Slow Cooker/Crock Pot: Recipes and Techniques

[sladeums]

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

The most common reccomendations I've seen suggest 1 lb onion to a scant 1/4 cup fat, cooked on low 8-10 hours.

Keep in mind if you are using one of the older round, tall models (as opposed to the now more common oval ones) there is less surface area on the bottom of the unit, and stirring may be required to acheive a consistent color thorughout the onions and you may have cook on high the last few hours to acheive the desired effect.

What sort of temperatures does it usually operate at?

This following was taken from this site:

Click here for more crockpot Q&A's

Q: What temperature does the low setting and high setting reach?

A: With gradual heat build up food generally reaches a temperature of 170° to 180° F and liquid will reach around 200° F.

[ferdlisky]

Crock pot--sorry--slow cooker snobbery has always left me somewhat puzzled. Long slow cooking has been a form of cooking for, well, thousands of years. What difference does it make whether it's in a slow cooker, in the embers of a fire, in the local baker's oven, or in your Aga cooker? The problem is not the vessel (unless you have a really crappy one that doesn't work properly), it's the recipes. Most slow cooker recipes are just disgusting! have you ever looked at a book of slow cooker recipes???? Let's just say there's a lot of Campbells cream soups involved and leave it at that.

I use my slow cooker all the time for soups, stews, pot roasts, braises. I've made dulce de leche in it too, which worked pretty well. And after reading this thread, you can bet I'll be caramelizing onions.

As for converting recipes, all I do is cut back a bit on the liquid called for. Don't seem to have to do much more than that.

[afoodnut]

I use a crockpot frequently. As others have pointed out, it's convenient, makes the house smell great, lets us have a hot meal ready when we get home after a long day.

There is one problem I've noticed, though, and I don't know why it is. Foods cooked in the slow cooker never seem to develop the strong, deep flavors of oven or stove top braised foods. Food from the crockpot seems to end up bland and uninteresting, no matter the seasoning and flavoring. After a while we find that everything starts tasting the same, and that's with using wildly different ingredients. Adding additional seasoning at the end to try to "fix it" doesn't help, either.

Has anybody else found this? Any explanations?

[Jaymes]

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?

I'd say, exactly nothing.

Except that I don't like leaving my oven on for long periods of time while I'm away from home.

Not to mention that if it's summertime, the oven heats up the whole kitchen. And it costs more in energy bills as well.

As for temperatures, mine has a thermostat on it - and you can set it from 200º to 400º.

And, Foodnut, I have not noticed what you described. I guess I'd use my Green Chile Stew as an example.

My children absolutely loved it and I made it often. Sometimes I made it stove-top in a Dutch oven. Sometimes I put it in a slow oven. And sometimes I put it in the crockpot if I was going to be out all day.

There was virtually no difference in the final product.

I am quite puzzled by what you describe.

Edited January 30, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[afoodnut]

Thanks for responding, Jaymes. I can even use a similar example. I often make pork with green chile, and it just doesn't seem to turn out the same in the crockpot. I've tried using more chile, less liquid, other changes, but overall, from the crockpot the result is kind of "blah." It gets to the point that my daughter will groan, "not the crockpot again."

That's why I asked if anyone else had the experience, because I can't make any sense out of it.

[Jaymes]

It occurs to me that perhaps your crock has an unglazed interior? And that it is leaching out all the flavor?

Other than that, I have no clue.

Sorry.

Edit: Well, actually, I've been thinking.... I often DID brown my meats before I put them in there... As in my Green Chile Stew.

Do you brown your meats if you don't cook them in the crockpot, but not if you do?? Or otherwise treat the ingredients differently?

Edited January 30, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[sladeums]

You may need to tinker w/ the seasonings some.

I think typically dried herbs/spices are going to lose some of their power over longer cooking, so you can increase or add near the end of cooking.

Fresh herbs/spices can increase in intensity with the longer cooking, so you can decrease or add near the end of cooking.

Basically just do what you would usually do, taste what you have near the end of cooking and adjust seasonings accordingly. Also, brown meat well before cooking if appropriate.

[afoodnut]

You may need to tinker w/ the seasonings some.

Edit: Well, actually, I've been thinking.... I often DID brown my meats before I put them in there... As in my Green Chile Stew.

Do you brown your meats if you don't cook them in the crockpot, but not if you do?? Or otherwise treat the ingredients differently?

I've tinkered, browned/not browned, tried everything I can think of. I'm an intuitive cook, not a recipe follower, and not being able to get the crockpot-cooked food to taste great drives me crazy.

I appreciate your suggestions and ideas.

[Jaymes]

Well, here's what I'd do...

I'd get me a Dutch oven and another big pot and set it them on the stove. Then I'd get triple the ingredients for a favorite preparation (obviously something that freezes well ).

I'd follow the steps simultaneously and exactly.

Then, stick the Dutch oven in the oven at the same temp as your crockpot, and put the big pot on the stovetop to slowly simmer and the remaining third of the ingredients in the crockpot and cook them all the same length of time and see if there is still a difference in taste. I'd conduct a blind taste test at the dinner table.

If the family COULD tell the difference, I'd... well... I'd...

Okay, I don't know WHAT I'd do... but I would at least know for a fact that it wasn't psychological.

And could intelligently consider what steps to take from there....

Edited January 30, 2003 by Jaymes (log)

[msp]

Slow cooking is not as conducive to tinkering because the low temp and long time require different techniques and approaches than those to which most of us are accustomed. To give it a shot, bear these, off the top of my head, in mind:

Use whole, not ground, spices, which will give you more flavor over the long cooking.Similarly, whole leaf herbs provide more flavor than dried.

Brown on the stove ahead, if you must brown. Better still, choose recipes where browning doesn't matter. The whole point is to throw your ingredients in in the morning and not have to fuss.

Use a reliable recipe as a guideline for liquid until you get more familiar with slowcooking results.

Quick soak dried beans in advance of slow cooking. do not add salt or acid to the beans intitially.

Root veggies take longer to cook than a piece of meat. Be sure they are submerged in liquid.

[afoodnut]

Then, stick the Dutch oven in the oven at the same temp as your crockpot, and put the big pot on the stovetop to slowly simmer and the remaining third of the ingredients in the crockpot and cook them all the same length of time and see if there is still a difference in taste. I'd conduct a blind taste test at the dinner table.

If the family COULD tell the difference, I'd... well... I'd...

Okay, I don't know WHAT I'd do... but I would at least know for a fact that it wasn't psychological.

I love this idea. My family and friends are used to my experiments and fooling around with food, but I never thought of diagnosing my sanity/insanity this way. Thanks.

[Jaymes]

Then, stick the Dutch oven in the oven at the same temp as your crockpot, and put the big pot on the stovetop to slowly simmer and the remaining third of the ingredients in the crockpot and cook them all the same length of time and see if there is still a difference in taste. I'd conduct a blind taste test at the dinner table.

If the family COULD tell the difference, I'd... well... I'd...

Okay, I don't know WHAT I'd do... but I would at least know for a fact that it wasn't psychological.

I love this idea. My family and friends are used to my experiments and fooling around with food, but I never thought of diagnosing my sanity/insanity this way. Thanks.

And if it turns out that there IS a discernable difference, you can take steps to correct it...

Like employing some of msp's brilliant suggestions.

Which I plan to hardcopy and put in my Crockery Cookery cookbook.

Thanks msp.

[maggiethecat]

Root veggies take longer to cook than a piece of meat. Be sure they are submerged in liquid.

As I have learned the, er, hard way!

Always thought it was the poor verggies' faults. Happy to discover it was my own ignorance.

Thanks, msp.

[JAZ]

There is one problem I've noticed, though, and I don't know why it is. Foods cooked in the slow cooker never seem to develop the strong, deep flavors of oven or stove top braised foods. ...Has anybody else found this? Any explanations?

I used to use a crock pot sometimes, and I noticed the same thing. I almost always ended up removing the contents from the crockpot and reducing the liquid (for the record, I always started with what I thought was the bare minimum of liquid in the crockpot).

I think the difference has to do with the temperature primarily, which is much lower in a crockpot than I use on the stove or in the oven. The experiment outlined above would be really interesting, but I doubt I could get my stove to a stay at a low enough heat to mirror that in a crockpot. I probably could cook in the oven at a low enough temp to mimic the crockpot, but in practice, I don't. 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.

Browning meats and vegetables seemed to help (back in the days when I used a crockpot), but I almost always had the best luck if I actually started my dish on the stove or in the oven, and then dumped it into the crockpot to finish cooking (like Jeffrey Steingarten with his coq au vin). If I couldn't do that, then I generally planned on a little reduction work right before serving. The exceptions were heavily spiced dishes like chili, or soups. Bittman's right in saying that crockpots are wonderful for making stock -- they keep it right at the simmer, which is perfect.

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.

[Jaymes]

I doubt I could get my stove to a stay at a low enough heat to mirror that in a crockpot.

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.

Well, my crockpot has a thermostat on it that goes considerably higher than 212 (actually, I think up to 400) And in fact, I always sort of worried about setting it too low unless I was making stock or something.

I rarely set it below 250-300. So, maybe that's the difference.

[ferdlisky]

I think the new generation of slow cookers can cook at a much higher temp than the old generation, which were known for barely getting dishes lukewarm. I know mine can get quite hot. Probably done for food-safety reasons.

[Jaymes]

I think the new generation of slow cookers can cook at a much higher temp than the old generation, which were known for barely getting dishes lukewarm. I know mine can get quite hot. Probably done for food-safety reasons.

Actually, I'm not looking at mine and can't recall exactly, but now that I think about it, it is a Sunbeam, that has a large removable crock. And without the crock, you can use it as a deep fryer - so I'm positive it gets really hot - most likely considerably more than 400º.

[laura]

I just got a crock pot free from Commerce Bank, and thought I would give the

method a try once again. I threw out my old one years ago and didn't think much of it then. However, I used a recipe in the new Fine Cooking mag. for

pot roast, and it was excellent. The chuck roast needed to be browned before

cooking in the pot and afterwards, as a number of people have mentioned, the

liquid needed reduction but this was all explained in the recipe. The meat did

have flavor and it was incredibly tender, I would do it again. The one thing that

did worry me a bit was that the temp got too hot on low, the liquid was beyond

simmer , which worried me because if I were to braise it in the oven I would

want to keep the temp very low so the meat wouldn't toughen. Why didn't that happen in this case?

I thre

[Mottmott]

This thread has stimulated my interest in a slow cooker. I've always been against having gadgets that do tasks that more basic equipment can handle. For example, I do not own a toaster and make my toast on a cast iron griddle. This saves counter space and, I like the texture of griddle toasted bread better - not dried out inside. No electric coffee. Etc.

But times change, one's body changes, and I now think maybe I will get an electric can opener. And now, maybe, a slow cooker will lead to yet more pissaladieres. I love caramelized onion tarts! and braises and stews in winter. Besides, if I don't like it, I'm sure my DIL would love it.

Am I right in assuming that they will do pot roasts? or does everything need to be cut up into smaller pieces

Of the new, wider ones, could someone share experience to suggest the features to consider that are more for use than show and which brand has them? An automatic timer that will turn it off after a certain time, etc?

[=Mark]

I've heard folks complain that the newer slow cookers do not allow cooking below a certain pre set minimum temperature. Due to fears of litigation should someone fall ill after cooking at too low a temp, manufacturers have set a minimum temp that some folks find excessive for cooking for long periods. Any comments on this?

Edited February 2, 2003 by =Mark (log)

[Jaymes]

Am I right in assuming that they will do pot roasts?  or does everything need to be cut up into smaller pieces

Of the new, wider ones, could someone share experience to suggest the features to consider that are more for use than show and which brand has them?  An automatic timer that will turn it off after a certain time, etc?

You do not need to cut things into smaller pieces. In fact, my favorite "quickie" thing to throw together on hectic mornings (when I was racing to get myself and my family out the door) was a pork shoulder roast (but do put these large pieces of meat in first), an onion or two (usually just quartered), and then dump in a jar of prepared salsa.

Got home - pork was ready to be pulled into strips for quesadillas, or tacos, or whatever.

As for your other question. I've had the same Sunbeam Crockpot for some 25 years or so. It's still going strong, and I've never felt the need to upgrade, so I don't know much about the newer models.

(Besides, you simply cannot FIND that attractive avocado-green color anymore. )

[msp]

To the questions raised about intensity of flavor: ground herbs and spices dissapear after eight hours of cooking. Use whole herbs and spice, and you generally need more than you would for two hours of stove-top braising.

As for browning meats, consider this. If the idea behond searing meat is to seal in flavor, and then you cook that meat for up to eight hours at a low temp, what have you accomplished? I believe the reason to brown meat before slow-cooking (a verb? hmmm...) is for visual appeal. Interestingly, a pot roast simply thrown in the slow-cooker, with no browning, will look remakably similar to the browned meat, as long as your liquid has some color and depth to it. Having said that, some meats and certain preperations will look far better when browned first.

Chicken made in a slow cooker without the benefit of a dark colored sauce should be browned first-- the alternative is quite unsightly.

As for the question about features to look for-- the lower, more shallow slow cookers are great for all sorts of roast meats. The taller soup-pot shaped slow cookers look right if you're serving chili, soup, mulled cider and the like right out of the pot at a buffet. The shape has less to do with the way the food gets cooked than it does with the way your food fits in the pot (I personally prefer my roasts to cook on their sides, rather than standing up on one end) and the way you eventually serve the food.

The pots are far from stylish. But for a winter buffet party, I'll serve soup in one, and hope that the other lovely platters will keep my guests eyes' from resting too long on that silly grapevine design. It's just so nice to know I can leave the soup/cider/chili/brisket on the buffet for hours, and it will still be piping hot.

Jaymes-- I would be surprised if the crockpot part of your appliance reaches 400F. My guess is, that high temp is only reached when the inner pot is removed...when the thing is being used as a fryer. Reminds me a little of this funny hairdryer/iron travelling thing I once picked up at Brookstone...never quite seemed to get the wrinkle out of the clothes or the dampness out of my hair.

Anyway, if the temp on a slowcooker goes too high, then you can't use slow-cooker recipes...you've changed the technique. The whole idea behind slowcooker cooking is low temperature.

Edited February 3, 2003 by msp (log)

[Jaymes]

Jaymes-- I would be surprised if the crockpot part of your appliance reaches 400F. My guess is, that high temp is only reached when the inner pot is removed...when the thing is being used as a fryer.

I am sure that's correct. I wish I could find my original instructions (hahahah). It may even say something about not turning it up that high when the crock is in - I don't know.

But I never do anyway. Kinda defeats the purpose, seems to me.

Excellent info about the spices, BTW. Thanks...

I'm really not much of a "scientific" cook and that sort of information is terrifically helpful and interesting to me. And frequently a revelation as well.

[crumbs]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in here. Our local newspaper recently did a series of articles about crock pot cooking. They had a local chef (and I should disclaim, a good friend) work up some recipes. I haven't tried them myself yet, but I did try some of Chef Jim's tests and they were pretty good. I hope you can put up with a little Southern humor if you read the articles.

crockpotrecipes

crockpotham

shortribs

chili

oxtail

Take care!

Debi

[mikeczyz]

seriously. so take a piece of braising meat, add vegetables, liquid, season, cover and let it cook? is it really that easy?

mike

p.s. i ain't no gourmet. i'm just trying to make beef short ribs.