Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Eating and Drinking => Cooking, Storing and Preserving => Topic started by: Springlands on March 01, 2012, 21:53
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I have been considering buying a slow cooker and have a query for any peeps who already have one. When you are cooking stews do the veggies get all soggy or do they stay reasonably firm.
Now that I see that written down it seems a funny question but I really do not like soggy veggies. :nowink: :nowink:
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sorry - but surely the veg are supposed to be soggy in a stew because they are cooked for so long :unsure:
A slowcooker does 'just what it says on the tin' it cooks a stew slowly for hours to tenderise meat and veg, in the same way you cook a casserole in the oven for hours.
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Hi MOS - normally when I cook a stew/casserole I put in the meat, onions and seasoning first and then add the other veggies (carrots etc) later on so that they do not get soggy - is that possible with a slow cooker.
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I don't like soggy veggies either Springlands but I do love stew made in the slow cooker. :tongue2:
I think that with any method you have to consider the cooking time and I always cut my veg fairly chunky, as I do the meat (1" chunks).
I suppose if you cut the meat smaller and the veg. larger, it would stay relatively firm. The taste is wonderful.
I roast chicken in mine with a few tablespoons of water and it falls off the bone and tastes fantastic.
Well worth the small investment considering you just throw it all in and leave it to do its thing!
Mags :)
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Thanks for the suggestions Mags. At this time of year it would be really good not to have to stop work in the garden to start to cook dinner - as you said just throw it all in and go and do better things.
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Hi MOS - normally when I cook a stew/casserole I put in the meat, onions and seasoning first and then add the other veggies (carrots etc) later on so that they do not get soggy - is that possible with a slow cooker.
Yes, you can add things as you go along, but to me the whole point is that I can bung things in in the morning and forget about them, even go out for the day - and come back to the finished stew ;)
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well - you would be surprised how firm veggies stay after hours in a slow cooker - they never mush. I have done stews where the meat has fallen apart - but the carrots and spuds etc keep their shape, but have beautifully absorbed the juices - you have no worries there
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Thanks everybody - Plum you have just made me hungry at the thought of a lovely stew. Yummmmm.
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Many veggies take longer to cook than the meat does, sort of. Carrots in particular are best chopped up small and put at the bottom.
Some other veggies don't take as long, but remember if you take the lid off to add 30 minutes' cooking time because it takes that long for it to come back up to temperature.
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Is there any difference in flavour-or anything else- in a dish cooked in a slow cooker to one slow cooked in a casserole in the oven. :) other than the power used that is
I do have a slow cooker but never use it, I always do casseroles which i like more than roasts.
I know lots of you use them and love them so tell me a reason to get it down from the top shelf and try it, please :)
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Just get it down & try it for yourself!
Despite recent IT advances, you can't convey taste, aroma & texture via a PC yet.
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Just get it down & try it for yourself!
Despite recent IT advances, you can't convey taste, aroma & texture via a PC yet.
:lol: :lol: Might happen someday - not. :lol: :lol:
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They are so cheap now, I can see no arguments for not having one.
Ours cost about £12 from Clas Ohlson, but I have seen them in supermarkets for about the same.
Amazing stews, and coming in from work to the smell of it cooking away is fantastic!
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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 :)
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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 mahoosive one Spana and fill it right to the top so there is plenty for several meals. I can't lift heavy pans into the oven so I just fill it up and press the button. I even roast large beef joints in it. Then my son cleans it for me! :D Hungry now... :lol:
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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)
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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
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Auntiemogs and tadpole you have almost got me reaching up for it, I'll just have to get the steps in. :lol:
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. :wub:
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 ::)
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just bung it all in :lol:
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 :D
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Have decided to order a slow cooker and have a go - at under £20 nothing to lose. :)
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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. :wub:
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.)
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Have decided to order a slow cooker and have a go - at under £20 nothing to lose. :)
You won't regret it!
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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 :)
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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.
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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 (http://frugal-cooking.co.uk/recipe/179/daube-of-beef-recipe)
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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:
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Don't start stirring the slow cooker every half hour :ohmy: 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.
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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 :D
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.
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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 :unsure:
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:
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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.
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Without my book I can't remember the chicken timings, but I would definitely caution against overcooking chicken thighs - they disintegrated leaving lots of bones throughout. Not happy!
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but they'd do that in the oven as well, it's not the fault of the slowcooker, but of the cook :lol: :lol: (I also speak from experience ;) )
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More the fault of the recipe - I've never had them disintegrate in the oven before when following an oven recipe; they disintegrated in the slow cooker despite the s.c. recipe being followed. Can't blame the cook for that one (though I accept it's not the s.c.'s fault either) ! :D
Just cautioning against assuming that all recipes will be fine with 8 hours' cooking!
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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
Well, when I get in from the allotment, I should be able to smell this cooking! :D
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My slow cooker has arrived - so now I just have to go to the butchers and re-stock the freezer. :)
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Don't need to hit the butchers if you dont want to ... I've just put a pumpkin korma in mine... That's tonight sorted! (Bar the rice ...)
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Don't need to hit the butchers if you dont want to ... I've just put a pumpkin korma in mine... That's tonight sorted! (Bar the rice ...)
Unfortunately my OH thinks he is being deprived if there is not some meat with his main meal. ::) ::) Like the sound of the pumpkin korma though.
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Don't tell him indoors, but he doesn't get anything like as much meat as he thinks he does ... that beef casserole with beans and veg and served with cabbage and dumplings and .... not that much beef in it! ;) Ditto the chicken curry or the pasta sauce or ...
I get away with veggie curries because they are 'different' and special and come with pappadums or chappattis or naan ... as well as the rice. Didnt get away with dahl though, had to do a chicken tikka as well to swing that (hey, a chicken thigh!).
What we do to get them to eat healthily ... :nowink:
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Must admit that I do the same Madcat - lots of veggies in stews and less meat - but the thing is that there has to be some meat. I really do not think that I would get away with a veggie curry - BUT worth a try. ::) ::)
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Mrs G and I reckon to have about 2oz of meat per Growster(ette) each meal. The rest is veg, etc.
Works fine, as the pressure's on me mainly, to get enough veg in the pantry!
Just discussed this subject evening, that we may have had enough of Brussels for the time being! Sign of the season!
I love grated swede though, and the best parsnip just popped out this arvo, with a big grin too...
Good time of year, but I wish I knew how to grow good cabbage for slaws, because they cost about a quid, and I should be able to do much better...!
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Made my first casserole in the slow cooker - meat and lots and lots of veggies. Worked really well - OH was very impressed.
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Made my first casserole in the slow cooker - meat and lots and lots of veggies. Worked really well - OH was very impressed.
I think that's the key to cutting down on meat - the gravy tastes so good in a slow cooker you don't notice the lack of meat. I also do loads of yorkshires and spuds to stretch it out a bit, I add orange lentils to mince with grated carrot & celery, and "beef" up pork casseroles with sweet potatoes and pinto beans - really can't afford a shed load of meat and not sure that too much red meat is good for you either :)
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I agree Janey :) Beans, lentils and stuff like barley really do take up the sauce in the slow cooker and taste great. My favourite bits of the end result usually :D
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Might try poaching a gamon in it this weekend - then I can leave it unsupervised while I do house & garden stuff (or wander around here, chatting....)
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gammon and parsley sauce .... Mmmmmm!
(we need a lip licking emoticon!)