Slow Cooker/Crock Pot: Recipes and Techniques

[fresco]

I'm not sure if it's in RecipeGullet, but here's a link to a thread where she discusses it:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry142369

[picaman]

I'm not sure if it's in RecipeGullet, but here's a link to a thread where she discusses it:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry142369

Thanks!

Jamie

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for finding the thread, fresco. Her explanation, though simple and straightforward, may be too complex for RecipeGullet.

[fifi]

Just an update. I returned the offending crockpot just today. I had used my ATM card when I made the purchase. The lady at the customer service desk could not have been nicer. She apologized for the inconvenience, swiped my card and acknowledged that I had indeed guessed correctly as to which card I used and promptly gave me cash. I was in shock.

Then I went to Sam's Club to get a similar pot but one that a couple of my cooking buddies have and don't seem to have a problem. It is the stainless model but comes with an extra crock that has a divider in it so you can put meat on one side and veggies on the other! I had never seen that before. It also has this carry bag thing which is neat since I am known to transport said pot for various gatherings. My buddies say they have never seen the extra divided crock anywhere but Sam's. What a cool deal when cooking for one.

I will give the paprika chicken another trial tomorrow and see how this one goes.

[Richard Kilgore]

Sounds promising, Fifi. This one has the high-low-warm-off setting as opposed to the over-designed/under-performing electro-cool-snazzy thermostat and heating coil, correcto? So do you mind telling us Sam's price for this?

[bloviatrix]

All Clad has introduced a crock pot. I saw it at William Sonoma the other day. It looks pretty large. But I don't know anything else. They might have an exclusive on it - can't find it on the web site

[fifi]

Sounds promising, Fifi. This one has the high-low-warm-off setting as opposed to the over-designed/under-performing electro-cool-snazzy thermostat and heating coil, correcto? So do you mind telling us Sam's price for this?

This one has the totally useless electro-cool-snazzy thingy but my buddies swear that it doesn't go thermonuclear. The extra divided crock is what got me. I can live with the stupid controls if it performs ok because the divided crock has real appeal for a one person household. BTW, it is really cool in that the divider is like a molded in part of the crock with a wave to it. It reminds me of the yin-yang symbol. We shall see. Sam's price is $48.54.

[Jay-bob]

Chineese pork shoulder

pork shoulder (3-4 lbs.)

half cup water

half cup soy

quarter cup sliced ginger

star anise

cloves

cumin

cook on high for four hours and serve over rice noodles

Thems good eatin'

[fifi]

The paprika chicken cooked on high worked really well. This one seemed to perform as expected on high. I then switched to low with the lid off because the onions had a LOT of water. That performed as expected also.

This is the one I ended up with. As I said, it came with the carry case and the extra crock. The extra crock is not pictured here and may be a special made just for Sam's or they picked up a bunch of them that were previously offered but now discontinued.

[SethG]

fifi, after reading most of the above I bought the most basic crock pot in the 6.5 quart size, mostly because it was the one pot available in the store other than the Smart Pot, which I knew from your experience not to bother with.

I've found it to work just fine. But I noticed this morning that I could've bought the pot with the "warm" setting for the same price! Mine just has off, low and high. Part of me feels cheated. Part of me thinks the perfect crock pot is the one with the fewest options. I might be happiest with a pot that has nothing but an on/off switch. Or even better, a pot with no buttons at all! Just plug the sucker in, and it's on.

[fifi]

I agree with you and would have gone for the high/low/warm model but, I couldn't find one! Then that two chambered pot got me. I haven't tried it yet but may do that this coming weekend. I am thinking a small corned beef and some smothered cabbage in a belated nod to St. Patrick.

[Richard Kilgore]

Noticed All-Clad has an 8 qt programmable, oval shape, SS, about $99.

Also -- you can get the Rival "Smart" programmable function for any crockpot for $10. Plug it into an outlet and plug your crockpot into it.

Anyone tried either of these yet?

[fifi]

$99 for a crock pot? That is nuts. I also don't know that I would trust a company that never made one before to know what they are doing. There is subtle science in the crock pot.

[babyluck]

fifi, I wish I'd noticed this thread earlier--I would have told you to stay far away from the Rival Smart Pots! I learned the hard way, too, but too late to return it. The most common complaint seems to be that the temps are too hot and that the lid doesn't fit properly. I can't remember where I read it, but one unhappy owner figured out that Rival used the same lid for several different models--it may fit perfectly on the one it was originally designed for, but not the Smart Pot.

I found that foods tended to dry out because the lid does not make an airtight seal. I don't think a hole in the lid would be a benefit for a slow cooker--it would only prevent the dancing lid phenomenon.

I am considering a Nesco...

[marie-louise]

... I generally braise things in the oven, and at a much higher temperature than that reached by a crockpot (212 tops). My point in going on about the temperature is that you simply can't get any caramelization or Maillard reaction browning at crock pot temperatures -- it takes temps of 300 or more for those to start. Add to that that there's virtually no evaporation from the crockpot, so you don't get the concentration of flavor you get from oven braising. There is simply less depth of flavor in the crockpot version.

...And I'm not knocking them at all -- they're a wonderful tool. But if I have the time necessary, I'll take an oven braised dish over the crockpot version any day.

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Now that cooler weather is a mere month away for those of us on the left coast, and my work days are longer than ever, I find myself wondering yet again if I should buy a slow cooker. I usually have some time on my days off to braise as JAZ has described, and I believe that most braised dishes taste better reheated anyway, but the idea of walking into a house that smells like dinner really appeals...

PS I am gone from the house 10-11 hours. Is that simply too long for anything to cook well in one?

[FoodMan]

As I type this, I have a nice beef/red wine stew cooking in my crock pot. Chuck beef, veggies, red wine and stock will be fantastic by the time I get home from work. I love the crock pot not because it makse better braises than an oven --which it does not-- but because of extreme convenience. My wife typically gets home a good two hours before I do, and I am the one who usually cooks. Now she can wait for me to get home so we can fix something quick, however my 15 month old, who she picked up from daycare is ravenous and he wants food FAST. This way she gets home at 5 or so and he will be eating my red wine beef stew by 5:10 with some rice that hase been already cooked or some mashed potatoes. I'll take crock pot homemade food anyday over some fast food junk and so will he.

Also the house will smell wonderful and the food usually comes out tasting very good, like everyone mentioned the best dishes are braises and beans and such. Last week we had the best red beans and rice with ham hocks and sausage using a slow cooker.

This brings me to a point I've been contemplating, can duck confit be made in a crock pot? What do you think? It seems and ideal vessel for it.

Elie

[fifi]

This brings me to a point I've been contemplating, can duck confit be made in a crock pot? What do you think? It seems and ideal vessel for it.

Elie

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Excellent question. I can't wait to see the answer. I am up for trying to do some duck confit this fall, in preparation for a cassoulet.

I see that onion confit has been mentioned. I think we have that covered in this thread. Woodburner really started something. Warning... it goes to 10 pages.

I used to really like my crockpot for all manner of beans. However, when I found out about the Russ Parsons method in Dried Bean thread I pretty much abandoned the crock pot. Well, not entirely. If I need to be gone all day and want beans to be ready when I get home, I still revert to the crockpot.

[babyluck]

There is a recipe for duck confit in Lora Brody's slow cooker cookbook. Apparently it can be done. I wouldn't buy the book, though.

For marie-louise--the crockpot I have is a Rival SmartPot that turns off and goes to warm after the programmed time. I am out of the house for the same amount of time and that's why I wanted one like that. However, it sucks.

#1 it's way too hot, the lid doesn't fit properly, the outside gets hot, liquids boil on the low setting and the lid dances & sputters--water vapor does escape from the ill-fitting lid, so at least that takes care of the reduction problem! but it's not really what you want if you're going to leave something unattended.

#2 you are locked into either 4 or 6 hours on High or 8 or 10 hours on Low. When the cycle finishes it goes into Warm mode but you CANNOT turn Warm on otherwise. This presents a huge problem if you see that the food is done and want to end the cycle but hold it for a while, or if you are serving on a buffet. The Low setting is way too hot and will actually burn the food and curdle your creamed soups. Toughens meat, too.

This is the one I have, but I have a slightly older model. They at least put a plastic handle on it so we wouldn't burn our fingers on its blistering exterior.

If anyone has a better solution for those of us who are out of the house for more than 10 hours, or can't plan to be home at a certain time, I'd love to hear it.

[marie-louise]

... but it's not really what you want if you're going to leave something unattended...If anyone has a better solution for those of us who are out of the house for more than 10 hours, or can't plan to be home at a certain time, I'd love to hear it.

←

Thanks for your post. That reminds me, my house isn't completely unattended for 10 hours. I have four cats, and as you can see by my avatar, one who keeps insisting that it is okay to go onto the counters.

That could a problem w/ an ill-fitting lid, couldn't it?

[Richard Kilgore]

eGullet member joiei sent me a bag of his favorite grits a couple of months ago. These are from War Eagle Mill in Rogers Arkansas and are "Stone Buhr Ground Yankee Corn Grits". Now these are serious grits, and the recommended "15 - 20 minutes or until tender" usually runs to about 30" or more for me, but they are still not entirely tender. Very good nonetheless, and just as good the next day fried, of course.

Wondering about the use of slow cookers for grits, I talked early this year with the folks at Anson Mills, and they said that a number of restaurants use slow cookers to cook their stone ground grits, which call for about four hours of stove top cooking. So with joiei's War Eagle grits in hand, I decided to try doing them in a slow cooker to see if there was any difference. I did not time it closely, but I think I cooked them about three hours, maybe a little longer. Very good and better than than the stove top half hour version. But the revelation was in the fried version of these. Very, very good the next day, but extraordinary three days later.

Anyone else tried cooking grits in a slow cooker?

[andiesenji]

Yes, and in an electric roaster for really big batches when cooked just for molding in loaf pans to be sliced and fried for a community breakfast. Long and slow with the lid on tight to keep all the liquid inside is the trick.

I did something similar when making masa for tamales when we are going to have a big multi-family dinner. It saves a lot of time standing over a hot stove, stirring and stirring and stirring.

[Susan in FL]

No, but I sure am glad you posted this. I will do! Thanks.

[joiei]

Thanks for the input Richard. I am breaking out the crockpot now. 3 days, did you put any cheese or other seasonings into them?

[fifi]

SSB picky question... How much did you cook in how big a pot? Does this mean that I have to go buy another crock pot to get a smaller size so I don't have to cook a vat of grits? I find that if you don't have enough mass in a crock pot, the cooking rate is unpredictable.

Well... I guess I could cook up whatever it took, cut the leftovers in cubes, throw it over the balconey and watch the mallards and gulls fight over it.

[Richard Kilgore]

joiei -- I may have been ambiguous. That was cooked for three or four hours, then three days in the fridge. I didn't add any chesse, but that will be next time. I do suggest you try them plain before adding anything else, just to see how good they are relatively plain. I tried them with just salt, pepper and butter. Then also with a little maple syrup.

Linda -- I was concerned about that, too, but I did a cup of them in the 5 qt crock pot and it worked fine. I did stir it about once an hour.