I don't use mine very much.It's okay for stews made with tough cuts like shin and chuck but,as sarahb5 remarks above, to get a good flavour you need to brown the meat and soften the onions, so you might as well use a lidded casserole in a low oven.
More tender meat tends to disintegrate or gets a pasty texture.
karenz,
May 27, 8:05pm
Personally I don't like the taste and texture and even the smellof foodcooked in the slow cooker, the only exception is the crockpot hangi (use the dropdown box on the left for the thread).
sarahb5,
May 27, 8:32pm
It's disappointing really because I thought I would use it heaps to have dinner ready when I get home from work but it just doesn't work for us.
However, what I have found really good is a casserole dish that I can use on the stove top, in the oven and also in the microwave so I brown the meat on the stove top, add everything else and cook it in the microwave, then pop it in the oven to keep warm until we're ready to eat so a casserole that would usually take a good 2 or 3 hours to get the full flavour, etc. can be ready in an hour.
jessie981,
May 27, 9:02pm
Seems to be more against than for. Do you use an ordinary casserole on the stove top sarah!
davidt4,
May 27, 9:19pm
My mainstay for casseroles and stews is a large heavy-bottomed stainless steel lidded pan, basically a small stock pot and about 25cm diameter, 18cm height.I can brown things over a high heat then either put it in the oven or simmer on the hob.It's great as well for soups and for blanching vegetables .
karenz,
May 27, 9:24pm
I have a very heavy cast iron casserole, bright orange enamel on the outside so I would say it dated back to the 70's, a bit like a La Creuset except it cost under $20 in the Salvation Army shop, it is brilliant for making casseroles and soups and cooks almost as fast as a pressure cooker because it retains so much heat on a low setting.I also had a Breville Rapid Cooker which is a modern version of a pressure cooker which was brilliant.
sarahb5,
May 27, 9:33pm
No - it's a Maxwell & Williams one - bonus is that it's quite light so I don't stagger under the weight of it when full of a yummy casserole!
Mum just bungs her bacon hock in with a packet of kings soup and voila, 6 hours later dinner is ready. No pre-cooking of the hock required.
allspices,
May 27, 9:43pm
We have both a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. We use the pressure cooker for soups - fantastic to be able to cook pea and bacon hock soup in 30 minutes on steam without soaking the split peas overnight for instance. The slow cooker and some good recipes - wonderful! Makes a great job of inexpensive beef cuts and we don't find the food tasteless at all. The trouble free/come home to a cooked meal aspect is a huge plus for busy people.
rhomingnome,
May 27, 9:45pm
I love love love my slow cooker. I can put it on in the morning and come home in the evening to a delicious smell filling the house and the knowledge that all I have to do is serve it up. The most I have to do is cook some rice or potatoes or pasta to go with it.
I've never had a problem with lack of flavour. As long as you follow the recipe, it's great!
sarahb5,
May 27, 10:05pm
I use all the same herbs and seasonings in the slow cooker as I would in the oven but it still comes out bland and tasteless.
carriebradshaw,
May 27, 11:45pm
My slow cooker would have to be one of my worst buys.Have tried numerous recipes in it and they all taste the same,bland. I have a heavy le crueset cast iron pan and much prefer it.I think things slow cooked in the oven have way more flavour than food from a slow cooker. I realise they are very handy things for a lot of people but I never saw what all the fuss is about.
antoniab,
May 27, 11:49pm
Totally agree - have never had a bland meal from ours - maybe the newer types of cooker are different!
rainrain1,
May 28, 12:00am
I think they are wonderful,especially when you get to know your crockpot and your favourite recipes. Brilliant if you are away from daylight till dusk, and for cooking overnight.The food is not bland once you learn how to flavour your recipes.buy a cookbook and enjoy it.They are not something you use everyday, but if at times you have other priorities than slaving over a hot stove, then I suggest to 'go for it' and enjoy it
carriebradshaw,
May 28, 12:04am
I like to think of myself as a good cook so know how to flavour recipes and have bought a few slow cooker recipes books as well and guess what!The food still tastes bland!Different strokes for different folks I guess.
rainrain1,
May 28, 12:06am
you take the stroke, I'll take the folk
I don't really mean that, just couldn't resist
blueskyday,
May 28, 12:18am
My hubby bought one off here for $1.It has been fantastic.From our experiments it seems that with some things a whole day is way too long and that cooking for 1/2 day is adequate.I have been making a veg curry with great success. Good luck
yjeva,
May 28, 12:20am
Why! I don't.
jessie981,
May 28, 12:23am
They look good sarah. Will go & check them out. Thanks.
sarahb5,
May 28, 3:08am
Same here - my oven cooked casseroles and even my microwaved soups are certainly not lacking in flavour but that's definitely what's missing from my slow cooker casseroles and soups.Horses for courses - I'll stick with what works for us although I might try porridge in it - I found the Alison Holst instructions for that a bit over-complicated though by comparison with the way I make it in the microwave.Do I really need to put it in a separate bowl and pour water around it or can I just use the slow cooker insert!
sarahb5,
May 28, 3:09am
Hard to cook for half a day when you leave home at 8 in the morning and don't return until nearly 5 .
sarahb5,
May 28, 3:10am
I love it - especially because it's so light as my wrists do struggle to manage a heavy casserole dish full of hot food
medicina,
May 28, 3:52am
Had one, it was okay. Cracked the insert by dropping (heavy).Now have a pressure cooker --Awesome.Fast, cheap to run, super tender meat from cheap cuts.Bonus that the big pot can be used independantly as a normal pot for big gatherings etc.
rosel4,
May 28, 9:20am
What I like is not having to worry about rushing home to cook or leaving the oven on while I'm away -which is dangerous. Those plug in timers are great, just $5 or so from Bunnings or Mitre 10 the other week.
sarahb5,
May 28, 4:09pm
I'm sure they are but that's just another thing to remember to do - might as well just cook dinner when I get home if I have to remember all these things in the morning!
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