Slow cooker recipes?

Curry pastes! Use the same ingredients you would on the hob but put it in the slow cooker for hours yummy!

I'm trying to use my slow cooker a lot lately! I've never been a great cook and don't have much of a repertoire of recipes so I have a few recipe books but am finding some are hit and miss! Doesn't help that I'm a picky eater though I guess. I'll share some of the yummier ones later

I love my slow cooker. I thought it was just for stews and curries till I bought a specific slow cooker recipe book, and it is ace. Did you know that you don't have to have your slow cooker filled with liquid. I didn't until recently. I've roasted joints of beef or lamb, (not tried a chicken yet, but heard it's possible), and done meatloafs (glazed moroccan apricot meatloaf is yummy) and done cakes, self saucing desserts, bread, pizza pin-wheels......all sorts.

One of my fave recipes is for sweet and sour sausage casserole which is yummy. A weird one I've heard of but not tried is a bbq pulled pork where you cook the pork in the SC with a can of coke!

I've also read that you can do a fry-up in them, put all your ingredients in the and let it cook overnight - perfect for a hangover! But I've never actually tried that one. There are a few slow-cooker groups on Facebook which I dip in and out of. They are useful for tips and recipes, but for some reason I find them quite bitchy so I don't get too involved.

I do stews and stuff in mine, but also cook whole joints of meat like pork or beef. It falls apart its so tender. Good for cheaper cuts like Shoulder or Brisket. You just chuck them in and cook on low all day. don't even need water / stock.

Our favourite is slow cooked beef. Throw in;

Beef. We usually go for something cheap as the slow coking of it makes it tender

Potatoes

100ml of hot water with a beef Oxo cube

Dash of Worcester sauce

Salt and pepper

Put it on low for about 6-7 hours

Today I made a chilli, it took a minute to prepare (chuck it all in job) and then left for the day. It was yummy. Although, I would've preferred more spice. H likes mild chilli though, so he was happy.

I'm making bread in it at some point this week!

I'm in a couple of groups on FB too, they are a bit bitchy, I agree, but the recipes are sometimes awesome.

x

Pot roast beef. One red onion, lightly fried in a pan, 2 carrots, potatoes, just chunked and fried lightly with the onions, pop into the slow cooker with a sprinkle of thyme and Rosemary, squirt of garlic. Brown off a joint of silverside in the frying pan keeping the onion residue, until golden and pop on top of the veg. Deglaze the pan with a really good glut of red wine and pour into the pot. Add about half a litre of good beef stock. I use two knorr gel pots. Cook on low for about 6 hours. Remove the meat then turn onto high and pour in some mixed up bisto to thicken. Slice beef and serve with mash, chips, roasties, yorkies, whatever you want. nom nom nom.

I've got a slow cooker and love using brisket to make chilli in it.

(I know im going to sound daft asking this, but I will anyway) Those who don't use liquid in it for cuts of meat, how does that work? I always thought you needed the liquid to create the steam so to speak to cook what was ever in there, am I wrong in that?

Im replying to follow this thread...i bought a slow cooker about 3 years ago and have used it once i think, made a really rank lamb stew which was grey and watery, no idea what i did, i can usually cook just fine! For me, i want to be able to switch it on before work and leave all day, so about 9 hours it gets left for...does that matter even if a recipe says cook for 7-8 hours? Will an extra hour or two kill it? Does anyone do stews/casseroles that dont involve browing off/frying the ingredients beforehand too? Like could I chuck in raw meat/onion/veg and it still be okay? I know it might not have the nice browned look but does it still work?

PS it amuses me that slow cooker facebook groups can be bitchy...it just seems such an unlikely group to be mean! maybe its to pass the time waiting for their beef stroganoff to cook...

I always cook with liquid, but remember you don't need anywhere near as much as if cooking in a conventional oven as it doesn't evaporate! For stews, you'll need to add some thickening at the end - Bisto works great with beef dishes. xx

I started using my slow cooker regularly in September and am working my way through some recipe books.

I have found that overcooking chicken sometimes goes a little slimy, and lamb often doesn't soak up other flavours well but goes beautifully tender. Also sometimes my potatoes stay hard so I sometimes parboil to be sure but then that makes the dish less time saving :/.

Our favourite recipes so far (in flavour more than healthiness! Although some are from 'Skinny Slow Cooker'):

Pulled Pork (for best results buy some lovely crusty baps to put the meat on)

900g pork shoulder/butt

250ml BBQ sauce or ketchup (I think I used a bit of a combo and a bit of tonkatsu sauce)

250ml beef stock

BBQ dry rub (1tbsp each of garlic powder, brown sugar, onion powder, paprika and 1tsp mild chilli powder and cumin)

Cover pork in dry rub. Recipe does not suggest this but I left mine covered in dry rub overnight ready to bang in slow cooker in the morning.

Add stock and bbq sauce then place pork on top, cook on high 6-8hours. Turn pork over halfway if possible (I didn't and it was fine). When complete remove pork from slow cooker and leave to rest as long as you can bear, then use 2 forks or hands to shred. Once shredded pour remaining sauce from slow cooker on top.

Lentils, Sausages & Peas

50g red lentils

1/2 tsp each crushed chilli flakes, round cumin & coriander

450g lean pork sausages

60ml beef stock

150g frozen peas

1tbsp dijon mustard

2tbsp freshly chopped flat leaf parsley (i used dried)

Low cal cooking spray (this recipe is from 'skinny slow cooker and claims to be 390cals per serving and serves 4)

salt and pepper to taste

Add low cal spray to frying pan and quickly brown sausages

Add all ingredients to slow cooker, stir well, cook on high 203 hours or low 4-5 hours. If it needs more liquid add more stock. (I am out the house for minimum 9 hrs so this got a long time on low, it turned to a sausage mush mostly but it was still delicious!)

Serve with boiled potatoes and spinach.

Coq au vin blanc

12 chicken thighs

50g rashers streaky bacon (i always use back bacon never streaky as its less fat), diced

50g plain flour

2 garlic cloves peeled and sliced

500g button mushrooms

500ml dry white wine (I bought sainsburys basics wine as I don't like to waste expensive wine on cooking!)

sea salt and black pepper

Fry chicken and bacon on high heat 5-10mins until golden on all sides. Spoon into slow cooker. Sprinkle flour over meat and mix well to coat.

Add garlic and mushrooms to frying pan, fry 5 mins or until mushrooms just start to colour. Add wine and bubble fiercly 1-2mins, pour over chicken. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook 8-9hrs on low. serve with crusty bread or green salad (I didn't pick the salad).

I should probably confess many of these originally had onions in but I hate onions so I just left them out.

Love my slow cooker! We do whole chicken in ours. Only need a tiny bit of stock, on high for 4-5 hours and then brown it in oven for 20 mins. Perfect.

Ladies who have recipe books............. which ones do you have? Can you recommend me one?

I prefer doing joints and whole chicken in mine. Gammon is ace - just chuck it in with no stock or anything. I do not like mince in it at all!

I love my slow cooker though I admit I mainly use it for stews. We do start the roast off in it on a Sunday though, but tend to transfer it to the oven to crisp up - I like crispy skin, especially on chicken!

I have done mince dishes but never found them that successful to be honest - the mince tends to get bitty which I dislike.

Sausage casserole works great and I just tend to chuck in whatever I feel like at the time!! Look for goulash recipes too - they're gorgeous!

I'm kind of tempted to join the slow cooker groups now though, just because I'm nosy and want to find out what they *** about!!!!!

My all time favourite slow cooker recipe is cidered pork and dumplings. Leeks, pork shoulder cut in chunks, mushrooms, any veg you want basically, with dry cider poured over. I leave it on low for 11 hours while out then stick dumpling balls on top when i get home - 20 mins later once i've unloaded dishwasher and OH gets in the dumplings have puffed up and ready to serve!

Purple cake that sounds delicious! Love slow cooked pork, esp with cider! But I'm definitely a recipe follower...how much cider to pork do you use?

Well i only cook for two so the amount of pork is two shoulder steaks cubed - totals about 200/250g. And about 350ml cider (which leaves a small 200ml left from the bottle to have a tipple later!). Any extra liquid needed to cover i top up with stock. Hope that helps with your quantities x

It does, thanks for that !! I'll have to dig it out the cupboard n have a go

I must admit i love my slow cooker, best house warming gift ever!!

Had it 2 years now and it gets used evey weekend, sometimes more.

Fave recipes are beef briskets, pulled porks.

The ultimate though is in Morrisons you can buy a huge turkey leg and thigh for about £4.50. I freeze each bit separately and when it comes to cooking each bit i defrost, chuck it in the slow cooker with chicken stock, bbq stock, lots of seasoning, herbs, passatta, garlic paste and about 7-8 hours later youve got pulled turkey! tastes nothing like turkey does at Christmas, in my eyes its better in the slow cooker!!

That turkey sounds amazing, will have to give that a go.

This week, I am going to have a go at gammon cooked in coke. Apparently it's as simple as put small gammon joint in, pour in 330ml can of coke, cook on low for 6 - 8 hours. I am also going to try bread (using a mix) and then I am going to try this fudge recipe.

x

Sorry to post on a sort of old thread, but didn't see the point in starting a new one when I knew one was already about.

For those of you that have cooked a "joint" of meat does it matter if the meat does not touch the bottom of the slow cooker. I only ask as I have cot a piece of ham to cook for Christmas day, it fits in the slow cooker, and the lid stays shut, but the meat does not touch the bottom, if you know what I mean, it touches the sides and stops. I don't know if they are all made the same, but my ceramic insert tapers down to smaller at the bottom.

(sorry if I don't make sense, got a bit of a cold and im rambling on, ha!)

It might stick to the sides and tear as it comes out. The sides get very hot, and it almost burns but not quite.

I made the fudge I posted above and it was absolutely amazing! I am now making variations for family for Christmas presents. Today, I am making chicken in red wine using a packet mix from Schwartz. I am not sure how it will turn out as the recipe doesn't actually include red wine!

x

Oh I've made a chilli in mine today, I got home from work n it smells pretty good, just put some dark chocolate in n taken the lid off to hopefully thicken it up as it was looking a bit watery, it's getting there, hope it tastes nice! I'm just happy it looks like proper food!

it was 500g mince

2 celery sticks, 1 onion, 1 pepper, 2 garlic cloves all finely choppped

2cans kidney beans and 1 can cannellini beans (keep the liquids out 1 can kidney beans n the cannellini beans)

600g jar passata

chilli powder, cumin, oregano, parsley, Worcestershire sauce, salt n pepper

I fried off the mince and mixed it with all the other ingredients then left it on low for 8 hours (and so far half hour with the lid off to thicken)

That's interesting, does leaving the lid off thicken it? Most things i cook are watery and i just use a slotted spoon to take it all out. Some recipes call for transferring to another pot and thicken on the hob with cornflour, but this defeats the object for me so i never bother.

Totally late to this conversation, and more of a lucker than a poster in OT, but this recipe is my absolute favourite for the slow cooker.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/slow_cooker_chicken_and_36746

I put mine on at least once a week - I have a lovely beef and ale stew recipe too, well I say I, its more of a Schwartz recipe, but it is very delicious!!! (Even though its cheating with a packet mix!)

https://www.schwartz.co.uk/products/recipe-mixes/slow-cookers/slow-cookers-beef-ale-stew-recipe-mix

I also have a lovely pork and apple cider recipe, but I made it up and I never remember what goes in it, so its different each time!

I have never tried desserts in mine - wasnt really sure they would work, but having read the posts, I might give it a go this week! x

Hi, I dont know about other things, but it did with the chilli, i turned the cooker up to high and left the lid off n it bubbled away and reduced which made it thicker, i did have to leave it about 40 minutes doing that though...i almost did put a bit of cornflour mixed with water into the slow cooker but i had loads of time to kill so i just thought id leave it and see what happened. If I try a stew or something like that in it I'd def add a bit of cornflour at the end as I like them a bit thicker generally - Ive read somewhere that it works just fine!

(PS that above recipe was really nice, and it made about 8 moderate portions!)

SparklyBear - those recipes sound good, now Ive had a slow cooker success Im gonna look those up and try using it again!

I just put some flour straight into mine and that seems to thicken them up.

Arrow root works well to thicken sauces, and as far as I know doesn't need to be cooked out as much as flour and corn flour