Slow cookers?

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Slow cookers?

Post by J.D. »

Anyone else here tried them?

I've had one for a few years but it all goes back to a long time ago to when I was shacked up with my (then) girlfriend. We were both sailors and in the winter, we'd put the food on before we went sailing. Then we'd go out and get mashed by a boat and come home freezing cold, soaked through and bloody hungry. Sitting on the kitchen bench - as it had been for about 8 hours - was a slow cooker full of fantastic food. Hot, hearty and just what the doctor ordered.

I've been using mine recently to make large amounts of amazing food that can be refrigerated or even frozen and the results are spectacular. I can cook enough for a week in two nights! Slow cooked food tastes better IMHO than what comes from an ordinary stove top pot. I guess it's like anything done slowly: it usually comes out better. Once you start though, you can't take the lid off or you break the seal which cooks the food, requiring it too cook for another 20 minutes for each time you do it. Moisture condenses inside the lid and trickles down to the rim to form a seal with the ceramic pot.

Everything goes into it. You only need one pot most of the time. It's brilliant for curries and other really hearty winter food that really fills you up. I mean real food that blokes like, not this presentation shit that sheilas like looking at.

It's simple. As long as you leave the stuff in the pot for about 8 hours in most cases, you can't miss. You'd be hard pressed to burn anything because it's barely hot enough to boil the liquid if it's on the low setting. The clean up is a piece of piss. One ceramic pot: that's it (don't put the electrics in the sink). They're cheap: $50 for a mid sized one and they don't cost a lot to run. Most even have a "Keep warm" setting for those times when the other half is going to be late home or if the bloody phone rings at the wrong moment.
Last edited by J.D. on Fri Jun 18, 2010 10:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by Bauer »

we use one for a basic casserole. I think they are a great thing

we do our silverside in it too.

Im up for any 'hearty' recipe if you have a favourite :up:
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by J.D. »

Slow cookers could have been invented for casseroles and curries. I might have a shot at silverside next week.

This week I made a butter chicken and a some chilli beans with chorizo. Both knock out stuff. Got those recipes from the Woman's Weekly Slow Cooking book but I have another one for butter chicken which I'll try soon. Lamb shanks will be up soon too and they're really easy to find a recipe for. They seem to be a staple for slow cookers.

See if this one appeals to you:

http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/9975/bu ... hanks.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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Re: Slow cookers?

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Any of the recipes from Mc'Cormicks, in particular the Mild Chicken Curry, Beef and Mushroom Ragout (which i had tonight and was brilliant) and Chicken, Bacon & Potato.
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Re: Slow cookers?

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How long did you cook them for?
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Re: Slow cookers?

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J.D. wrote:Slow cookers could have been invented for casseroles and curries. I might have a shot at silverside next week.

This week I made a butter chicken and a some chilli beans with chorizo. Both knock out stuff. Got those recipes from the Woman's Weekly Slow Cooking book but I have another one for butter chicken which I'll try soon. Lamb shanks will be up soon too and they're really easy to find a recipe for. They seem to be a staple for slow cookers.

See if this one appeals to you:

http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/9975/bu ... hanks.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

that does appeal to me :up:

as for silverside, we keep it really simple. A cup of white vinegar and 2 tbsp of brown sugar & enough water to cover it. takes about 5 hours from memory.
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by Santaria »

<3 my slow cooker. Does everything from Curries, Silversides, Chicken, Pea and Ham. Dunno what me and the better half would do without it.
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Re: Slow cookers?

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J.D. wrote:How long did you cook them for?
Usually put them on low for 5-6 hours. One thing i will note is you need to double whatever they say for the liquid!
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by wobblysauce »

got to love a slow cooker in winter, great stuff for when you have a night out as well to come back to a good meal and not just breakfast cereal. also if you have a rice cooker and put it on a timer set to finish around the same time as the cooker. you can have a nice meal that can feed a lot of people no problem.
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by Rots »

We have a slow cooker and a rice cooker, damn it makes some awesome meals and the aroma is a nice welcome after a long day at work.
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by J.D. »

Kashmiri Butter Chicken in the slow cooker for tonight!
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Re: Slow cookers?

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J.D. wrote:
See if this one appeals to you:

http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/9975/bu ... hanks.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It is in the slow cooker as I type :yes:
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Re: Slow cookers?

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J.D. wrote:Kashmiri Butter Chicken in the slow cooker for tonight!
Care to share that recepie?
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Re: Slow cookers?

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http://www.slowcookerrecipes.net.au/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Site with a decent selection of recipes
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Re: Slow cookers?

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Bauer wrote:
J.D. wrote:
See if this one appeals to you:

http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/9975/bu ... hanks.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
It is in the slow cooker as I type :yes:
Let us know how that goes!

The Kashmiri Butter Chicken didn't taste as much like butter Chicken as I expected but it was bloody brilliant and I still have plenty left for tonight...
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by Bauer »

Well that was a hit with all and sundry :up: Fussy 9yo said he liked it so that says a lot.

I didnt do the wine bit. I just used beef stock as suggested in the recipe. I havent had lamb shanks for ages and this is the first time I have cooked them myself. It was real fall off the bone stuff. Very succulent.

Found a sweet and sour chicken recipe too. I will try that soon too. For me, sweet and sour means kan-tong so it will be interesting to see how the flavour comes up when doing it from scratch :)
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Re: Slow cookers?

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Excellent Bauer!
r8response wrote:http://www.slowcookerrecipes.net.au/

Site with a decent selection of recipes
That looks like a good find. Thanks. Some good advice on cooking safely there too.
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Re: Slow cookers?

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KNAPPO wrote:
J.D. wrote:Kashmiri Butter Chicken in the slow cooker for tonight!
Care to share that recepie?
This one is very similar to the first one I made:

http://www.taste.com.au/forums/viewtopi ... 99&start=0" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

While the process is basically the same, the second one was

8 boneless chicken thighs
2 onions, quartered
4cms ginger root, grated
1 large red chilli de-seeded & chopped
1 tablespoon oil
25g butter
1 tsp cumin seeds (crushed)
4 cardamom pods (crushed)
1 tsp fennel seeds (crushed)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp cinnamon
300ml chicken stock
1 tblsp brown sugar
2 tablespoons tomato paste
100ml double cream

Bamix onions, garlic and chilli and set aside
Quarter chicken thighs and brown in oil a few at a time. Drain on kitchen paper. Set aside in bowl and cover.
Melt butter in pan and put in onion mixture, stirring until golden. Stir in the spices and cook for 1 minute. Put in stock sugar and tomato paste. Simmer a few minutes.
Put chicken in slow cooker and pour the onion mix on top, covering all the chicken pieces.
Cook for 7 hours on low.
Stir in cream and warm for a couple of minutes.

Extra can be refrigerated and actually improves after a day or two. I made a couple of minor changes from the original recipe (raw sugar 'cause I didn't have any brown, tomato paste instead of tomato puree). Works best in a 3.5L cooker. Serves 4.

From "200 slow cooker recipies" by Sara Lewis, Hamlyn Press, London, 2009, p64.

Bloody good book, that one: worth buying. Sara Lewis has done a lot of slow cooker books and I recommend her stuff. The recipes are probably tastier than the ones in the Woman's Weekly Slow Cooking book (and they're not bad either). Also the introduction for Sara Lewis' book is well worth reading and gives some excellent advice.
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by Santaria »

San's Lazy ARSE Beef Stew (SLABS):
(serves 7-8)

~900g Stew beef, cubed. If you by better meat, it will be tenderererer in a shorter period. I usually use Angus steak as it's cheap at the moment and bloody beautiful.
4x Carrots sliced
3x Medium potatoes peeled and cubed (I usually cube them small'ish)
2x Onions peeled and sliced
2x Celery sticks cut in diagonals
1.5x Cups of beef stock and 4 blended tomatoes OR 450g Tinned tomatoes (I always forget to buy the tinned ones, so I make it with the tomatoes)
Season to taste

Chuck in the slow cooker for either 10-12 hours on low or 5-6 hours on high. It won't be as tender on high, but if you forget to put it on in the morning, you can catch up by 12PM and it'll still be awesome.

Serve with crusty bread and butter.

Edit: Noticed r8 posted slowcookerrecipes.net.au It's got some good stuff there, though it's still limited. I personally haven't found a better site.
Last edited by Santaria on Sun Jun 27, 2010 1:08 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Slow cookers?

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Lamb Casserole should be ready in roughly two hours. The smell filling the house is mouth watering.



Kashmiri Butter Chicken next sunday.. thanks to J.D. :yes:
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by KNAPPO »

Mmmmmm, im doing the Lamb Shanks tonight which will be done in about an hours time. Smells delish!
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Re: Slow cookers?

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ARSE - what a place :up:
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by KNAPPO »

OMG the shanks were down right awesome.

Cooked em with the beef stock and simmered the left over liquid down into a sauce after the shanks had cooked.
I added a very small amount of lamb gravy powder to help with thickening it up and a bunch of mushrooms during the simering and the sauce turned out wicked. Poured it over the shanks and a bed of mash potato and it was beautiful.

I used four carrots as just the one that the recipie stated just didnt seem enough, i love my slow cooked carrot :)

Cheers for that one, itll get cooked again no doubt.
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Re: Slow cookers?

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KNAPPO wrote:OMG the shanks were down right awesome.

Cooked em with the beef stock and simmered the left over liquid down into a sauce after the shanks had cooked.
I added a very small amount of lamb gravy powder to help with thickening it up and a bunch of mushrooms during the simering and the sauce turned out wicked. Poured it over the shanks and a bed of mash potato and it was beautiful.

I used four carrots as just the one that the recipie stated just didnt seem enough, i love my slow cooked carrot :)

Cheers for that one, itll get cooked again no doubt.
I added a touch more stock and some corn flour to thicken the sauce yesterday.

Will add more carrot next time too. Definately a keeper for a cold day :up:
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Re: Slow cookers?

Post by J.D. »

KNAPPO wrote:OMG the shanks were down right awesome.

-snip-

Cheers for that one, itll get cooked again no doubt.
Mmmm...gourmet ARSE!
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