I use mine every week or so.
The thing to remember is to use less liquid than you'd think. Either that or strain everything out when cooked & reduce the liquor until it reaches the right consistency & amount.
Here are a few basic recipes which I've made several times:
Slow cooker beef stew
Cooks overnight or 12 hrs
Serves 4
1kg (5 thick slices) shin of beef
1 large onion
6 cloves garlic
2 medium carrots
1 punnet of closed cap mushrooms
Bunch casserole mix fresh herb packet or bunch of fresh thyme
2 teaspoons Beef stock concentrate liquid (eg Knorr Touch of Taste)
1 500ml bottle Guinness
2 teaspoons tomato pureé (optional)
Salt & pepper
Plain flour
1. Put a large handful of plain flour into a bowl & add 12 turns of fresh black pepper & 2 level teaspoons of salt. Mix well.
Cut the slices of shin into large chunks about 1.5 inches square. Don't trim away any fat or sinew as this just melts into the finished stew.
Put a frying pan on medium & heat a tablespoon of oil for a couple of minutes. Whilst the pan is heating, put the beef chunks in the flour & coat well.
Shake off excess flour & start frying the beef in the pan until golden brown on both sides. Don't crowd the pan - you may have to do the frying in 2 or 3 batches. You'll probably need to add more oil for each batch.
Once finished do not clean the pan... leave any brown bits of fat & flour in it.
2. When all the beef is golden brown, place it in the cold slow cooker. Don't turn it on just yet.
Place the mixed fresh herbs or just fresh thyme on top of the beef.
3. Roughly chop the onion & carrots into 1 inch chunks. Skin the garlic cloves & chop each of those into chunks too. Halve or quarter the mushrooms, depending on their size.
Add some more oil to the pan you fried the beef in if necessary & then fry the veg for about 5 minutes on medium. You might need to do this in 2 batches. Season each batch with a pinch of salt & a few grinds of pepper. Once the mushrooms start going golden brown, put each batch of veg on top of the beef & herbs in the slow cooker.
4. Turn the heat on the frying pan up to high & pour most of the bottle of Guinness into the frying pan & deglaze all the burnt bits of flour, using a wooden spoon to get all the bits off. Boil for a couple of minutes, stir in the tomato pureé well, add the liquid stock, mix & then pour the lot on top of the beef & veg in the slow cooker.
Don't panic if you can't see the liquid through the other ingredients - slow cookers usually add 20-30% liquid during cooking. You always need less liquid initially than you think.
5. Set the slow cooker to low & leave overnight.
6. In the morning check the level of the liquid. Even though you didn't put that much in, you may well need to strain the solids through a colander or large sieve so that you can reduce the stewing liquor to the right amount & thickness. Just boil the hell out of the strained liquid in a wide bottom pan until reduced as much as you want. This should only take about 10 or 15 minutes & makes all the difference. Don;t be tempted to thicken a watery sauce, as you just end up with lots of thick, insipid sauce!
7. Re-add the reduced sauce to the solids, fish out the herbs & store until you need to reheat.
Serve with your choice of veg & mash.
Pulled pork
Cooks overnight (or 12 hrs on low)
Makes enough filling for at least a dozen rolls
1 medium sized shoulder of pork joint
2 onions, finely sliced
6 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
1/2 a pot (20g) Schwarz Cajun seasoning
1 330ml can of full sugar coca-cola
1 250ml jar BBQ marinade/sauce - eg Newman's Own sticky BBQ marinade
1. Take the layer of rind off the pork but don't worry too much about getting rid of all the fat in the layer between it & the flesh.
2. Put about 2 tablespoons of oil in a small pot & tip half the jar of Cajun seasoning in. Mix well & smear this paste all over the pork joint.
3. Heat a large frying pan or wok on medium & dry fry the pork joint for about 7 or 8 minutes or so, turning after a couple of minutes. Make sure it doesn't burn too much.
4. Don't clean the frying pan & place the seared joint in the slow cooker.
5. Slice the onions & fry them in the pan, adding a touch more oil if needed. After a couple of minutes add the chopped garlic & fry until the onions are soft.
6. Scatter the onion/garlic mixture around the pork in the slow cooker. Again, don't clean the pan.
7. Put the pan on high & add half the can of coke. Deglaze all the bits by mixing well with a wooden spoon. Simmer for a couple of minutes & mix in the BBQ sauce. Once simmering, add to the slow cooker.
8. The cooking liquid only needs to come about half way up the pork joint, you can add the rest of the coke if needed.
9. Turn the slow cooker on top low & cook overnight or for 12 hours.
10. Carefully remove the pork (which may start to break up) & set aside in a large bowl or pot. Strain the onion mixture out, just leaving the liquid in a wide bottom pan. Add the onions to the pork & reduce the liquid to a syrupy consistency on a high heat. This might take anywhere between 10-20 minutes of rapid boiling.
11. While the liquid is reducing, shred the pork by pulling chunks apart with 2 forks.
12. Add the syrupy liquid to the pulled pork & taste for seasoning.
The pulled pork will last in the fridge for 4 days max, or you can freeze some or all of it down in batches. If frozen, it will need thorough re-heating once defrosted.
Serve generously in rolls or thick sliced sandwiches with decent coleslaw piled on top.
This is one of the best slow cooker recipes I've tried
Lamb Rogan Josh
+/- 8 hrs cooking time
Serves 4
Veg oil or ghee
800g lamb neck fillet, untrimmed, cut into 1.5 inch cubes
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon tumeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1-inch cube of fresh ginger root, peeled & finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled & chopped
2 large onions finely sliced
400g tin of chopped tomatoes with own juices
1 tablespoon tomato puree
1.5 teaspoons of salt
100ml double cream
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 medium bunch of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
1. In a large pan heat the oil or ghee on medium & fry the meat in 2 or 3 batched until golden all over. Set aside.
2. Lower the heat & add the cumin, coriander, tumeric, chilli powder, ginger & garlic. Add a touch more oil if necessary & fry for about 30 seconds.
3. Adjust the heat to medium & add all the meat, along with any juices. Stir & fry for 5 minutes & add the onions. Fry for at least another 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
4. Meanwhile, turn the slow cooker on to a medium heat.
5. Add the tomatoes & their juices to the meat mixture along with the tomato puree. Stir well & bring to a gentle simmer.
6. Add the salt & a splash of warm water if needed. Stir well. Don't forget that the curry will not dry out further during the cooking process, so don't add too much water.
7. Place the curry in the now hot slow cooker & cook for about 8 hours on medium.
8. Once the meat is tender, stir in the cream, chopped coriander leaves & garam masala.
Serve immediately with naan and/or rice.
