Slooooooow Cooker Recipes
Discussion
Dan_1981 said:
Pulled pork - fat side up or down?
Anyway to tune the fat crackling like afterwards? I was left with a soggy lump
I tried this last week, the results weren't great Anyway to tune the fat crackling like afterwards? I was left with a soggy lump
I think I may have left it in a little too long. Put it on in the morning, went out for the day. Figured I'd have it when I got home but ended up down the pub. I think it was in for about 16 hours ha. It resembled a BBQ style pate. Not the best late night dining experience but the dog seemed to enjoy it.Mr Roper said:
Dan_1981 said:
Pulled pork - fat side up or down?
Anyway to tune the fat crackling like afterwards? I was left with a soggy lump
I tried this last week, the results weren't great Anyway to tune the fat crackling like afterwards? I was left with a soggy lump
I think I may have left it in a little too long. Put it on in the morning, went out for the day. Figured I'd have it when I got home but ended up down the pub. I think it was in for about 16 hours ha. It resembled a BBQ style pate. Not the best late night dining experience but the dog seemed to enjoy it.
Since getting the slow cooker, it's rarely been off. It's bloody brilliant. Prep the veg the night before, then shove it all in there with the meat before I go to work and let it do its magic.
Opening the front door and being hit by the delicious smell when I get home is something else too.
Thing is, and here's where I need your help, I can't seem to get the solid/liquid balance quite right. Stews I've done always seem to turn out a bit too watery. Well, not watery, but "stocky" I suppose. I usually stick in about 500ml of water plus a stock cube, or one of Pierre-White's stock jelly efforts.
Don't get me wrong, the resultant liquid is delicious, it's just that there's a bit too much of it.
Are there any rules for the amount of fluid to put in, or any way to thicken things up a bit?
Opening the front door and being hit by the delicious smell when I get home is something else too.
Thing is, and here's where I need your help, I can't seem to get the solid/liquid balance quite right. Stews I've done always seem to turn out a bit too watery. Well, not watery, but "stocky" I suppose. I usually stick in about 500ml of water plus a stock cube, or one of Pierre-White's stock jelly efforts.
Don't get me wrong, the resultant liquid is delicious, it's just that there's a bit too much of it.
Are there any rules for the amount of fluid to put in, or any way to thicken things up a bit?
Cock Womble 7 said:
Opening the front door and being hit by the delicious smell when I get home is something else too.
It's like having a mrs but without the b
hing. 
For thickening, you could put a bit of broth mixture in, or cornflower/water, butter/flour. Potatoes are also good for thickening stews.
Cock Womble 7 said:
Thing is, and here's where I need your help, I can't seem to get the solid/liquid balance quite right. Stews I've done always seem to turn out a bit too watery.
I have exactly the same experience; there isn't the same reduction in water that you get with simmering. Being new to the slowcooker I'm unsure as to how little liquid I can get away with without ending up with a burnt mess. For chilli I usually finish it off in a pan to reduce it. Its less of a problem with soup as I blitz the veg to puree with the blender. For stews you could try adding a bit of cornflour at the end. Cock Womble 7 said:
Since getting the slow cooker, it's rarely been off. It's bloody brilliant. Prep the veg the night before, then shove it all in there with the meat before I go to work and let it do its magic.
Opening the front door and being hit by the delicious smell when I get home is something else too.
Thing is, and here's where I need your help, I can't seem to get the solid/liquid balance quite right. Stews I've done always seem to turn out a bit too watery. Well, not watery, but "stocky" I suppose. I usually stick in about 500ml of water plus a stock cube, or one of Pierre-White's stock jelly efforts.
Don't get me wrong, the resultant liquid is delicious, it's just that there's a bit too much of it.
Are there any rules for the amount of fluid to put in, or any way to thicken things up a bit?
I work on the rule of adding liquid to a third of the way up the meat/veg.Opening the front door and being hit by the delicious smell when I get home is something else too.
Thing is, and here's where I need your help, I can't seem to get the solid/liquid balance quite right. Stews I've done always seem to turn out a bit too watery. Well, not watery, but "stocky" I suppose. I usually stick in about 500ml of water plus a stock cube, or one of Pierre-White's stock jelly efforts.
Don't get me wrong, the resultant liquid is delicious, it's just that there's a bit too much of it.
Are there any rules for the amount of fluid to put in, or any way to thicken things up a bit?
Cock Womble 7 said:
Since getting the slow cooker, it's rarely been off. It's bloody brilliant. Prep the veg the night before, then shove it all in there with the meat before I go to work and let it do its magic.
Opening the front door and being hit by the delicious smell when I get home is something else too.
Thing is, and here's where I need your help, I can't seem to get the solid/liquid balance quite right. Stews I've done always seem to turn out a bit too watery. Well, not watery, but "stocky" I suppose. I usually stick in about 500ml of water plus a stock cube, or one of Pierre-White's stock jelly efforts.
Don't get me wrong, the resultant liquid is delicious, it's just that there's a bit too much of it.
Are there any rules for the amount of fluid to put in, or any way to thicken things up a bit?
We're doing low carb so I'm very limited in the Thickeners I can use (As they're mostly high in carbs, being starch based) but I do take quite a lot of the veg and puree before adding back in. Opening the front door and being hit by the delicious smell when I get home is something else too.
Thing is, and here's where I need your help, I can't seem to get the solid/liquid balance quite right. Stews I've done always seem to turn out a bit too watery. Well, not watery, but "stocky" I suppose. I usually stick in about 500ml of water plus a stock cube, or one of Pierre-White's stock jelly efforts.
Don't get me wrong, the resultant liquid is delicious, it's just that there's a bit too much of it.
Are there any rules for the amount of fluid to put in, or any way to thicken things up a bit?
MC is absolutely right, a 1/3 liquid to meat is more than enough as the meat itself contains SO much water it's unbelievable. What liquid you add should add flavour and be intense, as it will be diluted by the water in the meat - hence why red wine is always good so is very concentrated bullion cubes..
Failing that, take some of the stock and reduce the hell out of it then serve with the meat...Rinse and repeat (depending on how many days worth of stew you have). You'd have no problem "dry" roasting in the slow cooker as it never gets hot enough to burn, plus by its design creates a nice humid environment for meat to cook slowly and render down.
Its the same premise as BBQ but without the smoke. Low, slow cooking in a humid environment (which is what the what the water pan is for - to regulate temperature and add moisture lost) You have the same things going on in a slow cooker, but its moisture is trapped by the lid, hence why less is more when it comes to liquid.
escargot said:
Blimey that was good. Cheers juice.
That looks epic - there's something wonderfully tasty about a pulled pork sandwich, melt in the mouth yet meaty - my favourite sandwich. To make it even better - try and get hold of some liquid smoke and add a couple of dashes in...Glad you enjoyed it though - much in the way of leftovers ?
It was absolutely delightful Juice, cracking recipe I must say.
I think it helped to cook the pork well in advance of serving as it allowed it to absorb all the cooking juices when resting (and after being pulled). I felt the pork needed a little bit of an extra splodge of bbq sauce too just to really bring out the bbq flavours.
As you can see, we went OTT and served it with dirty processed cheese, cornichons & mayo - it really did work extremely well.
I cooked it for 8.5 hours and left it resting in the slow cooker for a few hours too, I suspect this probably helped with the juicyness.
As for leftovers, we've got enough to last us weeks I reckon so I'll be freezing some of it.
I think it helped to cook the pork well in advance of serving as it allowed it to absorb all the cooking juices when resting (and after being pulled). I felt the pork needed a little bit of an extra splodge of bbq sauce too just to really bring out the bbq flavours.
As you can see, we went OTT and served it with dirty processed cheese, cornichons & mayo - it really did work extremely well.
I cooked it for 8.5 hours and left it resting in the slow cooker for a few hours too, I suspect this probably helped with the juicyness.
As for leftovers, we've got enough to last us weeks I reckon so I'll be freezing some of it.
Following a suggestion from my Mum, I did mince and dumplings yesterday. She also said that my Nan used to add a bit of Sage and Onion stuffing to the dumpling mix, so I did this. I also took on board the suggestions on here about how much liquid to add.
If I say so myself, my mince and dumplings were dee-bloody-licious.
If I say so myself, my mince and dumplings were dee-bloody-licious.
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