Slow Cooker at Aldi

[Patf]

It's possible to overcook any meat that you use in a slow cooker so that it dries out, and some casseroles might be better cooked in the oven for a shorter time.

Also mine dries out completely after about 6 hours so I never leave it on overnight. I used to have one which you could leave on overnight without drying out.

As RH said , it's useful for  cooking separately from your usual cooker, as an extra source of heat. And I use mine with the lid upside down to keep other dishes warm.

[mint]

I suppose the thing to do with meat is to toss well in seasoned flour and brown first so you get a protective crust around it.

As 5-e does, I also like to add this and that, taste and adjust and also quite like stirring things in pots[:)]

What does appeal is that, as I usually cook 2 different meals at once (non meat for OH and meat for me and dog), I could see a use in starting one meal hours in advance of the other.

Edit:  forgot to add that anything's got to be better than eating Findus frozen horsemeat lasagne[blink]

[Russethouse]

I can recommend the Spicy Lentil soup on Clairs list !

[Kitty]

[quote user="Patf"]It's possible to overcook any meat that you use in a slow cooker so that it dries out ... Also mine dries out completely after about 6 hours so I never leave it on overnight. [/quote]

I have never had a dried out casserole in mine (yet...) and I use it all the time, sometimes overnight.  I suppose that I fill it with liquid.

But how can the liquid evaporate if the lid is down?

P.S. Good tip, Patf, about having the lid upside down to keep other dishes warm.  I'll try that.

[Cendrillon]

I am not a slow cooker user though daughter recently got one and hopes for great success with it.

I love my tagine and find that once the ingredients have been organised (meat browned etc) it can be left to simmer gently and the finished results are always delicious.

5E one can take the lid off and have a taste from time to time.[;-)]

edti:

One of my tagines came from Super-U free with their points. [:)] I recommend it as it is made by Emile Henry and is a quality item of cookware.

[Russethouse]

5 E, sometimes on a Sunday I will pot roast a piece of brisket, I start of by browning the meat, softening the onions ( mainly because if they are not very well cooked I have a tummy upset) and getting the rest of the veg hot in the same pan. I then add hot stock, season it and put the slow cooker on high, when I can see it bubbling away I turn it to low. I start between 10 and 11 o clock with intention of eating at 7 pm ish. During that time I probably check the taste twice and season if required.....if need be I can pop it on high for 5 mins if I think it's lost temperature, or if I'm out I season near the end while I'm cooking the veg.

In a moment I'm just going to make some veggie soup which will be fine for lunch, a couple of leeks, a couple of celery stalks, a couple of potatoes for thickness and an onion and some veg stock, I'll just start of the veggie as described, add the stock and hey presto......

[suein56]

[quote user="Cendrillon"]One of my tagines came from Super-U free with their points. [:)] I recommend it as it is made by Emile Henry and is a quality item of cookware. [/quote]

Ditto. We use it for all kinds of dishes.

Friends cannot believe it only 'cost' about 1800 points when they are about 70€ or more to buy in the shops.

We later acquired the flatter cocotte version, again using our points, as dishes can be started on the hob and then finished in the oven if needs be. Again most useful.

Sue

[Cendrillon]

I would like the cocotte version I already have the large size E.H. casserole  and that is every bit as good as their tagine.

[Judith]

[quote user="5-element"]It's a very basic crock one (and like Clair says, I remember the 3 different settings high-auto-low).

They are all pretty basic...

I remember what I didn't like about it is that I had to have all the ingredients ready beforehand, why ?  I never do .. I add as I go along ... and couldn't add this or that to change the flavour - like I do with ordinary cooking. rubbish

The results of my slow-cooking experiments were all rather tasteless, compared to what I usually make. [:(]

I have no idea where I went wrong, I followed instructions! I gave up with instructions long ago, and just plonk it all in a leave it ... rarely does it fail ... experience with different slow cookers helps though ...

Still, it's too late for my miserable post to put you off Sweet, so now I am awaiting with baited breath to see how you fare with your brand new Aldi slow cooker, I wish you a resounding success!

[/quote]

It's about the only thing I cook with which I can guarantee success ....

[Clair]

There was some nice stewing beef on offer at Leclerc last week and I bought 2.5kg of it.

I got the big Aldi SC out, cut the meat, added some smoked paprika, cumin and coriander, poured a bottle of Cahors wine (1.69€ at Lidl) over it, chucked in some chopped onions, celery, carrots and parsnips (whatever I found in the veg drawer!) and left it to cook for 8 hours.

Lovely with mash, green beans and peas, and another 8 good portions in the freezer.

Sweet, did you get one and how are you getting on with it?

[mint]

I looked at them and they looked really nice and well worth the money.  However, I didn't get one as I got to thinking about when I would put it on if I had one.

We eat lunch as our main meal which really means that I would have to prepare the meal to go in it quite early on in the day; like before breakfast?  And the night before preparation and cooking it overnight might mean a very long cooking period (all night and all morning till lunch time)

However, I haven't ruled one out completely and may well re-consider next time they are on offer.

The other reason also is that I'd spent quite a bit at the time, buying some warm clothes and sheepskin slippers for OH and for myself.  You know how it is, Clair, if you have spent a bit over your normal spending, you begin to think hang on a minute, maybe I should rein in a bit now?

But your meal sounds really lovely[:)]

[YCCMB]

Do people find they need to cook stuff for so long in a slow cooker? I only ask because we have a Tesco Value slow cooker - so nothing flash at all - with three settings: high, low and off. If I stick it on high and leave it to do its stuff, then I find I have to turn it down, or even off, after a maximum of about 4-5 hours. By that time, it seems able to turn the most vulcanised of meat into a tender casserole.

[Russethouse]

I like to start off with the ingredients hot and like Betty find that on 'high' it's soon at a steady simmer.....I suspect I have the same model slow cooker as Betty.

Sweet , You may be able to experiment with doing things overnight on low, or starting from cold the evening before.Indeed you could cook stews, casseroles, soups etc and freeze them or just reheat the already tender meat.....

[NormanH]

Mine has a rôle. It makes the kitchen smell nice, a bit like an air freshener.

As far as cooking is concerned it produces mushy watery stews with no intensity of flavour.

[Russethouse]

Norman, with all due respect I think that maybe user error, practice, or even following a good recipe, makes perfect :-)

Now it's been mentioned I think I'll use mine to make some soup today.......

[Chancer]

Watery is down to not realising just how much water is already contained in the meats and vegetables, easy to explain but hard to counter in practice as you have to add some water at the start you cant just put in bare vegetables.

I tend to skim off the fluid in the latter stages of cooking it can either be kept for stock or re-introduced with some maizena as a thickener.

Mushy is down to some vegetables breaking down earlier than others, carrots are very tolerant, potatoes not at all, you can choose some veg to break down to counteract the wateriness, for example onions if added at the beginning of a long slow cook will break down completely but add flavour and consistency, more onions can be added towards the end, I do this for instance in a dopiaza, it then has the crunchy onions but an intense onion taste and texture.

I dont like the cooking smell as its pervasive and makes me hungry especially when I wake at night.

[idun]

Everytime I see a post like this, I can but wonder what I was doing wrong, or how my taste buds are so much at odds with everyone elses.

I hated my slow cooker, all the savoury dishes tasted similar and not pleasant. Not even that good for rice pud. Good at keeping cauliflower cheese warm when doing a roast dinner.

I sort of slow cook now in the oven in my stove, and that produces lovely meat, although I still cook vegetable soups on the hob. I add the meat later if we are having stew.

[Benjamin]

sweet 17

We eat our main meal at lunchtime. Buy yourself a timer but remember you are then starting from cold.

[mint]

[quote user="Benjamin"]sweet 17

We eat our main meal at lunchtime. Buy yourself a timer but remember you are then starting from cold.



[/quote]

Ah, yes, I believe I have a timer somewhere.  Good suggestion [:)]

[Keni]

Use ours all the time, great for roast joints - fresh or frozen, just put in cooker and set to slow. If you want a glaze just pile it on! Depending on joint size 6-8 hours later, roasted to perfection. Going to use it for sticky spare ribs next week - great recipes on line from America on how they use their slow cookers!

[Clair]

[quote user="idun"]Everytime I see a post like this, I can but wonder what I was doing wrong, or how my taste buds are so much at odds with everyone elses.

I hated my slow cooker, all the savoury dishes tasted similar and not pleasant. Not even that good for rice pud. Good at keeping cauliflower cheese warm when doing a roast dinner.

I sort of slow cook now in the oven in my stove, and that produces lovely meat, although I still cook vegetable soups on the hob. I add the meat later if we are having stew.[/quote]

The cost of having the oven on for several hours, even at low temperature, is the main reason I use a slow-cooker.

The small one uses 200 W and over 8 hours of cooking costs around 0.25€.

The big Aldi one uses 320 W and costs around 0.36€ for the same 8 hours of cooking.

If I cook overnight, the costs is even lower than these figures, as I have low-tariff electricity for 5 hours at night.

If I used my electric oven for half that cooking time, even at a low temperature, the cost would be around 1.35€, and I wouldn't consider leaving it on during the night.

Useful website: http://sciencesphy.free.fr/DeveloppementDurable/PetitsGestes/CalculConsommation.htm

[mint]

[quote user="Keni"]Use ours all the time, great for roast joints - fresh or frozen, just put in cooker and set to slow. If you want a glaze just pile it on! Depending on joint size 6-8 hours later, roasted to perfection. Going to use it for sticky spare ribs next week - great recipes on line from America on how they use their slow cookers![/quote]

Not trying to contradict you, Keni, because I haven't (as yet) got a slow cooker but, didn't someone here said that you couldn't put meat in without liquid as well?

Can you really roast meat in the cooker?  My interest in acquiring one has gone up quite a bit since your post!

[Russethouse]

I found this...

http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/9055/family-roast-in-the-slow-cooker.aspx

[mint]

Thank you so much, RH.

Sounds even better that you could put in meat straight from the freezer!  Amazing!  With my memory being what it is, I have to remind myself (when I remember to remind myself that is) to get stuff out to thaw overnight.

[Russethouse]

I don't think I'd try a frozen chicken but beef or lamb or even pork if I didn't want crackling would be worth a try, or a defrosted or fresh chicken.

I'm away next week, and wrestling with an Aga for the first time but when I get back I'll give it a try.......