Slow Cooker

I’m awaiting a delivery this afternoon of a new slow cooker. I inherited my old one from my dd who was given a better one as a wedding present. It’s now become very difficult to get the ceramic inner dish properly clean - I guess the glaze has worn away. I’m interested to see the comments about differences in cooking times between different appliances, something I hadn’t considered.

I don’t sear the meat. I started off by doing so but I truly couldn’t tell the difference, so stopped doing it and saved a dirty pan. As I’ve learnt how to use it, I add less liquid and had better results. I don’t defrost frozen veg, (mostly just butternut squash) and it’s fine.

I’ve only had one real disaster, which was trying to make clotted cream. It was literally reduced to burnt cinders and possibly is why the glaze seems to have broken down! I’ve tried making soup but I didn’t find it worth the effort, it’s quick enough to make in a saucepan.

Christmas puds can be both cooked and reheated in a slow cooker and I made the best golden syrup sponge of my life in it.

I’m hungry now!

I love my slow cooker, which my daughter bought for me a few years ago. It is currently gently bubbling away with a beef stew. I don’t sear the meat, but do preheat for about 20 mins, then add meat, sprinkle with flour, then the vegetables, stock cube or stock pot, pearl barley, seasoning and cover with red wine and cook for about 6 hours. Everything goes in cold.

I typed preheated

I've never preheated mine

I've never reheated mine.

No you don`t have to pre-heat a slow cooker before adding food.
I love mine nd they are so easy to use/clean.

* Nannan2* I have a large French cast iron casserole (not le Creuset, it's Chasseur I think) but I can just lift it without anything in it. I haven't used it for ages but can't bear to part with it.
When it goes into the oven full of food, the oven rack bends!

Last Xmas my DD2 gave me a new Slow Cooker, (the knob on the old one kept falling off)
I do normally brown the meat in the fryng pan, prepare the potatoes (you can leave the skin on). Thaw out a bag of froz vegetable in the microwave and toss them all in the slow cooker with water to cover- what heat you put it on depends on what time you want it. If I have everything ready and on before 10 am it will be fine on low for our T-Time at 5.30pm
Check it periodically if you are around. I will thicken the water about 4 -5 ish and add extra flavouring, herbs or OXo
That's all there is to it!!

Good Luck

I recently got a cast iron (but enamelised) casserole dish with lid from aldi-(online) it weighs a ton but is not too deep and i can sear meat in it on hob then either cook on lower on hob or best is to stick on heavy lid then put it in oven about gas 4 or fan 160 for 2 hours-(can add liquid like stock/gravy) things like roasts & stews are cooked to melt in mouth perfection! & its easy clean too.only cost £19.99 & its a nice autumn shade of plum.

Can a slow cooker make soup just as well as a soup maker, please?

I would have thought that a slow cooker makes the searing bit easier and you could make more soup because of the larger capacity, but that is just me guessing.

Searing meat starts off the Maillard reaction. Amino acids and sugars are changed in a chemical reaction to give a rich, savoury flavour which ‘beefs up’ the stew. It isn’t essential but it does add to the taste of the final dish.

I've posted this previously, but you can reheat a Christmas pudding in a slow cooker and that keeps a hob free, although I do use a tiered steamer for the vegetables. I'll probably do ours in the old, smaller slow cooker which is very slow.

I sear meat first, leave on high an hour then turn down. I have two slow cookers and one cooks much more quickly than the other so best to check from time to time. Don’t do what I did last week - made Moroccan chickpea soup and forgot to turn off before I went to bed. Result was chick pea stew which surprised me by being quite edible!

I never sear meat or onions to go in the slow cooker. I think it makes no difference to the taste and just means extra work and mess. Beef stew is delicious in the slow cooker, probably the best thing it does.

I appreciate that searing caremalises the meat, which enhances the flavour of that piece of meat, but since most people makes stews and casseroles in a slow cooker, as soon as the water goes over the seared meat, all the caremalised deposit is dissolved into the gravy, which is where much of the flavour from the meat goes, seared or not seared.

I used to love my slow cooker, marvellous to walk into the lovely smell of cooking. I recently found out you can cook a whole chicken in it, just place it on scrunched up balls of foil so the fat drips away.

I have two slow cookers, one in mi Casa, which is a metal casserole and hot plate, and t’other here in Wales has a metal innard.

Both allow me to sear the meat/onions which, as Marydoll and others say, caramelises and adds flavour, without the bother of using another pan.

I tend not to use a lot of liquid as a lot is released by the ingredients during the long cook - if it’s too thick, I add it before serving.

My old slow cooker got slower and slower, blondenana; I could leave it on all day and the food still needed extra time on high.
I bought a new one about a year ago which is quite fast.

I'm no cook at all, so not sure if this will help or not.
I don't sear, do heat the cooker on high for half hour or so.
I put in veg first (I read somewhere that they take a little higher heat which is at the bottom.
Meat on top, then a really thick gravy, more like a sauce to cover it all, no more than 3 quarters full.
Turn it down low, go out to work, come home to dinner.

I have a slow cooker, and it is very slow,even on high,
I went back to using a large pan last week,i left it on low overnight last week and still wasn't cooked
It is a Morphy Richards
I have thought about getting an air fryer but my son had one and got rid of it
My daughter has just bought one, but i don't think she has used it yet

I am of the searing brigade! My late MIL introduced me to the slow cooker and I have had several since, of various sizes. My ideal would be to find one which is small enough for two,people, but which has a timer. Dream away!

Whatever your method, it is good little kitchen friend and I would not be without mine.

I always sear but I do not preheat the slow cooker. I am rarely sure how much liquid to add.

Thank you all for your replies I think I may give the searing a miss.
That sounds a good idea to heat the stock & onions together in the microwave.
More questions .... Do you have to pre heat the slow cooker? Also how much liquid do you use?

I always sear the meat any meat first as to me it is ‘slimy’ if not. Do the same if making a stew in a pot. Fry off mince first if making a chilli etc. Perhaps it’s just me but much prefer the outcome.

Grandmasue my daughter tested the Ninja for a customer research product and loved it so much that she went out and bought one for herself last week.

I did dither about buying one, but she said it would be too heavy for me to manage and having two lids would mean I had to find somewhere to store them.

Marydoll I got the Ninja. I love it and use the pressure cooker and the air fryer so much. It also has a sauté function so you can use the same pot for stews and casseroles. The biggest drawback is the weight so mine is left out. You can also bake, roast and slow cook in it and cook from frozen.

I did get rid of my slow cooker. Our first slow cooker was huge, it was like a baby’s bath. I gave it to my Sister in law for her large family