Question for you fine gentlemen of culinary art. I am thinking of purchasing a slow cooker, my question is do I really need one? Does putting a big pot on low have the same effect? Am I just being dumb?
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Rezz
Mr. Poopybutthole
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Well, from someone who has cooked once or twice, a device designed to cook slowly (crockpot et al) will probably be a more even experience than just putting a pot on low heat. If you are just putting a pot on low flame/low electric setting (fuck electric) you have contact issues that will probably result in having directional heating issues. You know, like having that burnt taste in a soup. That said! If you are attentive, no, you don't need a slow cooking apparatus and it won't preform better than you spending time with a dish. It just makes it a bit easier to walk away for a few minutes/several hours without having the same directional heating issues that you deal with when using a normal stove top.
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Slow cookers are great for some things. Don't make Grandma's pot roast in it, there are better ways to do that. But, if you want to throw things in early in the day and have it cook itself, like certain kinds of chili, and even some soups, it's great, easy, and you can cook when it's convenient for you. I use my crock pot fairly regularly.
Khane
Got something right about marriage
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Definitely get a slow cooker. Like others have mentioned the beauty of a slow cooker is being able to walk away. I regularly throw in awesome, fatty meats (like pork shoulder ribs) before work and when I come home 9 hours later I just take them out, sear the fat and feast. Delicious every time.
Khane
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That's just what they are called. It's pork shoulder cut into rib style "steaks"
EDIT: The beauty of them is they are easy, you can just take them out and eat them as is even without seasoning them. So good. But my favorite healthy way to cook them (BBQ sauce is delicious but not healthy) is to marinate them in salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve with some balsamic roasted asparagus. "Shaving" the left overs for lunches or dinners and cooking them into a sort of crust/bark and putting them over a salad is ridiculously delicious as well. So versatile.
EDIT: The beauty of them is they are easy, you can just take them out and eat them as is even without seasoning them. So good. But my favorite healthy way to cook them (BBQ sauce is delicious but not healthy) is to marinate them in salt, pepper, olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Serve with some balsamic roasted asparagus. "Shaving" the left overs for lunches or dinners and cooking them into a sort of crust/bark and putting them over a salad is ridiculously delicious as well. So versatile.
Vitality
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What do you do to separate the excess fat that liquifies off the meat and sits in the slow cooker?
I've had nothing but problems putting larger peices of meat in a crock pot, turns to soup on me, even on low.
Khane
Got something right about marriage
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You take the meat out of the crockpot, let it rest in a foil tent for 10 minutes then sear it in a pan. It's not like the meat actually turns into a soup, there's just a lot of liquid. Who cares... the meat is still intact and delicious when you remove it from the liquid.
Adebisi
Clump of Cells
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Chili and stew like crockpots. Do you like chili and stew? Of course you do!
You sear first, then crockpot. Deglaze the pan and throw that into the crockpot with the meat and other goodies.
Vitality
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Yeah I've always done the sear first then crockpot thing for that kind of stuff.
@Deathwing: Masa dredge pan sear - remove meat - beer deglaze and cookdown (for chili specifically) then crock pot.
Khane
Got something right about marriage
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I sear in the rear boys. Comes out perfect every time. Otherwise you run into the problem Vitality was talking about. If I was making beef-bourguignon I'd do it Bisi style because you want the liquid with that dish, but these are just simple pork shoulder ribs.
Joeboo
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Made some Mexican pork chops last night, goddamn they were tasty. Maybe the most tender, juicy pork chops I've ever had.
Had 2 big bone-in chops (1.8lbs for the 2 of them). Browned them in a skillet for a couple minutes on each side in olive oil, seasoned with just salt and taco seasoning. Once browned, moved them to a casserole dish.
In the pan with the porkchop juice/nubbins, threw in a chopped onion, green pepper, 1 garlic clove, a can of ro-tel(diced tomatos and green chiles)a can of corn, and a small jar of salsa. Seasoned with oregano, cumin, and more taco seasoning. Sauteed all of that up in the pork fat/grease, then drowned the 2 chops in the mixture and baked it all for an hour at 350(covered in foil)
Came out with great flavor, and super, super juicy. Just enough spice to keep things interesting as well.
Was easy as hell too. Maybe 15 minutes of actual active cooking, tops, before throwing everything in the oven and forgetting it for an hour.
Had 2 big bone-in chops (1.8lbs for the 2 of them). Browned them in a skillet for a couple minutes on each side in olive oil, seasoned with just salt and taco seasoning. Once browned, moved them to a casserole dish.
In the pan with the porkchop juice/nubbins, threw in a chopped onion, green pepper, 1 garlic clove, a can of ro-tel(diced tomatos and green chiles)a can of corn, and a small jar of salsa. Seasoned with oregano, cumin, and more taco seasoning. Sauteed all of that up in the pork fat/grease, then drowned the 2 chops in the mixture and baked it all for an hour at 350(covered in foil)
Came out with great flavor, and super, super juicy. Just enough spice to keep things interesting as well.
Was easy as hell too. Maybe 15 minutes of actual active cooking, tops, before throwing everything in the oven and forgetting it for an hour.
I don't have a crockpot, but I do have a pressure cooker. Instead of low and slow, it cuts cook time by 1/3 and it's good for similar dishes (soups, stews, pulling meat, etc).
Thanks for the responses and insight. How big of a crockpot do you need to cook for two people? The meats I was thinking of are chicken whole or bone-in, skin-on legs and split breasts; pork loin roast, butt or shoulder roast; beef @ 80/20 ground or pot roast.
I assume a 4-Quart is big enough for that, right?
Been trying to think of cheaper ways to consume protein. Been consuming more eggs and lentils to cut costs.
I assume a 4-Quart is big enough for that, right?
Been trying to think of cheaper ways to consume protein. Been consuming more eggs and lentils to cut costs.