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Slow Cooker/Crock Pot: Recipes and Techniques


Wilfrid

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Here's another half: beans. Start them before you go to bed, and they're done in the morning. Drain and refrigerate for the week ahead. I actually got this from one of HRH Julia's books and had to slap my forehead, it was so obvious. You can do 'em straight, but I like to throw in an onion, some garlic, a couple of torn-up dried anchos and a smoked ham hock. Bay leaf if I remember. Just don't put anything alkaline in the pot, or you'll end up with a mushy, slimy mess.

Most Mexicans cook their pinto beans and then, about an hour or so before serving, add what they call "the seasonings."

In a skillet, separately, that is where they take whatever fat they are using - lard or bacon or chorizo or ham or hamburger meat or whatever - and brown it with onions, cumono, jalepeños or other chilis, garlic, - literally whatever you like in your beans to flavor them (with the exception of cilantro, which they do add directly to the bean pot).

They fry and saute and brown all of this, separately in this skillet, and THEN add it to the beans to season them.

Again - they add nothing to the beans for most of the cooking process. They add the seasonings very near to the end of the cooking process. Took me a while to get the hang of this. I believed that I surely must add something to the pot while cooking. But now I do it this way, and it is really good. Great flavor and texture.

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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This sounds like a great variation for Tex-Mex style dishes, and I'm going to try it. Lots of times I cook up enough to do beans twice in a week, with different emphases. Beans are a great canvas that has interpretations in many cuisines, but it seems most people only know two types: baked and refried. :sad:

Jaymes, a long as we're on the subject (and off the topic), what do you know about epazote and its use in beans?

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

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Jaymes, a long as we're on the subject (and off the topic), what do you know about epazote and its use in beans?

Epazote is an "acquired taste" that I haven't ever really acquired.

It is a herb that grows wild throughout most of Central America (and I think but don't know for sure, the Caribbean). In fact, it's even something of a pest.

It is pungent, and I've often heard it described as tasting like you put gasoline in the pot. I don't think it's that bad, but I really prefer the taste of cilantro in my beans, so I use that instead. I don't think the two flavors mix particularly well, and it seems to me that most people either use one or the other.

It is said to have medicinal properties, and the Mexicans make a tea out of it that, according to them, is good for asthma and other respiratory problems. One of the common names for espazote is "Mexican tea."

Many Mexicans do use it in their beans - not only for the flavor, but because they say that it lessens some of the "undesirable" aspects of eating beans. When they use it, they do put it directly into the pot, usually at the beginning of the cooking process.

Down here, you can buy it fresh in the markets, and also crumpled into little packets. Some people also put it into salsas and other dishes where one might think, for example, of using cilantro.

If you can't get it there, and you'd like to try some, let me know and I'll send you some.

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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Thanks again, Jaymes.

I had heard some of this, but not its purported medicinal properties, nor its, shall we say, antagonistic relationship to cilantro.

It's mentioned ocasionally, especially in bean recipes, but I had never seen it until the other day in one of those cellophane packages at Whole Foods. Thanks to WF, I can get epazote, which I am not sure I want, but I can no longer get Scharffen Berger or Valhrona chocolate. I wished they'd asked if I wanted to trade. :wacko:

Dave Scantland
Executive director
dscantland@eGstaff.org
eG Ethics signatory

Eat more chicken skin.

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Well, after our last discussion I went out and got a 5 quart slow cooker - Hamilton Beach if that matters.

As we had a lot of yard work to accomplish today ( and I still haven't planted my daffs) I threw some chopped onions and a browned pork loin roast into the cooker and covered it with two bottles of the Herdez salsa verde. Voila - dinner was ready when we came in. Delicious tender pork and a surprisingly complex savoury sauce. With it I served just-wilted spinach sprinkled with lemon juice and a cauliflower, onion and garlic puree.

All in all, very gratifying. :smile:

Now the bad part. I also recently tried to do steel cut oats overnight as suggested in the Crock Pot thread. Yeecchh. Unless, of course, one thinks of oatmeal being just right when it's mucilage. Back to my time-consuming, but delectable, method from Cook's Illustrated a couple of years back. Porridge will just have to remain a weekend treat.

K.

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Alton Brown's overnight oatmeal doesn't differ substantially from the method I used - with the exception that he uses a LOT more dried fruit than I did. ( I prefer dried cherries and toasted almonds,and think half a cup of each is being extravagant)

I think the thing is that I've always hated gluey oatmeal and the overnight cooking turns the grain into a uniform paste. The texture of the CI method is much more palatable to me. There are still individual grains that have a bit of spring against the tooth.

K.

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Using a slow cooker is like having a wife: at the end of the day an aromatic, ready-to-eat meal greets me as I walk in the door. (I've been tempted to drape mine in pearls and garnish with a wig, to ape that whole "Leave it to Beaver" lifestyle)

Having tested and developed different recipes in the slow cooker over the years, I will tell you that you must use seasoning very differently-- flavors of dried herbs tend to disappear, and whole spices work better than ground. So you can't wing it quite as easily and just throw a bunch of stuff in the pot in the morning...you're better off starting out with some good recipes.

Also, Rachel earlier suggested using a slow cooker with the lid off, which you absolutely can't do. The temp is already quite low, and the cooking process slow...if you leave the lid off or ajar, I think you're likely to have raw food at the end of the day. Any time you are cooking animal proteins, it is important to follow the manufacturers instructions, or you risk forming a perfect breeding ground for the bacteria that cause food borne illness.

Here's one I developed years ago for a magazine that I particularly like. I remember it was particularly aromatic...but more importantly, we loved the robust flavors.

5 garlic cloves, slivered

3 tablespoons flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 pounds chicken thighs

20 pimento stuffed green olives

20 dried prunes

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

3 bay leaves

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

2 tablespoons honey

1 cup Rioja wine

1 cup orange juice

1/2 cup loosely packed parsley, chopped

-Place the garlic in the slow cooker.

-Combine the flour, salt and pepper on a plate. Dredge the thighs in the flour and set, flesh

side down, in the slow cooker.

-Distribute the olives, prunes, lemon peel and fresh thyme over the chicken.

-Combine the honey, wine, and orange juice and pour over the chicken. Cook on low

setting for 8 hours.

-Serve chicken with pan juices and sprinkle generously with parsley.

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  • 2 months later...

Why does it seem weird?

I use a slow cooker/Crock Pot often. As Bittman pointed out, it doesn't do everything well, but with a little care you can make some tasty soups, stews, and braises with it.

Heck, even Jeffrey Steingarten used a slow cooker to make coq au vin and vowed not to make fun of slow cookers anymore in "It Must Have Been Something I Ate".

Edited by ChocoKitty (log)
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Excellent article.

Yes, I used my crockpot(s) a lot, especially when I had a large, hungry family to feed and we were living in cold climes and I also had to work. I might have adopted the "snob" attitude toward the thing, but necessity intervened. Some of us "crockies" had greatness forced upon us. :biggrin: (I mean, rather than being an intuitive and brilliant harbinger of food trends.)

At one time, I owned three - two identical. I entertained a LOT. One party I remember that the drinks table had gluwein simmering in one and a non-alcholic apple cider in the other, while over on the buffet table, a third held hot Swedish meatballs.

There are already several threads here that give many good slow-cooker recipes (one of which is the simplifying of caramelizing onions)(and I think I posted my corned beef recipe), but I do not know how to post links. I'm sure you can find them with the "search" feature.

Re the NYT article - I would disagree with one statement:

He says you likely won't use your slowcooker for desserts. In fact, I frequently used mine for rice puddings, bread puddings, custards, etc., and several slow-cooked fruit treats such as homemade applesauce, carmelized apples, baked apples, true old-fashioned applebutter, fruit compotes, homemade mincemeat, slurrys, pears simmered in a brandy and sauterne sauce, and pretty-much anything that calls for dried fruits.

AND (I'd almost forgotten this really cool thing), if you have a smallish mold, you can put it on a trivet in your crockpot, add water, and steam or slow-bake things like plum pudding, flan, etc.

After all, the thing is just a heavy pot with a heating element attached. How intimidating/frightening/godawful/plebian can it be? (I mean without the corn and grapevines, of course.) :cool:

Edited by Jaymes (log)
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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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Knew9, you beat me to this.

When I lived by myself in high school (another story), I used a Crock Pot to make lentils and black beans. Recently, when I was home, my mother offered me her Crock Pot. The snob in me said "No thanks,Mummy." Now, after readinig Bittman's piece, I am reconsidering. His Crock Pot Cassoulet does look appealing in terms of easiness. Can anybody argue that there is an easier way to make a cassoulet?

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Was asked to post a dessert recipe...

This was a favorite of my children on cold, wet windy days. So good this time of year when apples are filling the shelves at the supermarkets.

Apple & Peanut Crumble

4 or 5 baking apples

2/3 C brown sugar, packed

1/2 C AP flour

1/2 C quick-cooking oats

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground nutmeg

1/3 C butter, room temp

2 T crunchy peanut butter

Core, peel and slice apples. Slice them not too thinly. Arrange apple slices in slowcooker. In bowl, combine dry ingredients. With a fork or pastry blender, add butter and peanut butter and combine. Sprinkle over apples. Cover pot and cook on low 5-6 hours.

Serve warm with whipped cream drizzled over, or ice cream alongside. Okay -- or both.

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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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For stocks, beans, soups, stews, and odd/delicious cuts of meat (oxtail, short ribs) I use a pressure cooker. I can't imagine why I would want to make the same dish in 6-8 hours that would only take me 40 minutes at the most in my pressure cooker.

But, hey, I've never used a crock pot so I may not be the best judge...

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I can't imagine why I would want to make the same dish in 6-8 hours that would only take me 40 minutes at the most in my pressure cooker.

Because you and your husband walk in the door at 5:45 pm with three small children, all of whom want all of your attention (the arsenic hour), to talk about their days, show you the treasures they make in art class. Your feet ache, the office politics have given you a headache.

It is nice to walk into a kitchen that smells great and know that all you have to do it heat up a loaf of bread, set the table, and that's that.

There were many, many nights that assembling ingredients and waiting the 40 minutes would have sent the two adults in this house to the loony bin.

Susan Fahning aka "snowangel"
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coming home to a meal after work sounds great to me, though i wonder if this type of cooking makes sense when cooking for two... i suppose so, as leftovers can always become lunch. i would love to see more recipes-or at least more concrete tips about converting regular recipes to slow cook recipes. i google'd recipes and found quite a few of the creamed soup/taco seasoning variety bitman mentioned :wacko:

in the end, it's a small investment and i'll probably give it a try. the only real issue will be counter space/storage.

also-i couldn't find any past threads via the search function. anyone?

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I can't imagine why I would want to make the same dish in 6-8 hours that would only take me 40 minutes at the most in my pressure cooker.

There were many, many nights that assembling ingredients and waiting the 40 minutes would have sent the two adults in this house to the loony bin.

Speaking of being in a "pressure cooker," right??? :laugh:

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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And, I made a LOT of the ribs/pork chops/sausage (whatever kind of pork you prefer) with cabbage (red or sauerkraut or whatever) and apples, onions, sugar, caraway, wine, beer...

A LOT of those kinds of dishes. Served with rye bread...

Okay. Now I'm starting to get hungry.

:rolleyes:

And, anyone who is considering getting a crockpot, I'd suggest you also roust up a copy of one of Mable Hoffman's books - I got "Crockery Cookery" some 25-years ago as a present when I was also gifted with my first Crockpot. I've seen used copies of it on eBay for $4.

Kinda retro, true... but still chock-full (a Crockpot term :biggrin: ) of excellent info.

EDIT: After reading this thread, I went and dug up my old "Crockery Cookery" and I am withdrawing my recommendation. Rather than "kinda retro," it's VERY retro... TOO retro in fact. There does seem to be some good information in it (it's a cookbook after all, so there's always SOMETHING of value), but I'd suggest you go find an updated book to get your ideas. There are a LOT of the "cream of mushroom soup"-type recipes in it.

And since I never use cream of anything in my preparations, I know there's better stuff out there. And, I'm going to go try to find a newer slow-cook-book myself just to see what's going on.

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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I read the Bittman piece over breakfast, then this, then sladeums link. Thanks, sladeums.

Caramelizing onions gets mentioned a lot. Could someone tell me how long, how many onions, etc?

Thanks in advance

Margaret McArthur

"Take it easy, but take it."

Studs Terkel

1912-2008

A sensational tennis blog from freakyfrites

margaretmcarthur.com

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Caramelizing onions gets mentioned a lot.  Could someone tell me how long, how many onions, etc?

Thanks in advance

Been waiting for an expert to appear to answer your question...

No one has, so I'll tell you what I do.

Basically, I put a stick of butter in the bottom of the pot. Then, peel and slice a ton of onions. Okay - not a ton - but as many as will fill the pot.

You can pretty-much cook this as long as you like - I normally go at least 24 hours. It doesn't burn, it just keeps getting darker and richer.

Other thoughts: Sweet onions are, well, sweeter. Vidalia are really wonderful.

I often add a pinch of sugar - especially if I'm not using a sweet onion variety. I also like to add a little (maybe 1 T or so) balsamic vinegar. And a cup or so chicken bouillon (either homemade or really-good quality prepared) and a little chopped parsley but you don't need to (addition or not of these little "extras" usually depends upon what I'm going to use the onions for).

Be sure you keep the pot's lid on as much as possible. That allows the steam to build up and the flavor to build. I do stir it, but only very occasionally.

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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When I was working for the Forest Service and living in a bunkhouse with a couple of Mexican-Americans, we kept the crokpot going 24/7. It was always pinto beans, though. We'd start one batch at night so we had beans for breakfast and lunch, the other before we went out so we had beans for dinner. One of my favorite memories of those days is Jerry (Gerardo) waxing poetic about pintos with only salt and pepper, including the memorable phrase, "I just love that bean juice."

I've been eyeing the more visually acceptable stainless steel units (like pictured in the NYT), but I know that Judith can pick one up of the old school models at a garage sale for a dollar or two. The cooking technique is basically the same thing I do now in the oven, and I'm betting the crockpot, er, slow cooker is more energy efficient.

Jim

olive oil + salt

Real Good Food

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Looks interesting - I think my mum has one stashed away somewhere

Just out of interest what's the difference between a crock pot and normal cooking (eg sticking stuff in a covered saucepan over a low heat or popping into low over)? What sort of temperatures does it usually operate at?

cheerio

J

More Cookbooks than Sense - my new Cookbook blog!
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