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Your favourite slow cookpot recipes

alliebee

alliebee

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I've just got my slow cookpot out today and I've made Bernsteins beef green pepper and mushroom stew...it was really nice...and so low in carbs
I'm a bit new to slow cooking. Would some of you lovely people post some of your favourite recipes for us to try now the cold weather is coming...
 
Has to be a lamb/beef hotpot, no recipe as my wife makes it :)
 
I'm rather a haphazard cook.

I tend to think 'ok, so I'm feeding the 2 of us, for 3 meals on this, how much meat, veg and stuff do I want then?' It all goes in the pot, and I walk away.

So these are just guidelines, really:

Shin of beef with tinned tomatoes, peppers, shallots and aubergine (heavy on the garlic)

Shoulder of lamb with red wine, garlic and rosemary

Ham hock and leek in orange juice

Pork loin steak with prunes, cream and onion
Pork loin with apple, cider and cream

Pulled pork with jerk or masala spices

Pulled beef brisket (same as shin of beef, above)
 
alliebee said:
I've just got my slow cookpot out today and I've made Bernsteins beef green pepper and mushroom stew...it was really nice...and so low in carbs
I'm a bit new to slow cooking. Would some of you lovely people post some of your favourite recipes for us to try now the cold weather is coming...
Click to expand...

I must admit I'm sort of with Brunneria on this one, only when I have decided what I'm going to do, I have a quick check in the pantry for any veg taht really needs to be used, and just tilt it in. Almost anything I've made freezes well, so I have something fresh, and something for another day, which is really useful. I really love to get the slow cooker on first thing in the morning, then give it a royal ignoring all day.

One of my favourites is this one: http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/pulled_pork_with_66521 . You will note it isn't a slow cooker recipe, but I tend to feel fine doing anything that's a long, low oven cook, with some fluid, in the slow cooker. I am careful with chicken though.

I did a ham hock thing at the weekend that was plain old odd. I like quirky flavour combinations, but that one was just a quirk too far for even me!

Edit to add; If you want to thinken the liquid before serving, without adding flour or the like, I tend to remove the meat then whizz the stick blender in there for a few moments. I don't want to make everything smooth, but pulping a bit of the veg will significantly "thicken" the liquid. Replace the meat, and leave a short while to ensure it's piping hot before serving. Eh, voila!

Enjoy.
 
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Lol

I've just logged on to give that bit of thicken-the-sauce-by-blending-veg suggestion, and found that @AndBreathe has beaten me to it.

But it has reminded me of a couple of other slow cooker tricks that I've learned over the years:

  1. Don't add cream until the end of cooking. If it is exposed to heat for too long, it goes clear and very un-cream like.
  2. Alcohol may not evaporate off like it would on the hob. Alcohol has a lower boiling point than water. So we are all used to lobbing in wine or beer, and leaving it to 'boil off'. However, slow cookers are designed to create a condensation seal around the lid - so the alcohol is trapped. The options are to either accept the alcohol content, or wait til the meal is cooked, then remove the lid for a while before serving. You'll notice that there is actually a change in flavour (more mellow) when the alcohol has steamed off.
Anyone got any low carb slow cooker pud and cake recipes?

My old slow cooker died last week and I've splurged on a huge Crockpot. I know it will earn its keep, so it was worth it, but a downside has appeared - it is too big to fit in the same cupboard space as my old one. :meh:
 
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I use my slow cooker to make the usual chilli , ragu , curries etc. I prefer them done on job if honest as they never see to get same depth of flavour in sc - but it is handy.
My favourite two recipes are pork with cyder vinegar and apples- belly pork is delicious but any thickish pork chops will do. Just pop in sc with sliced onions , sage, couple of sliced apples ( I usually use eating ones but Bramley would work too) , half chicken stock cube, water and good splash of cyder vinegar. Season with black pepper and cook on high or low depending on when you want to eat. I usually add couple tbsp gravy granules as well if you can cope with the carbs. Nice with Savoy cabbage, few carrots and buttery mashed swede.
Spanish chicken-3 diced chicken breast, onions, sliced red pepper, chorizo ring cut into thickish slices , squirt sun dried tomato paste, 1 tsp paprika or more to taste, can toms washed out with water and half stick cube. About one hr before serving stir in drained can chickpeas or Cannellini beans - serves 4 - nice with green beans and tenderstem broccoli.
 
Don't have a slow cooker but agree with previous suggestions about slow cooking shoulder of pork in cider and meaux mustard.
I do that quite a lot in the oven. I brown the meat first in a frying pan, add garlic onions/shallots, a bit of sage, a bit of smoked paprika and some apple. I usually serve it with slices of lightly fried slices of apple (a sharp eating variety, a Bramley would fall too much; they don't grow them here anyway ) and thicken the sauce with a bit of cream and maybe (because I won't put a lot in), if it still won't thicken, a teaspoon full of arrowroot mixed with water or cider.
 
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