Crockpot

Looking for a good recipe for gazpacho soup, how to make a good tinto de verano, local exhibitions and where to hear good jazz? Post your query here to find out more.
katy
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 13752
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:45 pm

Crockpot

Postby katy » Mon Jan 27, 2020 5:13 pm

Or Crap-pot as I call it. Various people I know are always going on about how fantastic they are. Have eaten some dinners they have cooked in it, sort of OK but not my kind of recipes. A good friend, bossy but in a nice way was always trying to convince me to buy one. After eating a lamb leg in it at her house I thought it was a waste of good quality joint, pulled and stringy. Tasted ok but not my style. I like lamb herby and crispy and carved. being pushy she bought me one for Xmas. After a couple of weeks was shamed into using it.

Looking what to cook, chicken, another thing I like crispy, always have spatchcock chicken. That wasn't going to work. Suppose ok for a curry though. Off putting was the pre cooking, can't just shove it all in as it tastes bland. I made authentic onion soup, had to caramelise onions first, add things at different times then the slices of cheesy bread at the end. Could have cooked it on the range in less time! Next was sausage casserole. Lovely thick herby sausage from Goodwood farm shop, Fry onions, carrots, mushrooms etc then sausage. by the time I had added wine, tomatoes etc. it was looking about done! Added the baby potatoes and set the crackpot for 3 hours. Potatoes not done, back on for half hour. Some of the sausage had fallen apart although it tasted nice. OH tried Coq Au Vin, tasted ok but about bottom grade for presentation, looked like the chicken i used to boil in a pan for the dogs :mrgreen: I can cook Yorkshire Hash and dumplings in less time on the hob.

Now on a shelf in utility room, Any suggestions that don't take longer than real life cooking?

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: Crockpot

Postby El Cid » Mon Jan 27, 2020 5:44 pm

The only reason to use a slow cooker is if you want to make a stew type dish and put it on before you go out for the day and have something to eat when you come home later. Apart from that they are a waste of time.

All it is, is an electric saucepan that takes ages to heat up. They do not cook at a low temperate (which could be useful), they just take ages to get up the the normal cooking temperature of 100ºc. The controls vary the time it takes, not the temperature it uses.

I had one and carried out a lot of accurate tests on it, hence my comments above.

A temperature controlled water bath is a much better way of cooking if you want real slow cooking.

Sid

Miro
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 3584
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 8:20 pm
Location: Merseyside, formally Torremolinos

Re: Crockpot

Postby Miro » Mon Jan 27, 2020 6:10 pm

Although no longer living in Andalucia, I still like to check in every now and then to read "posts....relevant to Andalucía" and even the occasional "posts that also relate to other parts of Spain, particularly in the Travel and Tourism section" and "posts about specific issues affecting 'expatriates' living abroad". I'm particularly glad to see the mods still "discourage posts without any relevance to Andalucía", because I've been ticked off for less in the past.

You'll be hard pushed to even buy a slowcooker in Andalucia - the last one we bought was ordered from & shipped from the UK
Seriously...WTF?
Don't worry about what people think, they don't do it very often

"Acquiring a dog may be the only opportunity a human ever has to choose a relative," Mordecai Siegal 1935-2010.

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Crockpot

Postby Wicksey » Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:55 am

I have seen slow cookers here, Aldi had one, so they are creeping in. Mine is from the UK via Amazon. I ended up with it by accident as my friend clicked twice and ordered two :eh:

It's got a removable metal interior casserole dish (not so useful if you have an induction hob like my friend does as this model doesn't work on them) but for me with my gas cooker it's great as I can heat it all up to boiling point in the one pan. Then I shove it in the machine and put it outside in the utility room so I don't have to smell it all day :) I use it for batch cooking bolognese sauce or chilli, or for things like a slow cooked beef and Guinness stew. I don't always brown things off but just shove it all in and it cooks fine. In the summer when it's too hot to have the oven on I can cook a whole chicken in it. We hate the skin, crispy or otherwise, so just throw that out anyway, and I find the chicken stays nice and moist and just falls off the bone. I don't use it all the time but I am glad that I have it.

katy
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 13752
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:45 pm

Re: Crockpot

Postby katy » Tue Jan 28, 2020 12:48 pm

Yes I agree Cid, probably ok. For those who commute and have families.
There was an old thread on them when I did a search so thought they would have become more popular now and I would get some good tips. Perhaps I should look on Mumsnet :lolno:

viewtopic.php?f=1&t=29736&hilit=Slow+cooker

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: Crockpot

Postby El Cid » Tue Jan 28, 2020 1:56 pm

You would get the same "slow cooker" result just by putting the pot in a 100ºc oven for the same time - more electricity though. I always cook roast beef in the oven for 6 hours at 50º.

Sid

User avatar
Wicksey
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5879
Joined: Mon Sep 20, 2004 1:21 pm
Location: Axarquia coast

Re: Crockpot

Postby Wicksey » Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:39 pm

That's why I have a gas oven, very cheap to have on for hours - a tank last me 3 months. I do prefer to slow roast a leg of lamb in that rather than the slow cooker .... also not sure I can fit a leg into it :?

User avatar
costakid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 5754
Joined: Sun Feb 13, 2005 11:55 am
Location: malaga este

Re: Crockpot

Postby costakid » Tue Jan 28, 2020 5:18 pm

El Cid wrote:You would get the same "slow cooker" result just by putting the pot in a 100ºc oven for the same time - more electricity though. I always cook roast beef in the oven for 6 hours at 50º.

Sid
Can you cook at 50? I do a shoulder of lamb for 4 hours at 160 as per Jamie olivers advice. Bloody lovely.

El Cid
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 16058
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:42 pm
Location: La Herradura, Costa Tropical, Granada

Re: Crockpot

Postby El Cid » Tue Jan 28, 2020 5:23 pm

Yes, you can. The meat ends up at 50ª which is exactly what you want for medium rare.

You do have to brown it, preferably before you start cooking it. It's perfect straight out of the oven as it does not need to rest.

I have cooked a dozen fillet steaks like this, just leave them in the oven and when it's time to serve them, flash them on the BBQ or a very hot skillet before serving. Restaurants do this all the time. I have also done it with a leg of lamb.

Sid

katy
Andalucia Guru
Posts: 13752
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:45 pm

Re: Crockpot

Postby katy » Thu Jan 30, 2020 3:13 pm

Our Butcher in Marbella claimed the lamb from some areas around Granada was best because of the wild herbs that grow around there.
Haven't tried slow cooking beef, will have to do so. I always sear the joints first, if too large I cook around 20 mins on high in oven then turn it down. Outer slices are for me.


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 21 guests