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Gourmet Slow Cooker Recipes?


pixelchef

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I was wondering if any of the extremely well-informed and knowledgeable members would be aware of a source for more elaborate (gourmet?) recipes for a Crock Pot/slow-cooker? I mean, I've seen all the "chuck a pork but on in there, and dump a big ole bottle of Kraft BBQ sauce on top of 'her!" recipes, but is there another level of sophistication that can be achieved here? Maybe a "Gourmet Crock Pot Cooking" cookbook?

Anyone? :blink:

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HMMMM... Perhaps this concept is the ultimate oxymoron. A crock pot is meant to simplify your life. If you subscribe to the concept that "gourmet" means complicated (I don't necessarily) then you have defeated the purpose of owning one of the damned things. (Yes... I own one and love it for some things.)

It occurs to me that you could upgrade the ingredients. However, my favorite recipe is a classic beef stew that calls for coating the beef chunks with Lipton's onion soup (excuuuuuse me... Recipe Secrets) putting the vegs on top of the meat and dumping a can of Campbells cream of mushroom soup on top of all of that. Sounds like something that would be cooked in homes on wheels but it is really about the best beef stew I have ever made.

Any suggestions from this group will be appreciated. I work too much and the crock pot is my friend.

Linda LaRose aka "fifi"

"Having spent most of my life searching for truth in the excitement of science, I am now in search of the perfectly seared foie gras without any sweet glop." Linda LaRose

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Also, even if you are not usually a fan of Cooking Light magazine, check out their web site for some really interesting slow cooker recipes...and I believe their latest book has some as well. (Contrary to popular belief, Cooking Light is NOT about diet food, and the recipes published meet very demanding standards in blind taste-testings).

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I do a pretty mean Ribs in Chinese Black Bean sauce in the slow cooker. The important thing is to get the butcher to put the ribs on the bandsaw and cut them into 2-3" lengths. I then cut them down to two "riblets" per piece. I drop the ribs into the crockpot with 2/3 cup low sodium tamari, 1/3 cup dark soy sauce, 1/4 cup sherry or rice wine, chopped garlic and ginger to taste, and 1/2 cup fermented black beans. I will occasionally add a little chile/garlic paste if I feel like having them a little spicier. Let these cook most of the day and then add a slurry of cornstarch and water for the last hour to thicken up and coat the meat. Pretty tasty and quite easy.

Katie M. Loeb
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Mi amiga Latina makes "tongue tacos."

Tacos de Lengua

1 1-lb (or so) beef tongue

5 small cloves garlic (or 3 large ones), smashed & chopped

1 onion, quartered

salt & pepper to taste

Rinse tongue, pat dry, season well with salt and pepper.

Allow it to sit about 15 minutes for the seasonings to penetrate a little.

Put it in crockpot and add water (sometimes she uses half water/half beer) to cover.

Add garlic and onions to water. Cook on "high" for 4-5 hours.

Turn crockpot setting down to Low. Turn tongue over and add more water if necessary. Continue cooking on low until tongue is done (skin hard, inside soft).

Remove tongue and skin it (discard skin). Chop meat finely.

Serve immediately with "fixin's" - like corn tortillas, lime wedges, pico de gallo, avocado slices, chopped cilantro, onions, jalapenos, salsa...etc.

:rolleyes:

Edited by Jaymes (log)

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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  • 8 years later...

Tacos de Lengua

1 1-lb (or so) beef tongue

5 small cloves garlic (or 3 large ones), smashed & chopped

1 onion, quartered

salt & pepper to taste

I have a beef tongue in my freezer that I'd love to try this out with, but I'm sure it's bigger than 1 lb. Should I just cook it longer?

Corinna Heinz, aka Corinna

Check out my adventures, culinary and otherwise at http://corinnawith2ns.blogspot.com/

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Pretty much any braised dish or stew could be adjusted for the slow cooker. Osso Bucco, short ribs, Beef Daube Provencal or Coq au Vin would all be easy to adapt to longer cooking times. I would just use a classic recipe and cook them in a crock pot on low for 6-8 hours instead of cooking traditionally. If you have a programmable, I'd set it to kick over to warm after 6.

The only trick would be to hold off on potatoes and carrots until the last hour of cooking.

ETA: You also need to do any initial browning of ingredients traditionally before you put things in the crock. Dumping raw lardons into a crockpot while trying to make Coq au Vin would not yield the same results as cooking traditionally.

Edited by BadRabbit (log)
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check your bookstore or library or poke around on Amazon. There are quite some slow cooker books out there that have very nice recipes, not a one using any canned campbell or other such things in them. I recently made a corned beef in mine, worked like a charm. Also make beans in it.

check out a couple books called Not your mother's slow cooker or something like that, they're full of nice recipes.

I don't use mine often enough actually, every time I do I'm quite happy that I prepped dinner somewhere after lunch and could go run errands, drive the kids around to activities, and come home to a pretty much ready dinner.

"And don't forget music - music in the kitchen is an essential ingredient!"

- Thomas Keller

Diablo Kitchen, my food blog

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I do a lot of things in my slow cooker - check my blog for some ideas.

I also like the Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Slow Cooking book - looks like WS has a new book to replace it which I have not seen, but the one I mentioned is still available on Amazon. It has a lot of nice sounding recipes in it - I have only tried a few but they were enjoyable. The chicken with shallots and balsamic vinegar has been a family favorite. It has slow cooker and stove-top instructions.

Edited by mgaretz (log)

Mark

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Tacos de Lengua

1 1-lb (or so) beef tongue

5 small cloves garlic (or 3 large ones), smashed & chopped

1 onion, quartered

salt & pepper to taste

I have a beef tongue in my freezer that I'd love to try this out with, but I'm sure it's bigger than 1 lb. Should I just cook it longer?

Weigh it and see how much larger it is, then adjust time and ingredients accordingly.

And be sure it's completely thawed before you put it into your crockpot. If it's really large, you might even want to cut it into halves.

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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Tacos de Lengua

1 1-lb (or so) beef tongue

5 small cloves garlic (or 3 large ones), smashed & chopped

1 onion, quartered

salt & pepper to taste

I have a beef tongue in my freezer that I'd love to try this out with, but I'm sure it's bigger than 1 lb. Should I just cook it longer?

Weigh it and see how much larger it is, then adjust time and ingredients accordingly.

And be sure it's completely thawed before you put it into your crockpot. If it's really large, you might even want to cut it into halves.

Thank you, Jaymes. I have found so many interesting recipes that I want to try, I may end up cutting it in half anyway!

Corinna Heinz, aka Corinna

Check out my adventures, culinary and otherwise at http://corinnawith2ns.blogspot.com/

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Thanks for this link! I've been meaning to dig out my slow cooker....especially with my kids' busy soccer schedules. I barely have time to get in the door, make dinner and feed the family before we've got to be out the door and off to soccer. I haven't been overly enthusiastic about any recipes I've found for the slow cooker though, but the Year of Slow Cooking blog link that was posted is great.

Edited by newbie (log)
A truly destitute man is not one without riches, but the poor wretch who has never partaken of lobster. - anonymous
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The "Joe Simmer" series of slow-cooker booksare full of tasty recipes; the Creole Slow Cookin' book is probably the best of the series. Simmer's recipes aren't plagued by the blandness of so many "quick-n-easy" slow cooker books. The chicken mole recipe from the website is pretty good.

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There are a number of good recipes in The Italian Slow Cooker by Michele Scicolone. Everything I've tried has been very good. Ditto for WS Esssentials of Slow Cooking. There's also Slow Cooker Revolution from America's Test Kitchen. Haven't tried anything from there yet.

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Tacos de Lengua

1 1-lb (or so) beef tongue

5 small cloves garlic (or 3 large ones), smashed & chopped

1 onion, quartered

salt & pepper to taste

This is a delicious preparation of tongue to be used as a base for tacos, or so many other possibilities. Thank you, Jaymes!

Corinna Heinz, aka Corinna

Check out my adventures, culinary and otherwise at http://corinnawith2ns.blogspot.com/

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Tacos de Lengua

1 1-lb (or so) beef tongue

5 small cloves garlic (or 3 large ones), smashed & chopped

1 onion, quartered

salt & pepper to taste

This is a delicious preparation of tongue to be used as a base for tacos, or so many other possibilities. Thank you, Jaymes!

Thank you Corinna, for letting me know.

I've been making that for many years, but don't usually tell my guests that they're eating "tacos de lengua" until after they've polished off a few. Some folks find that a bit off-putting.

But I'm so glad I passed the recipe along, and that you like it!

I don't understand why rappers have to hunch over while they stomp around the stage hollering.  It hurts my back to watch them. On the other hand, I've been thinking that perhaps I should start a rap group here at the Old Folks' Home.  Most of us already walk like that.

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