What's in your slow cooker today?

I've got a brisket in my slow cooker today. Cooking away in a sauce made up of Worcester Sauce, ketchup, chilli powder, garlic, oak smoked salt, cider vinegar, beef stock, ground mustard, brown sugar, and some cayenne pepper. I'll be pulling it apart when I get home and we'll serve it over some mexican-style rice, along with the leftover sauce and cooked sauce added to some passata to make one of the best BBQ sauces I have ever had. I am looking forward to my food tonight!
 
Well I've seriously neglected this thread, so I thought I'd give it a bit of a revival now that Winter is coming and slow-cookers come into their own during the cold season!

So today I've got a greek lamb recipe slow-cooking away. We cooked it in the oven a few weeks ago and it was amazing, so I thought I'd give it a go in the slow cooker as it makes things even simpler.

So anyway, here's the recipe:

Greek lamb with Orzo:

1kg boned shoulder of lamb, diced (I used 800g leg today)
2 onions, sliced
1 tbsp fresh oregano (1 tsp if using dried)
2 cinnamon sticks snapped in half
½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground cumin
Olive oil
400g can chopped tomatoes
2 pints of stock (chicken or vegetable)
Around 400g orzo

I fried the onions in olive oil, then added the lamb and dried oregano (along with mixed herbs, I really like the flavour dimension they bring). I browned the lamb ever so slightly, then added the chopped tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. I also added some tomato purée to bring a bit more flavour to the dish. Then I added the stock, and moved my slow cooker pot to the slow cooker base, set the timer for 8 hours on low and put the lid on. About 30 minutes before I'm ready to eat, I'll add the orzo. By this time the slow cooker will probably be set to warm so I'll just stir in the orzo and put the lid back on, set the timer for another 30 minutes and then wait :)

I normally serve it with some creme fraiche on the side. It's an amazing autumn and winter dish! Apparently grated parmesan works well too but I don't tend to keep this in so I stick with the creme fraiche :)
 
Bubo said:
If you're in the business of wanting to brown meat, pre-cook vegs etc before chucking it in the pot, *but* you don't have time to do this in the morning before going to work, and all you want to do at that point is switch the thing on, how early the in the day before would you prepare the meat and veg? Would it be ok to basically make the entire pot including stock and leave it switched off overnight? Say, make it all up at 9pm and leave it on the side until 7am the next morning before switching it on?

Basically, how long would you risk leaving a semi-uncooked pot sitting there before switching it on? I can't imagine this being too much of an issue but I am also not a culinary or botulism expert.
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I assume you intend to brown the meat/veg and then put it all in the fridge?

With the meat I would make sure it gets fully cooked, not just browned on the outside and raw in the middle. Let it all cool and put in the fridge, do not leave it out on the kitchen counter overnight.


Slow cookers are not the safest at the best of times because it takes sometime for the meat to heat up and it already spends often a couple of hours at ideal bacterial breeding temperatures, so you want to be a bit careful.

TBH, if everything is prepared the night before (including chopped and fried veg) then frying the meat takes a few minutes, you don;t need to cook theat then, just get some colour. You can do that while waiting for the kettle to boil/eating breakfast.

You could also cook it over night, switch it on just before you go to bed and then throw it in the fridge in the morning. When you come home just microwave a portion to heat up.
 
A good alternative to the regular casserole is curry style dishes form beef/lamb or goat.
I tend not to follow an exact recipe but will have onion veg, fry some spices like cumin and coriander seeds which get ground up, plenty of garlic and ginger, tin of tomatoes.
Not overtly authentic by any means but very tasty and easy.
 
CHokKA said:
I've got a brisket in my slow cooker today. Cooking away in a sauce made up of Worcester Sauce, ketchup, chilli powder, garlic, oak smoked salt, cider vinegar, beef stock, ground mustard, brown sugar, and some cayenne pepper. I'll be pulling it apart when I get home and we'll serve it over some mexican-style rice, along with the leftover sauce and cooked sauce added to some passata to make one of the best BBQ sauces I have ever had. I am looking forward to my food tonight!
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Hey CHokKA, can you tell me more about the relative quantities of each ingredient?
 
The Mrs uses a slow cooker quite a bit but one of my favs is a very simple dish.

Put in a lamb joint, (After searing it of in the pan) - Cover it in honey and mint sauce - leave it for 6~8 hours on low.

NICE!
 
shroomz said:
Hey CHokKA, can you tell me more about the relative quantities of each ingredient?
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Hi shroomz. I can link the recipe that I used :) I adjusted the quantities ever so slightly to taste, and used smoked paprika in place of the normal paprika for the rub, as well as oak smoked sea salt in place of the normal salt. I also left the brisket whole because it was only a 1.2kg piece. And finally, I cut up two onions and chopped them into thin strips rather than finely chopped so that they'd be more prominent.

To serve I fried off some thin pepper strips and onions in oil, added a fresh packet of egg noodles, pulled the brisket and added that with some sauce to the noodles and peppers, coated it all with the sauce and then garnished with spring onion and I can honestly say it was one of the tastiest meals I've ever had :)
 
Just did the other day a lovely bit of gammon joint I got for a fiver. Was huge tho it barely fit the 3.5l crock pot. Did it on low for about 10 hours in cherry coke a cola. Then took it out took the big bit of fat off then put it in oven 170c for 20 mins and was delish was a great crust on outside. Think I'll do more gammon in future. The coke turned clear by the end of the 10 hours.
 
CHokKA said:
Not much really, only that a slow cooker is cheaper to run.
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It's an interesting point - is it really cheaper though?

I've read stuff like this article which states otherwise. Admittedly it's not my forte so I don't know how true it is.

I've retired my slow cooker though. I prefer cooking with a cast iron casserole pot in the oven as I can control the temperature better. I think it yields better results. I also feel more comfortable leaving my oven on for longer periods as the pot is safety tucked away and I suspect that a full domestic oven has higher production standards than a cheap countertop slow cooker.
 
Jolteh said:
It's an interesting point - is it really cheaper though?

I've read stuff like this article which states otherwise. Admittedly it's not my forte so I don't know how true it is.

I've retired my slow cooker though. I prefer cooking with a cast iron casserole pot in the oven as I can control the temperature better. I think it yields better results. I also feel more comfortable leaving my oven on for longer periods as the pot is safety tucked away and I suspect that a full domestic oven has higher production standards than a cheap countertop slow cooker.
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I'm always happy with the results of my slow cooker so I've never really tried long stretches in the oven. Also, according to this article below, the oven is more expensive to run. Use whatever you're the most used to. I don't know if I'd be happy leaving the oven on all throughout the day whilst I'm at work. I feel differently about the slow cooker though because it's specifically designed the purpose. I also don't have cheap slow cookers. We've got two Crock-Pots. I don't think I'd be happy leaving an Aldi or Asda own brand slow cooker on at home whilst I'm at work. I can't think that their quality will be sufficient for that.
 
Aye, I've read that article too. I think I initially found the link to the page I posted at the top of the comments. To quote the comment:

"The analysis here is not very good sadly. It fails to take into account that ovens are insulated and have thermostats, so are actually on only a portion of the time. And the numbers on the slow cookers are way too low. This guy here has done a far better analysis. If you've just read the above piece, now you need to see this one, where he gets it right (no offence intended to the writer but this guy actually did his own homework and research.) http://www.stretcher.com/stories/01/010528j.cfm "

There are plenty of other articles that say the same as the telegraph one obviously, but I think they all make a similar mistake. I've read some other threads on other forums which discuss this and I think it's a pretty mixed picture.

I still feel pretty strongly that ovens are a lot safer to run than worktop slow cookers though. Ovens are a completely different grade of appliance and (I suspect) have much higher safety standards to meet.

I think you're right in that there's probably not much in it overall and it's personal preference, but personally I can't justify the cupboard space for one anymore.
 
dannyjo22 said:
You can't seal meat :p

This is worth a look and I have read him say this quite a bit lately. That for slow cooking he no longer browns meat. I have stopped as well and prefer the results.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/jools-s-favourite-beef-stew

The great thing about this stew is that it gets put together very quickly, and this is partly to do with the fact that no time is spent browning the meat. Even though this goes against all my training, I experimented with two batches of meat – I browned one and put the other straight into the pot. The latter turned out to be the sweeter and cleaner-tasting, so I've stopped browning the meat for most of my stews these days.
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That stew sounds awesome, will have to try that one.

I usually use this recipe on his site, its a much simpler one, but always turns out very nice.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-and-ale-stew/



3 fresh or dried bay leaves
500 g quality diced stewing beef
500 ml ale, Guinness or stout
2 sticks celery
2 medium onions
2 carrots
olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

The tomatoes weren't something I would normally add to a beef stew, but they go great with it.
 
Mark A said:
That stew sounds awesome, will have to try that one.

I usually use this recipe on his site, its a much simpler one, but always turns out very nice.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/beef-and-ale-stew/



3 fresh or dried bay leaves
500 g quality diced stewing beef
500 ml ale, Guinness or stout
2 sticks celery
2 medium onions
2 carrots
olive oil
1 heaped tablespoon plain flour
400 g tinned chopped tomatoes
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

The tomatoes weren't something I would normally add to a beef stew, but they go great with it.
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Do you cook this in the slow cooker? if so, how much do you reduce the guinness by?
 
Doing a bolognese in the slow cooker today. Really looking forward to it. Googled few recipes and mixed them a bit :)
 
rallyfan1986 said:
Do you cook this in the slow cooker? if so, how much do you reduce the guinness by?
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I use an almost full bottle. If its not thick enough near the end of cooking i'll use some corn flour or bisto best beef gravy to thicken it up.

Edit: I actually made this recipe last night as this thread made me fancy a stew. I added some corn flour and a bit of gravy near the end of cooking, but I believe you can also just remove the lid for the last hour and stick it on high to reduce some of the liquid. I also added some mixed herbs and some button mushrooms and a splash of dark soy sauce as I ran out of Hendersons relish. it was lovely as usual. Had it with mashed potato and some home made bread.
 
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Mark A said:
I use an almost full bottle. If its not thick enough near the end of cooking i'll use some corn flour or bisto best beef gravy to thicken it up.

Edit: I actually made this recipe last night as this thread made me fancy a stew. I added some corn flour and a bit of gravy near the end of cooking, but I believe you can also just remove the lid for the last hour and stick it on high to reduce some of the liquid. I also added some mixed herbs and some button mushrooms and a splash of dark soy sauce as I ran out of Hendersons relish. it was lovely as usual. Had it with mashed potato and some home made bread.
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Thanks! I'll need to give it a go soon, I've only tried the butter chicken curry recipe so far... Curry tasted as good as a 'good' curry, but the chicken was a lot better tasting than when cooked in a pan
 
The girlfriend got given a slow cooker for Christmas, a crockpot.
Have followed a recipe and got a beef bourguignon on the go, smelling lovely.
 
Chicken wings!

8 tblspoons of light soy
4 tblspoons of runny honey
4 squished gloves of garlic
4 chopped spring onions
2 teaspoons of hot chili powder
2 teaspons of paprika
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
+
1.5 kiolgram of Chicken wings (tips removed)

Been on low for the past 6 hours; going to give it another 2 hours then a quick blast in the airfryer to crisp-up the skins. Reduce the remainder of the sauce for dipping!
 
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