Best Slow Cooker Recipes

[Bazza]

Aright?

Got ourselves a slow cooker a couple of weeks ago. Have tried a couple of casseroles and curries with reasonable success and have bought a couple of recipe books too.

But I thought I'd use this board to ask folk what's their best ass-kicking, old faithful slow cooker recipe?
Any unusual uses for it you'd like to share (no kinky stuff)?

My next project is to try making bread in it. It apparently can be done.


Cheers,

-Barry

If I'm honest I'm just killing time till we head out for our work Christmas dinner.

[ColinC]

I don't do recipes as such but the slow cooker does a great stew & leaves the meat falling apart tender. Nothing better than opening the door after a hard day's work on a cold night & the smell of a fresh stew to greet you!!

Bung carrotts, celery, onions, potatoes, herbs, good stewing steak pieces, ox tails, beef stock - whatever you'd use in a stew. I do it the night before & leave it in the slow cooker turned off. Then turn it on low on my way out the door to work the following morning. About 8 -10 hours later its magic. I don't know how it does it but the meat is always loveley & tender, carrotts cooked just right & the potatoes don't go to mush.

It also cooks a ham brilliantly. Way nicer than just boiling in a pot & the meat stays moise & falls apart. After about 7 hours on low in the slow cooker I glaze it in an oven for an hour or 2. Delish!!

That's pretty much all I've ever used my slow cooker for in 4 years so looking forward to seeing what other recipes we get here!

[Bazza]

Yeah, have to agree on the meat. I've had chicken, pork and stewing steak in there. All beautifully tender after 7 hours.
And the potato thing is true is well. Still in their original shape, cooked through and not in the least bit mushy. Excellent.

Looking forward to doing the Sunday roast in it some day soon. Apparently you can do a whole chicken in it too. Just set it in on top of the spuds. Job done!

-Barry

[irish_goat]

I do what ColinC does for stews but I be sure to bung a beer or glass of red wine into it. Buy whatever veg is on cheap in Aldi/Lidl and use it to cut costs. Meat wise, get whatever is cheapest in the butchers, shin of beef is decent.  The long cooking process completely tenderises all the gristly, fatty, sinewy bits. Don't use an expensive cut, it's a complete waste.

A trick I've been doing recently is making a big pot of mince stew and then separating it into smaller batches. Then I can come home from work and decide on the night if I want bolognese, chilli con carne, lasagna or shepherd's pie etc, just by making a few small additions.

I'd do a lot of curries as well.

[Eoin]

Get yourself a pork shoulder with the bone in.

Throw a roughly chopped stick of celery, a carrot and an onion into the bottom of the crockpot, season your pork shoulder well, I tend to use barbecue dry rub.

Put the pork shoulder in the crockpot then fill up with cider, then cook for hours and hours....at least 6 hours, but I've done it in the oven for up to 18 hours.

When finished then pull the pork, take the strained sauce and reduce it, add a roux and a touch of some barbecue sauce for smoke and you have your barbecue sauce for sandwiches.

You can also do ham hocks similar.

[Eoin]

Oxtail and beef shin treated the same are also phenomemal in the slow cooker.

Same base as above topped up with a full bodied red wine....delicious.

I made the resulting sauce into a ragu to have with pasta and the rest went into a meat pie with a very short crust full of grated beef fat, from the kidneys (suet).

[Cathal O D]

Housewife's cut of beef. Root veg, onion and spuds.  All topped up with half a pint of the barrel aged stout. Cooked slowly for 8 hours. mmmm

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk

[Blueshed]

dont know if were allowed to post links to Boards.ie  but plenty of recipes here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056736930

[Eoin]

Chicken breast has little flavour, although can be alright roasted properly on the bone. I like thighs mostly, bone them out and chopped in halves or quarters, skin and excess fat removed, they can take longer cooking and have much better flavour. Tastiest part of a chicken is the olive.

[delzep]

Lump of Ham with about 750ml of coke poured over it. Cook for about 8 hours. Delish

[Garry]

Lump of Ham with about 750ml of coke poured over it. Cook for about 8 hours. Delish

Is that from Nigella's new book 

[delzep]

Looks like she's been on diet coke there

[Bazza]

dont know if were allowed to post links to Boards.ie  but plenty of recipes here http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056736930

I got all excited when I saw the list. Then I checked the recipe for Schezuan chicken, one of my favourites: 3 chicken breasts, and a jar of sauce! 

Aye. I hate it when curry recipes have curry paste as one of the ingredients. It's like pouring shop-bought beer into your homebrew.

Plenty of dencent ideas there, lads; thanks.

-Barry

BTW, if you dis Nigella be prepared for a fight.

[Eoin]

Curry paste can be fine, depending, for Thai green or red curries for example, it's easier than finding galangal sometimes.

For Indian curries I make my own Garam masala.

[LordEoin]

Thai green/red curries don't work in a slow cooker, the coconut milk separates and it looks manky.