slow cooker help please?

Question

I have been given a slow cooker brand new,but no instructions,what i want to know is Do you put the meat and vegetables in at the same time ,and if so for how long.i have braising steak,pots,carrotts .swede,and onion,any tips please?

Answer 1

Typically yes, but it depend on what veggies. Use your common sense about how long it takes certain veggies to cook - put carrot, potatoes, onions, celery, etc. in with the meat, but things like mushrooms only need to go in the last 15 or 20 minutes, or else they will shrivel up really tiny.

The best way to do anything in it is on low for 7 to 8 hours. If it's done before you are ready to eat, just put it on "keep warm" till you're ready.

It's also great for hot dips at parties. You can do them on high though if you want.

Also, be careful not to overdo the liquid. Slow cookers make the food's own juices come out, so it's easier to get more liquid than you intended. You can always add a little more if you see that you didn't add enough, but it's hard to get rid of excess without losing flavor. I like to use chicken broth, beef broth, and cream of onion soup.

Answer 2

Fry off all vegetables and meat to put some colour on them and then bung them all into the slow cooker. However, to get the best out of it you need to put the vegetables in first - having preheated the slow-cooker on high for 20 minutes or so. Apparently the vegetables will cook slower than the meat.

Add less liquid than you will normally need in an oven, but you will need to some liquid.

When you have everything in the pot just turn it down to low.

Do not be tempted to stir because that will cool down the cooker.

If you want to add potatoes, rice etc turn up the heat about 3.4 - 1 hour before the end. Or cook them separately.

You can leave it on low for as long as you like. With things like braising steak or mutton the longer the better.

Stir in cream, yoghurt, creme fraiche at the end just to heat through.

If you find you are not ready to eat by the time the food is done just turn it on to auto. This will keep it at an even temperature without cooking it further.

To brown everything just remove the pot gently and put in the oven uncovered for a while.

So there you are. A crash course in slow-cookery.

Allabout.com is a good website for slo-cooker recipes (only it is called a crock pot recipe in American).

Answer 3

Naturally different foods need different cooking time. If you put a big chunk of meat that normally takes an hour to cook, but at the same time put in vegetables which never takes more than 15 minutes all together, these will become a mush. Why don't you go write or contact the manufacturer to send you the instruction booklet? Or ask any shop who sells the same cooker to see if they could help to get you one?

Answer 4

I love my slow cooker - I bung everything in at the same time and leave it to cook on low for 8 hours. I don't bother with heating the stock or prefrying onions - just shove it all in! You can buy frozen dumplings at the supermarket to stick on top, they are very yummy.

Slow cooking is really easy - don't worry about it, just have fun and experiment. I try lots of things with my slow cooker and its never once gone wrong.

One thing to remember, don't open the lid! It lets the heat out and really reduces cooking time.

To make really cheap meals, buy the bulk bags of frozen meat from the supermarkets - the slow cooking makes them really tender.

Also, you can buy bags of frozen casserole veg from supermarkets - these are great for when you are in a rush in the morning - just pour what you want in! You can use any bag of frozen veg, I love the carrot, peas and sweetcorn one in with some braising steak.

Answer 5

There are lots of sites that have great recipes for slow cookers.

I call the slow cooker a crock pot and here are some links for you:

http://www.goodfoodideas.freeservers.com/Crockpot%20Recipes.htm
http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm
http://www.crock-pot-recipes.info/

You have to braise and brown before you put things in the slow cooker because the cooker will not go to high heats to do that for you.

Answer 6

You can google slow cooker/crock pot recipes on the internet. There are also lots of cook books out on this type of cooking. I think usually I add all the ingredients at one time but put the meat in first.

Answer 7

Hi Emow, I have one and use it almost everyday!
I dont like fannying about, I just chuck my meat, veggies and stock or sauce in the cooker, turn it on low and go to work! By the time I get home 9 hours later it is cooked and tender and tasty and delicious.
I use ot with any kind of beef, mince, chicken, pork, lamb. If you get some packet casserole mixes, and make them up with water and put them in it gives more flavour.

Answer 8

There are many good slow cooker cook books, either to buy, or at the library. I've used "Taste of Home" "Slow Cooker Recipe Cards", as well as the cookbook that came with my slow cooker.
Good luck

Answer 9

I LOVE my slow cooker.. you can throw lots of things in and leave it and no worries.. i also love hte liners they fcame out with!! even less hassle cooking and cleaning up ... one of my families favorite things i throw in the slow cooker is you boil up a couple cups of penne pasta , throw it in with some sauce, a pound of browned hamburger, and some mozzarella cheese it comes out really good and gets better the longer you leave it in i can put in for about 4 hours on low and its fantastic and the next day throw it back in the crock pot and let it warm again and they will eat it again.. good luck experimenting ... alot of companies are also making the prebagged dinners in the frozen food section you can just toss in we ve tried a couple of them that were quite good

Answer 10

All the ideas you've been given here are good ones, but it helps to have the instructions for the particular model you received. This way, you'll have exact operating guidelines, and other stuff like wattage info, etc.

Try running an internet search for the model you have. Go to the manufacturer's web page (they all have one), and type in the model and serial number of your machine ---that information should be on the machine itself. Most manufacturers will allow you to download instruction manuals (as a .pdf file, usually) for free.