So I Just Bought A Slow Cooker!!

I was in wilkinson earlier looking at the diy stuff then browsed the kitchenware and noticed a wilkoinson own brand 1.5litre slow cooker for £10

couldnt resist for that price :D

obviously doesnt hold much but I'm only cooking for me now so more than enough :D
 
I leave mine on for 7 hour stretches without thinking about it mate, Go a bed go out whatever, Once the stuff is in there & the lids on & the switch is set to low I don't even think about it until I want to eat. It does fill the wholehouse up with lovely smells as well for when you get back in, Living alone that's nice to come back to.
 
As long as the cooker is in basic good order, then you really have no worries whatsoever from a safety perspective.

They are very cheap too - they use about the same energy as a single lightbulb, you can buy the cheapest cuts of meat and cook them really long and slow (Lamb shoulder, beef shin or skirt, pork belly, oxtail) and they still come out delicious because they have had time to render out the fat, break down the sinew and soak up all the flavour of whatever you cook them in - for a fraction of the cost of cooking them in a conventional oven.

I promise you that Lamb shoulder recipe I posted above will cost you about 5 quid for the meat and will the best bit of lamb you have ever eaten and you'll have leftover to throw in a curry the next night!

They are economical, convenient (so long as you can make 15 minutes to throw whatever in the pot before you go to work) and convenient - get home, lovely hot food waiting for you to eat at your leisure.

And don't just think stew - you can cook porridge overnight and wake up to perfect brekky, you can cook cakes, soups are excellent (using chicken carcasses!) you can cook whole chickens, you can easily confit anything, you can use them as a bain-marie by placing an earthenware dish with a tight fitting lid on an upturned saucer and filling around it with water so you can make pate, terrines, cheesecake, confectionery etc etc (try thickening up a tin of condensed milk for hours - nom nom nom)

You can even throw in frozen meat, water and a stock cube and come home to a feast.

Not only that they are cheap as chips however its worth spending a little extra for one with a count down timer that switches to a keep warm setting then you never have to worry. I have this one.

Can you tell I love my slow cooker? :cool:
 
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Lt_Red said:
As long as the cooker is in basic good order, then you really have no worries whatsoever from a safety perspective.

They are very cheap too - they use about the same energy as a single lightbulb, you can buy the cheapest cuts of meat and cook them really long and slow (Lamb shoulder, beef shin or skirt, pork belly, oxtail) and they still come out delicious because they have had time to render out the fat, break down the sinew and soak up all the flavour of whatever you cook them in.

They are economical, convenient (so long as you can make 15 minutes to throw whatever in the pot before you go to work) and convenient - get home, lovely hot food waiting for you to eat at your leisure.

And don't just think stew - you can cook porridge overnight and wake up to perfect brekky, you can cook cakes, whole chickens, you can use them as a bain-marie by placing an earthenware dish with a tight fitting lid on an upturned saucer and filling around it with water so you can make pate, terrines, cheesecake, confectionery etc etc (try thickening up a tin of condensed milk for hours - nom nom nom)

You can even throw in frozen meat, water and a stock cube and come home to a feast.

Not only that they are cheap as chips however its worth spending a little extra for one with a count down timer that switches to a keep warm setting then you never have to worry. I have this one.

Can you tell I love my slow cooker? :cool:
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*sold* :p I shall have to pick one up!
 
Sorry, yeah, skin off. Trim a bit of the excess fat off too. Obviously the more fat, the more flavour in the juices you re-add, but... depends if you want to bit at least slightly healthy.
 
Yeah always remove the skin and trim as much fat as you can be bothered to or your meal will have a layer of lard on top :) Unless you are cooking poultry in which case brown off the skin in a frying pan and then throw it in.
 
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DcD said:
Sorry, yeah, skin off. Trim a bit of the excess fat off too. Obviously the more fat, the more flavour in the juices you re-add, but... depends if you want to bit at least slightly healthy.
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:( I could have got the butcher to do that for me... Oh well at least the majority of the meat will have been in the rub overnight.

Although in the other thread I was told to leave it on :confused:
 
Voltar said:
Although in the other thread I was told to leave it on :confused:
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TBH it depends on what you are cooking. With Pork it is good to remove whatever skin and fat you can be arsed to if you intend to use the liquid as a sauce otherwise you may as well eat raw butter.

Other meats you can get away with anything, but make sure you brown them off in a frying pan first. This also caramelises the meat and makes the sauce tastier.

If you are preparing first thing in the morning before work and need to catch the bus or if you just cannot be arsed, you can set aside the sauce to use as a stock for your next meal - put it in the fridge and skim off the fat the next day (fantastic for soups or as a base for curries etc) - or use a fat separator.

Here's a tip - if you want to use the sauce that the meat has cooked in but it has a thick layer of fat on it, remove the meat and let it rest under loose tin foil, leave the sauce for a few mins and let the fat rise up then lay a few sheets of kitchen roll on the top of the sauce and lift the fat away :)

Don't go too overboard though, fat = flavour.
 
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Voltar said:
:( I could have got the butcher to do that for me... Oh well at least the majority of the meat will have been in the rub overnight.

Although in the other thread I was told to leave it on :confused:
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I saw, sorry I didn't reply in time. I've gotta admit I wholeheartedly disagree with leaving the skin and top layer of fat on when you're doing pulled pork in a slow cooker. BBQ, yes (and remove before pulling apart). Skin doesn't break down into fibres like meat.

I've also never met any American who leaves the skin on when doing it in a slow cooker!
 
Well I took it off just now having had the 1.5kg boneless shoulder joint in the fridge in your recipe overnight DcD (although 25% of the paprika I changed to sweet smoked paprika and added a tablespoon of garlic granules). It has been in the slow cooker for 5 mins and will remain there until half time in the 49ers game tonight so about ten hours.

I used a jar of Big J's BBQ sauce (having read a few bottles and seen a few BBQ sauce recipies I went for this one as it was the only one which used liquid hickory smoke and had all the right ingredients) and put the pork on a bed of onions- sliced two up finely but ended up removing about one onion's worth in the end.

Really excited about how this will turn out.
 
I've got a slow cooker sat in my cupboard which I never use. Is it as simple as throwing in a bunch of ingredients covered in water, leaving it switched on a few hours and good to go?
 
yes and no. you want the right cut of meat. try some shin, its delicious. Pop into the butcher explain what your wanting to do and they will suggest a cut for you.


People do not forget puddings are awesome in a slow cooker!!!!
 
I did my first pulled pork in my slow cooker yesterday. Absolutely lovely :)

Smothered in American mustard, and caked in a very similar spice mix to the one above. Left on a bed of onion and a little bit of apple juice for about 8 hours. Then I highly recommend taking the joint out of the slow cooker, placing it in a roasting tin and blasting it in a very hot oven to crisp up the outside. Then pull the pork, put it back in the slow cooker, pour over your BBQ sauce, mix well and leave for another hour on low.

The crispy bits taste sublime. And the best thing? I've got loads left!!!
 
Infam0us said:
Thanks for the advice, I really want to cook with a slow cooker just scared of buying something and then it becomes waste because I did'nt do it properly :P
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It's not something I would ever considered buying, but I was given one someone who never used it and I'm very glad they did. Beef in red wine, chilli and pulled pork are just sublime from it. Must try some puddings!
 
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