Slow Cooker/Crock Pot: Recipes and Techniques

[Mudpuppie]

I am working on a design that has geese with blue bows attacking an okra plant.

What about this:

[fifi]

Priceless!

Hey Brooks...

[fifi]

As my paprika chicken cooks, I am alerted to strange sounds from my new cooker. It has a heavy glass lid (The old one had a plastic piece of sh**.) and it dances and makes noises and spits. The lid does not have that enlightened little hole that the Chefmate stock pots do. Oh well, I guess you can't have everything. Once I figured out that the noise was not some serial rapist trying to break in, I relaxed and forgot about it. Funny thing is, most of the noise sounds like a brace of really small jingle bells.

[Mayhaw Man]

Priceless!

Hey Brooks...

There is no limit on the number of geese that can be shot in Louisiana or Texas until mid February. They are now considered the eqivalent of flying pests. If they get into my Okra they will not be heading back up for the Springtime.

[TrishCT]

Oh gosh that geese design is tooo funny!

Fifi, your crockpot should NOT be making noises.... something isn't right with the unit or the lid.

[fifi]

As it transpires, there is an area of water on my floor just under the crock pot where it has been spitting its cooking liquids. The paprika chicken is delicious but it comes with a premium that the lack of a vent in the lid has caused a swamp of spewed condensation onto my floor and counter. This never happened with the cheap ass plastic lid on the old, now dead, crock pot. I will be sending an irate e-mail to the Rival gurus.

[Mudpuppie]

Maybe stick a toothpick or chopstick under the lid to vent just a little?

Edit: And then send the irate email.

Edited February 9, 2004 by Mudpuppie (log)

[Richard Kilgore]

Absolutely should not do that. Curiously my "grapes of wrath" has a heavy glass lid and works fine. It will have some condensation, but should not be spitting and flowing over. I noticed on Amazon that some buyers of the new Smarty-Pots complained that they ran too hot. I did not analyze the responses in detail, but a quick scan showed higher user ratings for the old style (High-Low) than the new style (Smart-Pots).

Hope this works out.

[Marlene]

Mine does not spit either!

[fifi]

When we got into the Chf Mate stock pot discussions I remember that there was a lot of discussion about the Chef Mates having a hole in the glass lids that prevented the spitting. That implies that the pots without holes and with heavy glass lids, spit. The physics of that makes some sense. But now I don't know why Richard's doesn't.

I did cook the chicken on high so maybe it does run hot. That may be a good thing, without the spitting, of course. I will let you know what Rival says.

[fifi]

I have a big problem with my new Smart Pot.

I purchased your Smart Pot yesterday from Target in League City TX. I immediately cooked some chicken thighs on the high setting for four hours. I kept hearing odd noises coming from the pot. The glass lid was bumping and spitting water (condensation) all over the counter and floor. I am an experienced slow cooker and have never had this happen before. I got this one because my old one finally died. This problem with heavy glass lids has been encountered before with stock pots. The Chef Mate brand, also sold at Target, has gained favor because they have put a hole in the glass lid so that bumping and spitting doesn't occur. I could explain the physics of the problem but you probably have engineers that can do that quite well.

In the meantime, I am not happy with my purchase. What do you suggest?

This is the text that I e-mailed to Rival's customer service department this morning.

[kpurvis]

I have one of those little ones and only used once. I don't think the picture conveys just how small it is, it only has about a 1½ cup capacity. The instructions say "The Little Dipper is designed for heating and holding your favourite dip or fondue at the perfect serving temperature". I don't think it would be any good for much else.

The little ones are great for making oatmeal, if you're into the healthy breakfast thing. Use the steel-cut Irish oatmeal. You can have a serving of it ready when you get up in the morning.

[fifi]

I really like the oatmeal idea. I would probably eat it if I could get up and have it ready. Do you just use the suggested amount of liquid on the oatmeal "box"?

(I love oatmeal with butter and Cajun seasoning. )

[Cynthia G]

Fifi, I have the old style 6 qt oval (with grape leaves and small clusters of grapes around the bottom), with a glass lid and I have never had the spitting problem. I hope they resolve this for you!

[Toliver]

fifi,

It almost sounds like the lid isn't heavy enough and/or is of a poor design (as you've said).

I have the Westbend slow cooker (it has the pot you can cook with on the stove to brown your meat) and the glass lid is one heavy mother. Ain't nothin' gonna lift that sucker off. The model I have is similar to this one, except mine has a different style of lid (the lid in the linked cooker can also double as a serving dish whereas mine is just a lid).

My mom has a very old Rival crock pot that doesn't have an insert.

In order to wash it, you have to lean it on its side on the counter next to the sink and let the wash water spill out as you wash it. It's cumbersome and antiquated but she won't get rid of it since it still works.

[formerly grueldelux]

This one from Nesco has captured my interest. It has a ceramic interior and the full temperature range of a roaster. I wonder if it can be used as a deep fryer?

-michael

[Barb]

Thanks Marlene and kpurvis! I'll take the Little Dipper out of the garage sale box and try some of your great ideas. eGullet is great, I learn something new every day

[Suzanne F]

Fifi, thank you for inspiring tonight's dinner. I split a cornish hen, put it in the slow cooker with a jar of piperade, the last of a jar of Newman's Own marinara, sherry vinegar, 3 kinds of paprika, and some adobo seasoning. Thickened the sauce with yogurt/cornstarch; served the whole with bow ties and steamed green beans. Very satisfying.

[fifi]

I love chicken all dolled up with more paprika than you think it needs. Suzanne, you just reminded me that I am out of sherry vinegar. A dash of that on the chicken thighs would have been great.

Still haven't heard from Rival. I wonder how often they check their "customer service" e-mails.

[FoodZealot]

This one from Nesco has captured my interest. It has a ceramic interior and the full temperature range of a roaster. I wonder if it can be used as a deep fryer?

-michael

From this Nesco site:

Full 6-Quart capacity serves up to 6 people.

I take this to mean that their serving size is a hearty 1 quart/person or MORE. 1.2 quarts, perhaps?

~Tad

Edited February 10, 2004 by FoodZealot (log)

[Suzanne F]

Does anyone else think it's funny that Nesco says:

This is one of the original Nescos®, just like the one that Grandma had!

Boy, that tells you who their target audience is, like nothing else!

[mnebergall]

I take if from reading this thread that there is no such thing as the "Mercedes Benz" of crock pots.

[Marlene]

fifi, I'm sure I'm missing it, but what crockpot did you end up getting?

[Rachel Perlow]

Any response yet from Customer Service? I hope you just brought it back to Target if you were unhappy with it.

[Pickles]

I loves me my crockpot! It's a Rival. I also love this site...where you can get opinions on just about anything. I pulled up crockpots for y'all:

http://www.epinions.com/Crock_Pots_and_Slo...h_vertical_~all