that with a whole chicken ? I think if you could you'd have a lovely tender juicy cooked chuck to use in sarnies and lots of other things - but maybe it not safe with a chicken ? Such helpful advice from everyone - I'm getting positively excited now (especially as there's heavy frost on my car this am, so a nice warm kitchen would be lovely in the mornings!)

[Deleted User]

Yes I do put a whole chicken in and its delicious and amazing how much meat just falls off the bones.I usually put a cup of water into the SC and a handful of chopped onion or sleced carrot for it to lie on (want it to be comfy in there :))then just bung it on the top I pierce the breast and squirt some lemon juice over it as I am partial to lemony chicken .But it cooks wonderfully and my kitchen smells devine in the morning

xx_Jo_xx

I very rarely brown anything off before throwing it in either...

The only thing I would say about the whole chicken is, that if you eat the skin then its better to quickly pan fry the outsides first.

I dont eat the skin so it doesnt bother me, but the SC doesnt crisp or brown the outside obviously and DS complains that the skin isnt very nice just white... _pale_

But the meat is lovely without browning...

This is also why most people brown sausages first... they stay quite pale, even though they are cooked and look a little bit unhealthy if you dont brown them first

HTH

morganlefay

Of course not browning a chuck and making the skin look a bit grey would be much better for losing weight. When it's all crispy and brown I can't resist it, but I could just leave it if it was pale and floppy. A good slimming tip as well as sound advice - thanks !

zippychick

I've merged this with an older thread on browning meat. This weekend i have cooked a gammon, made carrot and lentil soup from the stock, and today i have tomatoe-y pasta sauce brewing away with veggie meatballs. I do heart my slow cooker.

Im dissappointed with my slow cooker may also interest you as others have also not made friends with theirs in the past

Let us know how you get on

Zip

kitrat

Hi, probably an obvious answer to this Q but I just don't know.

For slow cooker recipes it's better if you brown the meet by frying it quickly first. However I don't have time in the morning before I go out to do this.

Is there anything wrong with browning the meat (e.g. sausages, chicken), putting it in the fridge again (with the other ingredients) and taking it back out to be cooked the following day in the slow cooker while I am out all day.

It seems like this might be a bad idea, I'm sure there's something about cooking and cooling and reheating meat, especially as it won't be cooked through, I don't know. Please help!

katieowl_2

I think you are right to question the safety of doing that. The browned meat would need to go straight into the fridge if you were heading off to work, and could raise the fridge above 5c which is not good. Also it would be warm and at a perfect temperature to breed bacteria if you left it out.

Suggestion....Why don't you cook ahead, so brown and cook the meat right away in the slow cooker...so it cooks overnight. Set it on a timer switch sockety thing, so it goes off at say 5am...so it's cool before you go to work, bung that in the fridge when you leave, and then you can reheat it when you get in?


Kate