Slow cooker - help needed please

I used to have this problem with carrots. Now I steam them in the microwave for about 4-5 minutes before adding to the slow cooker. Works for me.

One thing that stops that sort of stewy sameness you get sometimes is to add a glass of red wine. 🍷 My slow cooker runs for about 6 hours or so and everything is very well cooked, too much sometimes.

For goodness sake buy a slow cooker recipe book. Never have my veg been gard.

If you use lean mince(5%- 10% fat) you don’t have to brown it first. Although I love chicken breasts they can be a bit dry in the slow cooker - boneless,skinless chicken thighs are better. I tend to cook on high as it suits my lifestyle better as we eat our main meal at lunchtime. Good luck!

I buy preprepared fresh casserole vegetables, put them in first then the cubed meat and stock cubes plus seasoning, turn the slow cooker on high and let it do its thing for the day adding gravy granules just before serving, job done!

Our beef casserole with loads of veg (carrots are in batons the rest just as I chop them) is cooked initially on high for an hour then low overnight, so 9 -10 hours. The meat falls apart and somehow the vegetables stay firm, not mushy. I make the stock up with a can of string beer to suit Mr C, fill the slow cooker so plenty to freeze for another day. I’ve never browned the meat first and now I’m wondering if I should!

I brown the meat, chicken even pork chops etc place in about two cups boiling water mixed with an oxo cube pour in slow cooker surround with vegetables then leave on high for couple hours turn low for at least another hour, the longer you leave it the better
I then make a gravy with the liquid it’s cooked in, Beef that melts in the mouth every time, I do the same with a beef joint even brisket comes out lovely had many compliments on how tasty and tender it is 👍

I too always brown meat before adding to slow cooker. If making, say, chicken casserole, I brown the meat, cook the bacon a little and microwave veggies before adding. The liquid/gravy/sauce should cover the contents and even with browned small chunks of meat the cooking should take at least 3 hours. The quicker cooking ingredients can be added during the cooking time.

I always give carrots a blast in microwave before adding to slow cooker. I would not put potatoes in.

I only ever brown a beef joint before throwing it in, for brisket burnt ends. I never brown anything else. Everything goes in raw. Low and slow for hours

I'm new to the slow cooker too. I think I bought one with too many buttons and a timer which i always have trouble with one the cooker let alone this. We have had a couple of nice meals but everything does mush into each other. I bought a book - Bored of Lunch Slow Cooker meals and am working my way through that. I have noticed that he lightly fries everything first.

Our first slow cooker wasn’t very good . It had an earthenware dish in it where we had to brown the meat in a separate pan then add this and all the other ingredients into the pot and turn it on . We were glad when that one stopped working and we then bought a new one with a metal pot which can go on the stove top . So easy . Brown the meat and vegetables. Add the potatoes and spices and any stock you fancy . Transfer the potatoes to the slow cooker and cook on low for up to eight hours or a higher heat if you any to cook it quicker . I can put a pan a scouse on at 9am and by 5pm it is delicious.

I always brown meat first then as others say, add veg and stock and leave for about 6 hours or so on high. Check now and then and add a little more liquid if it looks aa though it needs it. I don't put potatoes in.

I never put carrots in the slow cooker, I think they make the meat taste weird!.

I put in about 1 litre boiling water,I throw in the prepared potatoes first, then brown the meat usually stewing steak, fry the frozen chopped onions then add mixed frozen vegs. I often put in on high for the first hour. Then leave it on low for several hours. I check it approx 30 mins before serving, If I have any left over wine, I throw it in. If it's all to watery, I add gravy powder until it's a good consistency, then serve!

I don't brown the meat. I prepare casseroles by putting about a tablespoon of flour, a crumbled oxo cube and a quarter teaspoon of smoked paprika into a plastic bag, closing or tightly holding the top and giving it a good shake so that all the meat is coated with flour. I tip this into the slow cooker and add boiling water (not too much or the casserole is watery) and stir it well. If I am adding vegetables I cut them small, as veg often takes longer than meat to cook in the slow cooker, and are better cooked in the microwave, The casserole gets one hour on high, then 4 to 6 hours on low, with a brief stir at half time. Dumplings get added for the last half hour. Try not to open the lid more often than necessary, as the heat escapes

Lean mince gets broken up and put in the cooker, then the flour/oxo/smoked paprika added and stirred, followed by boiling water stirred in well.

I missed out saying put the meat into the bag! Meatless casserole, anyone?

“If I have any left over wine,” Gwen

What is that? Surely one finishes the bottle to stop the vinegar fly…🍷🤭

I always cook my Sunday roast in mine. Yesterday half leg of lamb - in at 7.30am with sweet potatoes underneath and rosemary on top. Went to church - came back and turned off the cooker at 1pm to let the meat rest for a good hour - super! If you try to cut the meat too soon after you cook it , it is really hard to slice.

I’m not an expert on slow cookers. I do wish I had one when I was working though. I have a Lakeland one and owned it for about three years now. I just chuck everything in on high for four hours and it’s all tender. No tough meat and certainly no hard carrots. I love it. I seem to remember it cost no more than £40.00. Unfortunately my husband is very overweight and prefers food cooked in his new air fryer which is well done and dried out. He thinks cooking without oil will be the solution to weight loss.

I am elderly, on my own, but even when dh was here I just put everything in and cooked,, never had a bad meal, never browned meat before hand, though I tend to have chicken, chicken, and chicken.. I have recently learned I can fry frozen onion first that is a bonus for me as I do not like preparing stuff, M&S prepared veggies or frozen veggies.. all well cooked, sometimes I wonder if I over cook, and then put some in freezer for the times I don`t feel up to much!

I’m another who uses beer instead of water - a good strong-tasting ale. I coat the cubed beef (not mince) in well-seasoned flour and fry it off, deglaze with a splash of beer, then put it in the pot with chopped carrots and peeled baby onions or shallots, pour over the rest of the ale, add herbs and cook for ages. Sometimes I add a red wine flavoured stockpot if I think there’s not enough depth of flavour.

One tip is to cook before you need it, give it a night in the fridge, then you can easily remove the fat, which will have solidified and risen to the top.

It’s so simple and has never failed me yet.

I’m using mine today, shallots, garlic, chicken thighs, swede and carrots, veg will be chopped small, half a can of cider and some thyme from the garden. It’ll all be chucked in about 2pm, on high, we’ll eat about 7.

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I wouldn't want to be without my slow cooker. I'm on my third in just over 30+ years.

The family favourite is made by really just bunging everything in - not labour intensive at all and no pre-prep apart from some peeling .....

# I use a tray of Kirkland (Costco) Signature Aberdeen Angus Beef Stewing Steak.
(I don't seer it first as I want all those delicious juices into the gravy)

# I add about a third of a bottle of inexpensive fruity red wine (Tesco);

# Three beef stock pots;

# Loads of half-ring red onion slices;

# Lots of thick carrot and parsnip slices (or ready prepared mini sweet carrots 🥕 from Costco if they have them);

# A few spoonfuls of VeryEasyChoppedGarlic (wonderful, recommended fridge staple - Tesco);

# A tin of (Mutti) pizza sauce or a tin or two of baby tomatoes;

# A litre of boiling water, to cover.

I leave the machine on High until bedtime. Next morning I put it on High again but turn down to low when it bubbles.

I turn it off in the evening and leave to cool. The next morning I decant into 2/4/6 portion sized containers and freeze. My Granny always contended that a casserole/stew always taste even better when it was reheated. She was right!!

I just serve with new or jacket potatoes.
I often serve it to guests in the Autumn/Winter as my anglicised version of Boeuf Bourguignon!

You can change the meat and stock to suit but for us nothing beats beef. And it's great to be able to just pull a container out of the freezer in the morning knowing that there's a fabulous supper awaiting you at the end if the day.
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I use mine with the Slow cooker liner bags . Bought from the likes of B&M Home bargains, Lakeland or the Pound shop. So easy to use and get rid of and no mess at all.