slow cooker

[bednobs]

hi, i got a slow cooker for christmas. I have wanted one for a while as i like the idea of putting it on before i g to work and having a meal ready when i get home. However, it came with a small cookbok (about 20 recipes) and each one of them takes between 4-5 hours, with the exception of two of them that take 2 hours. That's no good! Are there other recipes that take longer? i will buy a cookbook, but just wondering if it's worth getting the receipt and taking it back!

[paddywak]

Just google Slow (or Crock) cooking and it will come up with loads of recipes. We use ours all the time at this time of year and often cook on Low for 5-8 hours

[chokkie]

hi bednobs - I recently purchased a morphy richards model for about £36 (inc postage) reduced from just under £60. Excellent value, if you give them a call, they still might have them on offer at that price. Mine is a 5 litre max, with a digital control, can do anything up to 10 hours. I personally might be tempted to take it back to the store you bought it from. And buy the most expensive you can afford. I am finding mine a really good buy, as I get home from work later than I used to and it's great having a meal almost ready when I get back home. Tell me what you do eventually.

[paddywak]

As chokkie says they are excellant value, the first one I had was when I was contracting away from home four of us shared a caravan and during the week we lived on meals done in a slow cooker, At night we'd fill it up with tinned veg, a couple of pound of meet etc and switch on low when we went out in the morning. Sometimes we'd be out 10-12 hrs but their was always a hot meal when we got in.

[shaneystar2]

It doesn't really matter how long you leave it cook .I never go by recipes for slow cookers and have been using one for over thirty years .A casserole will bubble away happily all day on low .A joint of beef will cook in about six hours on low ,same for a leg of lamb , about four hours for a whole chicken .
If you have to follow a recipe get the Lakeland Slow Cooker book .
Quite honestly nothing that you put in it will burn .
The type of meals you can cook in it that can be left all day are mainly stews , casseroles ,soups ,chilli etc .
The name says it all "slow cooker" ..you don't have to stand over it .
I bung a bit of brisket,lamb ,gammon etc in it on a Sunday morning and it's mouth wateringly tender when we have our meal around five .

[bednobs]

i have a feeling it is already an expensive one chokkie (clearly i can't ask santa as he is now having a long rest) it is a crockpot one that you can also take off and use in the real oven or on the hob to brown things frst

[bednobs]

btw i would give you all stars but it seems i can't any more!

[ChuckFickens]

I bought a slow cooker

I bought a timer plug too so I can set it to come on halfway through the day if needed (which isn't often, as most have said the times aren't that important)

[shaneystar2]

Ah ..that's a different kettle of fish then .
Ours is a six litre Morphy Richards oval shape .You can't use the pot in the oven or on the hob
What make is it bednobs ?.

[Postdog]

Don't worry about. Some things taste better the longer they cook. It's not like an oven where a few extra hours is gonna ruin something.

[trevordavies]

got mine from tescos...wait for it...I think it was10 quid..might have been 20 quid. They are quite safe I,ve never heard of one blowing up.At this present time i,ve got a nice mousaka bubbling away. As a extra tip ...I sometimes cook food a little bit first ,say 10---15 minutes, then stick it the slow cooker to simmer 4 to 6 hours. of you can only do this with stew type meals.Merry Xmas to everyone from me and the godess.

[bednobs]

the make is "crockpot"

[bednobs]

do things have to be hot hot hot before you put them in to cook, or can you cook from raw?

[Postdog]

best to brown off meats first like you would normally. As for veg, again par boil to soften, and they'll be fine. I do loverly soups in mine by buting supermarket packet soups, and adding extras,

[shaneystar2]

Of course you can cook them from raw .A casserole for example .Just chuck it all in .Meat ,veg ,stock ,etc Stir it round ,switch it on and walk away
I sometimes put a ham hock in it and let it cook on slow overnight .let it cool,cut the meat off ,shove that back in the pot with stock ,dried soup mix and loads of chopped winter veg and a good handful of parsley .When it's nearly time to dish up bung some dumplings on the top for the last 30 mins .You can let that cook all day and just need to do the dumplings .
I buy a large joint of beef .I put in the pot ,switch it on and get on with my life .It makes it own gravy .You don't have to keep hanging over the oven basting it .
That's why it's called a slow cooker :))
Have never heard of a make called just " Crockpot" .They are mainly well known brand names like Morphy Richards etc.
Crockpot is a generic term for a slow cooker .The Americans call it a crockpot .

[chokkie]

Hi bednobs, me again (Chox). I do find it all tastes better if you brown your meat before putting in the pot. Not happy about doing chicken in it, as it all collapses after such long cooking. I would be very reluctant to do fish in it (for the same reason). Did oxtail during last week, and it was fab. Will be trying a bolognaise sauce next. Good l uck - but whatever model you get, I would recommend that you get one with a large capacity (if there is more than one of you that is). Then there's leftovers for the next dinner (and you don't even have to cook then! Good luck! Chox.

[ChuckFickens]

crockpot is not a generic name for a slow cooker, it's a brand name, it's just become the most common brand name (in the same way a lot of people call all vacuum cleaners hoovers)

http://www.crock-pot.com/

[shaneystar2]

I never bother to brown the meat .I just toss it in seasoned flour and bung it in. It comes out just the same as fiddling about browning it off.
I don't use a slow cooker to have to cook half of it first .. That's defeating the object::)
Btw ....rice pudding is fab done in a slow cooker and I have even made a cake in it .And you can even do jacket spuds in it .I make an awful of lot use of it especially during the winter months when you want something hot and warming even though I don't go to work anymore. I can put something on in the morning and let it sozzle all day and do other things. .
We bought our first one donkeys years ago when when lived abroad as the house we lived in had no oven just a hob !!
Persevere with it bednobs .I'm sure you'll soon get the hang of it .

[shaneystar2]

I've never seen that one before Chuck .I know they use the term crockpot for a slow cooker but having just looked at John Lewis they do indeed sell a brand called Crockpot :)
Im an Argos gal myself :)

[bednobs]

thanks for all your help everyone
it's this one http://www.johnlewis....30498448/Product.aspx - cheaper than i thought :) will have to have a word with santa i think.
When i make a casserole in the oven i usually bring it to the boil on top before putting it in rather than just stick it in cold, so i wondered if we had to do that.

[webb58]

It sounds pretty much like cooking in an Aga, so I guess you can do pretty much anything in the slow cooker if it's big enough. Meat comes out very tender and all the flavour is sealed in, perfect. You just have to experiment a few times if you don't have instructions and you'll get there. Perfect for working families.