Using a slow cooker - techniques and tips

ivyleaf

I've just treated myself to a SC today! Can't wait to try it out. Looking forward to browsing through the recipes you wonderful people have posted. :snow_grin

ivyleaf

Lara

charlotte664 wrote:

Whats the difference between a Rice Cooker and a Slow Cooker? I cannot cook rice to save my life and thought about buying one cheap yesterday in the sales.

But it looks just like a Slow Cooker! Cant I just chuck rice and water in the SC and leave it for a few hours???? (Although technically that would scupper my plans for Curry and Rice!!)

I cook my rice in my Tefal vegetable steamer - easy peasy;) and wonderfully fluffy too.

Burlesque_Babe

I leave for work at 8am. We don't eat at night until around 8- 8.30pm.

If I put on a small piece of brisket just before I go to work, it will be cooking (on the low setting) for around 12 hours.

Is this too long? I do get home at 2pm, but this is only 6 -6 1/2 hours, so thought it might not be enough for brisket? Or would it cook as well on a different setting (I also have Auto and High?)

Same for chicken thighs as well really....

I'm still learning about my SC - I've only done rice pudding once so far!!

Help!!!

[Deleted User]

slow cooker conversion chart

http://www.hormel.com/templates/knowledge/knowledge.asp?catitemid=129&id=914

I am going to pin this on my notice board

squeaky

Great find!

I'll add that link straight into the MEGA Index shortly thanks, and since we have a main thread devoted to hints and tips on the slow cooker I'll merge this one into it.

hendersonb

Hi all,

Going to invest in a slow cooker tomorrow - Never really done any real cooking at all, generally lived off tinned, packeted or microwavable food since living on my own. Yes i'm a guy in his twenties

What kinda veg and the like should I buy for starting out and what kinda spices/herbs/seasoning should I look for.

Also i intend to make too much food for myself to have enough left for non-cooking days, what kind of containers should i get to put this in?

Many thanks

Brian

squeaky

Hi

At the top of the forum is a sticky where we are collecting lots of threads about slow cookers together which I'm sure you are going to find useful. It's called The Complete Slow Cooker Collection.

One of the main threads is about hints and tips and the question you have asked would be a good one to add to it, so I shall merge your post into it shortly. Since posts are listed in date order you'll need to read from the beginning to catch up with us all

I'd be inclined to stick to a simple dish, perhaps a chilli or a curry, or a straightforward stew or casserole. There are lots of recipes you can pick from using the Index to our Slow Cooker Recipe Collection and you could choose one or two you like the look of and build your shopping list from the ingredients required.

Mostly it's just a case of chopping things up and bunging them all in

Your instruction book will help with all that too

badgermonkey

We got a Morphy Richards 3.5l for Christmas and have been trying it out.

Today I made a beef stew. I used the same ingredients I always do, with about half the stock (but all the same amount of flavourings) - made with boiling water. I put it in at 11am and cooked it on medium until 6, when I put dumplings in and turned it to high for an hour.

But I was very disappointed with the result! It was all hot enough and cooked through but all the vegetables were quite crisp, and I like my stew veg mushy. It was quite thin so I added some cornflour but this seemed to make the gravy really bland, not as nice as it would have been from cooking down. The meat was lovely, but that was it.

I didn't think it would be a good idea to cook on high for 8 hours but I don't know what to do next time.

canny_yorkshireman_2

if you are doing a stew in the slow cooker and like the veg done mushy you need to put it on low for 24 hours the night before works fine for me and the meat still tastes fab. Its graet for chilli and the mix for lasagne (hope i have spelt them right) they take about 8-10 hours on slow also found it good for various meat curries and meat and potatoe pie (not the crust though) The gravy is best thickened up after you have removed the stew mix
hth

squeaky

Actually my book recommends parboiling root vegetables for about ten minutes before adding to the slow cooker. They need a good head start or they will, as you have just found, stay qwuite firm.

Dusting your meat in flour at the start is a good way to help thicken, as is taking out a few bits of veg, whizzing them, and putting them back.

Also you could decant the liquids into a saucepan and simply reduce them and / or add some gravy thickener granules.

I'm pretty sure there are quite a few tips dotted around in this thread that should help.