Slow Cooker Question Please.

[marsh man]

While waiting for my tea I thought I would fill up my little slow cooker , one of the kind members said 8 / 9 hours is fine but you would get better results on leaving it on low for around a day , so I thought I would use a piece of meat I bought Sunday ( yes it was reduced ) it was a bit of fillet of lamb off it's neck , so I cut it all up into the same size small pieces , two carrots , four small spuds and some Sprouts , this lot nearly filled the liner up , I then added enough gravy stock so it was about half an inch from the top and is now on low in the kitchen , so have I overfilled it , or about right and do the gravy need topping up say tomorrow , or have I put in to much , over to you chef . MM

[ditchman]

i use my little slow cooker alot......................and i find that most meals i do are 2.5 hrs on high  and 2 hrs on medium....turn off leave overnite then take what you want out with a ladle and put in the microwave

[enfieldspares]

You need very little water, or gravy stock, as there will be water enough coming from the root vegetables and the meat. I start mine with about an inch of boiling water poured in on HIGH. Then after maybe one hour switch the power to LOW. 

[Dougy]

I thicken the gravy before i add to the slow cooker and adjust before serving, also browning any meat (oil in frying pan, blue smoke and brown the meat) makes allot of difference  to the flavour. Not sure about sprouts in a slow cooker though, could end up mush. 

[Houseplant]

I've spent longer thinking about this than any one should (doesn't mean I'm right though!). I only cook wild game two ways now, hot and fast or low and slow. For the latter, the lower and slower the better. Hate to say this, but I get much better results using a dutch oven in an electric oven rather than an electric slow cooker. Don't know why, but everyone I've spoken to agrees.  

Never add water!

[ditchman]

imean this is just me.........3 things

• dont add too much tomatoe
• add a tbsf of dark brown sugar
• use small salad potatoes..you can cook em to hell and they still stay together

[marsh man]

Many THANKS for your replies , reading the above I have already made a mistake in putting to much gravy in to begin with  , so I will reduce that before I go to bed as I was going to leave it on overnight , then the Sprouts might be in for to long but I will leave them in and find out the hard way ,not sure about this browning idea , do you Brown the meat before , during cooking or after ? , I thought I was doing so well  

[JKD]

Please remember to actually turn it on MM 👍🤓😂

[RCB56]

I brown the meat before I put it in the slow cooker and cook it all on low for 8 hours

[marsh man]

2 minutes ago, JKD said:

Please remember to actually turn it on MM 👍🤓😂

There yer go JKD , all up and running .I can't see the Sprouts surviving the night, they are already trying to get out 

[Lloyd90]

7 minutes ago, JKD said:

Please remember to actually turn it on MM 👍🤓😂

🤣🤣 

 

I thought slow cookers were foolproof, but several times trying to use one I had some food burn on the side of it. 
 

I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen. 
 

 

[JKD]

👏🥳🫡😆 Phew,,,,, was dreading the "I forgot to switch it on" post from you tomorrow 😅 🤣

[oowee]

1 minute ago, Lloyd90 said:

🤣🤣 

 

I thought slow cookers were foolproof, but several times trying to use one I had some food burn on the side of it. 
 

I thought that wasn’t supposed to happen. 
 

 

Good for food poisoning. 

I thought you mostly eat out these days 😁

[Lloyd90]

3 minutes ago, oowee said:

Good for food poisoning. 

I thought you mostly eat out these days 😁

Can’t risk it anymore. 
 

Under cooked is worse risk than over cooked 🤣

[oldypigeonpopper]

Hello, I have quite an old slow cooker for 2, There is no low/medium/high, i just switch on and leave over night about 8 pm, i boil water and half fill with 2  tea spoons of gravy granules , mix up and put . lambs liver , tin mixed veg, bit of onion, or i do, pheasant/ chicken/beef slices, around 3 pm next day all done and an add a bit more granules to make gravy, i do have a similar size slow cooker with low/medium/high but leave on low or it gets to bubbly , raw veg takes longer unless you steam them first 

[marsh man]

9 minutes ago, JKD said:

👏🥳🫡😆 Phew,,,,, was dreading the "I forgot to switch it on" post from you tomorrow 😅 🤣

Tomorrow is another day JKD and you need to remember I will turn it off to extract some of the gravy very soon , switching it back on , then only time will tell , just looked at Lloyds post about burning the food inside the slow cooker , I am beginning to think I have taken on more than I can handle , if you don't like the heat then get out of the kitchen , I do follow Norwich football club so if I asked nicely I am sure Delia Smith will help me out 

[JKD]

Enjoy it when it's done 👍

[Morkin]

That looks good to me, just go for it you can always change things a bit if you did something not to your taste, when I lived on my own cooking a lot of game , I would fill it up like you have in the morning, turn on high for an hour then when I’m going to work turn down to med, if I come home to dinner I’d mostly turn to low, bloody good grub when you come home after being cold all day👍🤞

[marsh man]

8 minutes ago, Morkin said:

That looks good to me, just go for it you can always change things a bit if you did something not to your taste, when I lived on my own cooking a lot of game , I would fill it up like you have in the morning, turn on high for an hour then when I’m going to work turn down to med, if I come home to dinner I’d mostly turn to low, bloody good grub when you come home after being cold all day👍🤞

Yea , I'm sure that will be edible , might try some tomorrow dinner time and then the rest for tea , I have got two nice Red legs , No J K D I haven't burnt myself I am talking about Partridges hanging up in my freezing garage , might do them for Saturdays night tea so the feelers will be out for more pointers like keeping the breasts whole  , or cutting them up ?.     MM

[ditchman]

1 hour ago, marsh man said:

Many THANKS for your replies , reading the above I have already made a mistake in putting to much gravy in to begin with  , so I will reduce that before I go to bed as I was going to leave it on overnight , then the Sprouts might be in for to long but I will leave them in and find out the hard way ,not sure about this browning idea , do you Brown the meat before , during cooking or after ? , I thought I was doing so well  

DO NOT PUT SPROUTS IN THE SLOW COOKER.....they will make everything taste rank...cook them seperately

[JKD]

58 minutes ago, ditchman said:

DO NOT PUT SPROUTS IN THE SLOW COOKER.....they will make everything taste rank...cook them seperately

DOHHHH !!! Too late 🤦😆🤣

[bruno22rf]

Length of time in a SC varies hugely with the meat that you put in, low and long will soften up the toughest lump of beef but turn more delicate meats to mush. Flash  meat in a frying pan at high temp to seal and caramelise the outside (you dont have to but it really improves the flavour). I only ever use high for short periods, you dont need much liquid - usually half way up the meat is fine, I use stock pots for cooking then add cornflour to thicken near the end. Spuds should be added about 2 hours before you serve but hard veg such as carrots can survive all day (I cut mine quite chunky to help keep a firm texture) and I have never put sprouts in a SC. 

[TIGHTCHOKE]

5 hours ago, JKD said:

DOHHHH !!! Too late 🤦😆🤣

DON'T cook sprouts at all, leave the bloody things in the shop.   

[amateur]

If the meat is cut into pieces, I wouldn't put more than enough liquid in than to just cover it.

If a joint, then only halfway up it.

Searing the meat first in a hot frying pan gives it colour and adds flavour and I would only be slow-cooking those cuts of meat that used to be traditionally boiled or stewed. I certainly wouldn't be cooking fillet steak in a slow cooker!

Lamb or venison shank, shin of beef, ham, chicken thighs, hand of pork all cook well in the slow cooker.

Ham gives a couple of good meals, because, once the ham is extracted, split peas are added and switched on for another 8 hours, you have really good pea and ham soup.

[Aled]

I do pheasant in a slow cooker, chunks of potatoes and carrots at the base, wrap the pheasant in bacon, add a chicken stock pot, and a small onion, leave on low from 8am until i get home from work around 5.30pm, usually tastes really good!