[Growster...]

Also, they're great for reducing bones for stock.

They also don't seem to dry out as much as a casserole does, as their heat isn't as furious - assuming you have a decent lid that is...

Ours was £12.00 from Twongos too Herb - very useful, and as DD says, easy to use as an experiment.

We also use it to get the juice out of dried elderberries for home-made wine. It takes most of the day, but the juice is as thick as a thick elderberry's thick bits...;0)

[tadpole]

Just get it down & try it for yourself!

Despite recent IT advances, you can't convey taste, aroma & texture via a PC yet.

Well, i'm a bit old fashioned and will stick with my old cast iron casseroles unless someone can say why a slow cooker gives a better result You do get all the taste , aroma & texture you would ever want doing it in the oven DD

The other thing is i will usually put 3 casseroles in together, so i would need some convincing

But I would be interested to know why others use them over a casserole in the oven

I have a slow-cooker and a cast iron Dutch, both give different result for the same meal.  For example Beef Daube, cooked in the slow cooker is rich, and tasty, with a nice amount of gravy. But cooked in the Dutch, is thick and meaty with almost no gravy, just enough to coat the meat. However in the slow-cooker I can just put all the meat (freshly browned and after having been soaked in wine over night) and turn it on and leave it to do its thing. I can go out and shop, or go to work, or to the plot.  With it in the oven I have to keep an eye on it, make sure it does not stick to the bottom, or dry up, or cook too quickly.

Think of a slow cooker as a way to get different meals from the same ingredients. An added weapon in your cooking arsenal
If I could tempt you with any meal it would be slow cooked shin of beef Thai style
One pound of shin beef ) chopped in to large lumps (2” or there about)
Half a can of coconut milk
Half a box of Aldi passata 
Spoonful of minced Garlic
Tea spoonful of Ginger finely chopped 
One ultra hot chilli whole with seeds in (take out at end)
On heaped spoonful of masuman Thai curry paste (red or green dependent on how hot you like it
Cook in the slow cooker on low for 6 hours or so.
At the end all you have to do is add a little lime juice and a spoonful of sugar to taste. 
Serves five, or more if you cook some wok noodles

[Spana]

Auntiemogs and tadpole you have almost got me reaching up for it, I'll just have to get the steps in.

tadpole, i hate shin of beef.  I dislike the smell of it cooking and the taste  When we have a bullock killed there always seems to be loads of it so the dog gets most of it. 
I'll go and get some from the freezer and when OH brings in the steps i'll get the slowcooker down and try your recipe in it.    perhaps not the best test but if i like it, that will convince me to use  the slowcooker - sometimes- over the oven

I might need help from you all as i've no idea where the instruction book is, unless when i get it down its still inside

[joyfull]

just bung it all in 
Some people brown their meat first but I never bother - oh and don't forget lamb shanks in minty gravy are fantastic done in a slow cooker 

[Springlands]

Have decided to order a slow cooker and have a go - at under £20 nothing to lose. 

[tadpole]

I dislike the smell of it cooking and the taste  When we have a bullock killed there always seems to be loads of it so the dog gets most of it. 

shin is my favourite cheap cut of meat. I love it. (mostly it is all I can afford)
trim it,  and cook it slow with a bottle of strong red wine/ or beer. Nothing finer when camping (I've cooked it for 20 people on an wood fire in the woods.)

[Herb]

Have decided to order a slow cooker and have a go - at under £20 nothing to lose. 

You won't regret it!

[Spana]

Right, the shin is defrosting and the slowcooker is down from the shelf.  It looks fairly big, it holds 8pts. Do i need to double up tadpoles recipe. 

I've got plenty of shin to experiment with

tadpole, do i need to marinate the meat over night first 

[Plottered]

I find the only time the veggies go mushy is if you mess about stirring evry 1/2 hour. If you cut them chunky enough they stay quite firm but nice and soft to eat. Love my slow cooker and im going to do a pea and ham soup for the 1st time in it as soon as i can find a recipe.

[tadpole]

Right, the shin is defrosting and the slowcooker is down from the shelf.  It looks fairly big, it holds 8pts. Do i need to double up tadpoles recipe. 

I've got plenty of shin to experiment with

tadpole, do i need to marinate the meat over night first 

Not with the thai style, just bung it in. Mine holds 6 pints, but you don't have to fill it, unless you want to.
My Daube recipe

[Spana]

The Daube recipe sounds lovely too, I'll copy and save it.  I'll try the thai one first

I'm defrosting about 6lbs of shin so theres plenty to practise with.

 Got our next bullock coming in about 6 weeks time so it will be good if i can use it up.  Some more shin and a bit of stewing beef is about all thats left from the last one altho i did find 4 fillet steaks right at the bottom of the freezer :happy:

Thanks tadpole :happy:

[Yorkie]

Don't start stirring the slow cooker every half hour    It usually takes the cooker about 30 minutes to regain lost heat every time you take the lid off.  Bung the ingredients in and forget about it unless the recipe specifically says otherwise.

As for flavourings, I find that you do need more flavourings in a slow cooked meal.

[New shoot]

I find you need a lot less liquid in a slow cooker as it does not evaporate like oven cooked dishes, so I just reduce the liquid content of a normal recipe.  The long gentle simmering does mean flavourings get really absorbed into meat and veg, which may be why slwo cooked dishes can take more.  Chilli is really deep flavoured and lush slow cooked 

Its very useful to have plinking away if you want the oven for other stuff and also if you want to start something in the moring, then have the rest of the day doing other stuff without having to go back to it.

[Spana]

Well, I'm converted :happy: Thanks to you lot , especially tadpole :happy:   

Her beef Thai style curry made with the horrible shin in the slow cooker was excellent  :happy:

I can see now how its different to the oven.  I've got another lot of shin defrosted so tomorrow I'm doing a basic beef with root veg and onion in it to get the hang of it a bit more.

My slow cooker seems a bit hot even on lo, i could see it bubbling round the edge, is that right

Also if i did something with chicken breasts would i leave it cooking for as long. I cooked the shin of beef curry for 7hours from cold and it was the best shin of beef i've ever cooked :happy:

[Springlands]

I love shin of beef so that will be one of the first recipes that I try when my slow cooker arrives - especially after that endorsement from Spana.