Slow cooker yay or nay?

Ok, you have all made me feel guilty for not liking my slow cooker. I don't eat meat but the other family members do, so could one of you kind ladies please explain how to cook a whole chicken in the dreaded slow cooker. I happen to have a chicken sitting in the fridge and am willing to give it a go, but what do I put in with it? Does it have to have a lot of liquid? Help!

Well I put the chicken in the cooker and I have mine with a curry sauce around it, either home made or jar and then cook on automatic for six hours.

If you want it browned then put chicken in a frying pan to brown the skin first. Sometimes I use tin chicken soup or dried apricots with a chicken stock. If you google slow cook chicken I'm sure you will find lots of ideas. Just remember 5 to 6 hours cooking.

Talking about the gammon joint, do you soak it over night first to get rid of the salt? I like to use the liquid as soup and wonder if it would be too salty if you didn't do this.

Some gammon joints are saltier than others. It would be nice if you could tell which is which before you cook and serve it. I bring it to the boil in a saucepan and let it soak in the warm water while I get everything else ready, or longer sometimes - depends what else I am doing. Overnight is a bit of a pain unless you are very organised. Then throw out the water and start with fresh.

Thanks for your help, Brendawymms - I am going to give it a go tomorrow.

I find smoked gammon tends to be saltier, but either way I soak for a few hours, throw water away and start again.

However I have never cooked mine in the slow cooker. I have read a few accounts of great success cooking it in cola!

This reminds me, I might try to dig out my "Cursing the Gammon" thing from last Christmas!

It sounds horrid and maybe you catch something but the tried and tested method chez moi is run a finger across the top of the gammon and lick said finger. If it tastes salty after the first bring to the boil do it again. I usually don't need to boil up again . Also skim any scum off the top for the first boil so the stock will be lovely and clear. I also keep a piece of paper in my purse with the depth and circumference of the ideal piece of gammon as it's a pain finding it's too big when you get home.

In my carnivorous days, I used always to soak a gammon joint overnight and then cooked it in either the pressure cooker or the slow cooker, depending on the urgency of the situation.

Anno I used to boil up and press Ox tongues for sliced meat in my pressure cooker. Before the days of BSE, and becoming a vegetarian.

I used to make wonderful shin of beef stew cooking it for hours in a large earthenware casserole dish as well.

A slow cooker seems to be of more use for meat cooking than vegetarian stuff.

Could you do yellow spilt pea soup in tone or would that take days?

I always bring gammon joint up boil , strain + froth, fill with fresh water & simmer away for about 30mins .
I find any shorter time and it is a little tough !

Nellie I would so much to have boiled tongue but they seem to be thing of the past round here !

RIGHT . here I go again.
Nellie I would so love to boil a tongue & press . Getting one is hard they seem to be a thing of the past OR or so very dear doesn't seem worth the effort !

I have a small pressure cooker which also slow cooks (vented). I LOVE it. What a time saver. Yesterday I used the pressured steam cook facility to cook double the potatoes I needed. I mashed them and saved half. This morning, after walking the dogs but before work I put beef, tinned toms, carrots, celery and a stock pot in on slow cook. Tonight, I reheated the mash and enjoyed a very tasty dinner with little washing up : )
The leftovers I will blitz with stick blender and that will be soup for tomorrows lunch.

It makes a great rice pudding on slow cook and it is also a savoury rice cooker but I have yet to try that.

I have got a conventional oval slow cooker but that is now in the cupboard as I mostly cook for tow.

Stans perhaps I should do that (the bit of paper thing) but we usually get a fairly big bit as we love it and it keeps so well.

I have made an attempt to be better organised this year, and asked several friends who I know won't be cooking if they might be able to lend me a humungous sized pan !

What a brilliant idea, yogagran. Not that I cook lol. But great idea. Did you think of it yourself ?

Brendawymms - just wanted to let you know I did the chickens ( two fitted into the cooker) and DH is enjoying his dinner very much having pronounced it 'very tender', so thank you again for your advice. Even though I haven't even meat for ten years, I must admit it smells good! Maybe I won't give the slow cooker away just yet, although it does take up rather a lot of space in the cupboard!

Love my slow cooker - can be a bit of a faff to get things ready in the morning but wonderful to come home at night to dinner all cooked - and thanks for the tip re breadmaking

It's a yes from me too - easy way to prepare a healthy meal.

They are also very useful for mulled wine

I bought a Morphy Richards one last winter (you can use the inner pot to brown first) and it's one of the best things I have ever bought - I use it all the time. I have discovered that Morrison's sell ham hocks (£1.99 a kg), and I put the hock in the slow cooker, leave it on medium all day and then remove the hock late afternoon and allow it to cool. I also keep some of the cooking liquid from the pan. The following day I remove the meat from the bone and put it back in the cooker with the stock, carrots, onions (any root vegetables really), and some dried soup mix from the supermarket). It makes a wonderful broth - it'll be ready for us to eat with crusty bread when we come home from the match on Saturday! One ham hock will make broth for six people (and I bought two hocks this week for £2!).

I am pleased that I bought a reasonable size one, as we always make a meal and freeze a meal from it.

Thanks GillieB for the info about ham hocks from Morrisons, I used to get them regularly from Sainsburys years ago, in fact I seem to remember they gave them away on the deli counter when they had carved most of the meat from them. There was still always a reasonable amount of ham on the bone and I used to make lovely soups from them with lentils or root veg. I know where I will be visiting tomorrow, hope there is not a rush on them!

@Bellasnana - You don't have to put anything in the slow cooker with a chicken- sometimes I just rub a little paprika into the skin - or you can make a braising sauce of some kind - smear butter and garlic on it - hot white wine added might be fun...

You're welcome, Caz, my neighbour told me; I have been extolling the virtues of ham hocks to my sister in the Midlands and she has been into Morrison's too. I'll be taking commission next. They are on the butchery counter, by the way, not in the cold cabinets. Enjoy!

Got two large gammon hocks today from Morrisons, £1.99 each, one in the freezer now, and one in soak over night to go in the slow cooker tomorrow. Can't wait!!