SLOW COOKING

[LooLoo]

Finally Mr Loo has "treated" me to a slow cooker woop woop

so lets share some ideas please

at the weekend - i am getting things to make chillie/beef stew and lamb stew.

I have hear conflicting statements - do you brown your meat before you put it in or do you just do everything raw?

xx

[vossy]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Finally Mr Loo has "treated" me to a slow cooker woop woop

so lets share some ideas please

at the weekend - i am getting things to make chillie/beef stew and lamb stew.

I have hear conflicting statements - do you brown your meat before you put it in or do you just do everything raw?

xx

I do raw with all the veg and every other ingredient, on low all day and hey presto, I have also done a chicken dinner in mine, chicken in with the veg but no water and leave it, the chicken juices cook everything and it comes out great, lots of recipes on the web. I'm hungry now

[LooLoo]

Re: SLOW COOKING

ooooooooo sounds fab i am really looking forward to using it

so with the mince and chilli would you suggest i brown the mince or not - just worried it might get a skim of fat on top??

[Deepie]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Can you do a full English breakfast in one ?

[vossy]

Re: SLOW COOKING

ooooooooo sounds fab i am really looking forward to using it

so with the mince and chilli would you suggest i brown the mince or not - just worried it might get a skim of fat on top??

Its all personal choice, if you are at home and there is a skim on top then just spoon it off, if the mince is very lean it would not need it.

You can brown meat first to stop it breaking up in a stew but personally I like it when the meat is crumbly.

[vossy]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Can you do a full English breakfast in one ?

No - bugger off!

p.s. congrats

[diddlydee]

Re: SLOW COOKING

I brown the meat if I have time, but usually just chuck everything in and it's fine!

A slice of bread placed on top before serving removes most of the fat, just don't forget and eat it

I don't use the slow cooker as much as I should, but cook whole duck, which I then serve with orange sauce, whole chickens, stews etc. With the whole bird recipes, you can cook them ages if you wish, but they do have a tendancy to fall apart a bit. Tis okay if you don't mind.

I'll post a couple of recipes...

[mk_chatham]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Hi

For a cheap and 'warming' stew try a turkey drumstick stew. Plenty of meat on one for a decent meal for two or three people. The last one I got from Sainsburys was about £1.70.

I put it in raw, un-browned, but I do skin it, with a diced onion, crushed garlic, quite 'chunky' chopped carrots, swede, and whole small potatoes. I usually add a couple of tablespoons of a stew mix (pearl barley, lentils, dried peas, etc) with about 2L of stock made with a cube.

I find that 3 hrs on high then 3 hours on low works just fine for me.

You may have to experiment a bit. I found that chopped parsnips just turn to mush so if I am adding these they only go in for the last 2 hours.

This does me for 3 dinners and freezes well. After dividing up the three meals, with a slotted spoon, I put the remaining liquid, with all the little bits left in it, in a food processor which then turns it into a really nice thick winter soup.

There are tendons (?) in the turkey drumstick that sort of turn to bone like slithers. Difficult to explain but when you are stripping the meat off the bone you will see them. The meat just falls off the bone so this is really easy.

Enjoy !

MK

[LooLoo]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Thanks Diddles and Vossy - you been a great help

As for I2D all I can say is Pah!

Ok with Dumplings when do you add them?

and if i do a lamb stew with pearl barley do i put the barley in at the start?

i am going to start with the chilli for Monday then maybe a stew for wednesday?

I think i might be adding to my layers of fat

i am really interested in cooking the whole bird thing

x

[LooLoo]

Re: SLOW COOKING

O thanks MK - i like the sound of that esp the cheap part ! Def an near the end of the month type of meal!

[mk_chatham]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Ok with Dumplings when do you add them?

I find about two hours before the end usually works for me

and if i do a lamb stew with pearl barley do i put the barley in at the start?

Thats what I do

Hope this helps !

MK

[samsmum]

Re: SLOW COOKING

I just throw everything in raw too. Tried cooking a whole chicken in it yesterday for the first time and it was lovely. I'd be lost without mine in the winter

[diddlydee]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Slow cooker duck served with orange sauce...

Scrunch up some foil in the base of the slow cooker to prevent the duck sitting in the fat and place the whole duck (or duck legs if preferred) on top.

If using a whole duck, cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for as long as you wish. If using duck legs they take considerably less time - perhaps 2-3 hours on high or max 4-5 hours on low.

Knock up some orange sauce in readiness. This is how I make mine. I don't really measure stuff, so below is an estimate of what I use:

1 orange
half a lemon
1 tbsp of brown sugar (to taste)
1 pint of orange juice
1 large glass of port
chicken stock cube dissolved in half a glass of water
1 tbsp of flour/corn flour, dissolved in a little cold water

Firstly, take the fine outside rind only (no pith) from the orange and the lemon half using either a rinder or with a knife (this needs to be nice and finely chopped into shreds if using a knife). Place in a bowl and pour over boiling water and leave for a couple of minutes.. This will make it less bitter and remove any wax coatings. Drain.

Then, just the orange and lemon half. Place the juice together with all the other ingredients (except the flour) into a saucepan, and bring to a rapid boil. Allow to reduce by half. Add the flour/water mix slowly, beating during addition to prevent any lumps. Heat through again thoroughly to cook out the flour.

Taste. Add more port/sugar as necessary until it tastes slightly tart but fabulous.

When the duck is cooked, remove from the slow cooker. If you intend to serve the skin, it is easily peeled off, even from the whole duck, just take care and use a sharp nice to assist with its removal. A couple of minutes in a hot oven on a baking sheet will crisp it up nicely. The duck will shred off the bones so easily and you'll find you get at least 50% more meat off than if you roasted normally.

Serve with roast potatoes, runners, cauli and carrots. Yum!

[LooLoo]

Re: SLOW COOKING

Thanks MK and Samsmum - seems we are a whole forum of Slow cookers

i have been meaning for years to get one

[LooLoo]

Re: SLOW COOKING

What time do you want me for dinner?

this sounds lush

I WILL def try this out

Slow cooker duck served with orange sauce...

Scrunch up some foil in the base of the slow cooker to prevent the duck sitting in the fat and place the whole duck (or duck legs if preferred) on top.

If using a whole duck, cook on high for 3-4 hours, or low for as long as you wish. If using duck legs they take considerably less time - perhaps 2-3 hours on high or max 4-5 hours on low.

Knock up some orange sauce in readiness. This is how I make mine. I don't really measure stuff, so below is an estimate of what I use:

1 orange
half a lemon
1 tbsp of brown sugar (to taste)
1 pint of orange juice
1 large glass of port
chicken stock cube dissolved in half a glass of water
1 tbsp of flour/corn flour, dissolved in a little cold water

Firstly, take the fine outside rind only (no pith) from the orange and the lemon half using either a rinder or with a knife (this needs to be nice and finely chopped into shreds if using a knife). Place in a bowl and pour over boiling water and leave for a couple of minutes.. This will make it less bitter and remove any wax coatings. Drain.

Then, just the orange and lemon half. Place the juice together with all the other ingredients (except the flour) into a saucepan, and bring to a rapid boil. Allow to reduce by half. Add the flour/water mix slowly, beating during addition to prevent any lumps. Heat through again thoroughly to cook out the flour.

Taste. Add more port/sugar as necessary until it tastes slightly tart but fabulous.

When the duck is cooked, remove from the slow cooker. If you intend to serve the skin, it is easily peeled off, even from the whole duck, just take care and use a sharp nice to assist with its removal. A couple of minutes in a hot oven on a baking sheet will crisp it up nicely. The duck will shred off the bones so easily and you'll find you get at least 50% more meat off than if you roasted normally.

Serve with roast potatoes, runners, cauli and carrots. Yum!