Wow - our All-Clad slow cooker admiration post hit a nerve yesterday. Some of you are quite happy with your $40 slow cookers; others say that yes, a $150 slow cooker is absolutely worth it. The best comment, though, came from sugarpond, who said she found the All-Clad model for $60.
$150 or $5 thrift store find - either way, you have a slow cooker and now you want to use it. For the record, a slow cooker is not a McMansion unitasker. No, it's the busy urban cook's best friend. Here's how we use our slow cooker to braise pretty much anything.
What's braising? It's simply browning a cut of meat or vegetables to get some good color and flavor, then cooking with a little bit of liquid in a covered pot. (See: Word of Mouth: Braise)
Your slow cooker is the ideal appliance for slow cooking; you can have an incredible meal with very little work - a meal that cooks while you're at work all day.
• First, pick a good cut of meat to braise. Read our article on this: Why Tougher Meats Make Good Braises.
Tougher (ie cheaper!) meats with plenty of connecting collagen and muscles make wonderful slow-cooked dishes; they fall apart into those tender, melting meaty morsels. Brisket is probably our favorite cut of meat to braise.
You also want to look for meat that is local and raised in a way you can trust. The USDA just (sort of) recalled 143 million pounds of ground beef after a video showing egregious cruelty to animals in a slaughterhouse was released.
It's not difficult or especially expensive to find local, well-raised meats. Urban, rural, suburban - there are many options available. Mail order too. See this post for more details: How to Find Local Meat.
We just bought three pounds of stew beef yesterday - it's from a farm less than 60 miles away, processed by a local slaughterhouse, and butchered in front of our eyes by a member of the farm at our local indoor market. It cost us only a few dollars more than grocery store, CAFO beef.
• Second - Brown your meat! Use a big skillet over high heat. We like to brown our meat in a little olive oil, then cook onions and garlic in the remaining fat. How dark do you go when browning? That's a matter of preference, but get some good color on for flavor. We've carbonized the edges of meat and still had it turn out delicious!
• Third - Put your browned meat in your slow cooker. If you have some onions and garlic and herbs - or maybe some baby vegetables - add those too.
Pour in a bit of liquid. This is flexible - a cup or two is fine. Four or more cups, depending on the size of your meat, may give you more of a stew. This is fine too. We use chicken or beef stock and wine. Really anything is fine; water will do too.
• Fourth - Set the slow cooker on low for 8-10 hours and go away.
Come home to the agonizingly pleasurable smells of roast meat, stewing in its own juices with wine and broth - simmering and ready to mopped up with no-time bread, pasta, or just some whole grains. Eat what you can, freeze the rest, and you've had a meal you cooked yourself with almost no trouble whatsoever.
Enjoy. Repeat.
(PS - You can skip the browning part entirely, if you're really strapped for time; just dump in the crockpot with some herbs and wine and turn it on. We've done this to great success - especially with pork roasts.)
More on Braising
• Recipes galore! Braising Contest 2007 Entries
• Book Review: Braise by Daniel Boulud
• Recipe: Slow-Cooked Pork Roast, Two Ways
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I posted this comment on yesterday's discussion too, but just had to make sure it gets out there. Here is All-Clad's even never version slow cooker offered exclusively at Williams-Sonoma. I have been coveting it for quite some time. The insert is aluminum so you can brown directly in the insert and then stick it into the slow cooker. Sooo cool, but goes for $250! ouch! Is the price worth it to save dirtying a pot to brown in?
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/sku8260341/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C16%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Cslow%20cooker&cm%5Fsrc=SCH
Oh that's NICE - didn't see that! Thanks foodiegirl...
Probably can go without saying but nonetheless worthwhile to mention that this process can just as easily be done during the night. I have pets, and the thought of leaving a pot full of meat simmering while I'm at school and they are unsupervised is nervewracking. So I run it through the night and put it into a container (often simply another pot) so it can cool while I get ready. Then into the fridge.
Tastes even better after it's had a chance to relax for a while.
Usually, when I get home from work, my dog runs to greet me at the door--that is, unless I have a stew going in the slow cooker. In that case, I can invariably find him pacing back and forth in the kitchen, whining and sniffing and occasionally standing on his back legs to see if he can reach the source of the delicious smell.
You can also make a pretty decent replica of proper barbeque in a slow cooker, especially if you're willing to use a dash of liquid smoke (i.e., cancer in a bottle). Pulled pork turns out particularly well, and it's a nice substitute if you don't have a yard or a smoker or grill.
As a cheaper, less sophisticated alternative to the $250 AllClad cooker, check out West Bend's slow cooker. This has a nonstick metal pot that sits on the (slow cooking) heating element.You can brown the meat/whatever in the pot on the stovetop and then transfer it back to the slow cooker. I have one of these, 'works just fine. It has no integral timer, but I've occasionally hooked the slow cooker up to a regular timer if I'm worried about overcooking.
http://www.amazon.com/West-Bend-Slow-Cooker-Metalic/dp/B000YKRRD4
you drove me mad with desire yesterday, and I´ve looked all over, but the only slow cooker available in Spain is a Kenwood that sells for 60€, about 90USD. I don´t know if I´ll buy it, but boy do I want it. you make is sound really useful.
Yay, I'm glad to see some love for the crock pot. I just bought a crock pot a couple of months ago, and i know two other people who just did too. I'm excited to see more ideas/recipes for the crock pot. I know that the typical meat veggies recipe is a standby, but I bet there are other cool inventive ways to use it, too.
Anyhow, I know the meat isn't local or anything, but I've had great success with Trader Joe's spiced pot roasts in my crock pot.
Crock Pot Caveat: If you have a natural or quartz counter top, be sure to use a trivet so you don't get a crack from thermal shock. This has happened recently to a kitchen renovation client.
Just made a to-die-for roast in the crockpot with a Pike's Peak Roast, aka heel of round. Like, NO fat on this thing. About a two pound roast went into the crock with two bay leaves, a bottle of beer, about a cup of red wine, several loosely chopped cloves of garlic, a sprinkle of salt and homemade rub, a handful of herbs d' provence, a tablespoon of beef base, and a few spoonfuls of grain mustard. 12 hours on low and it was beautifully falling apart tender. Tacos, eggs, and open face sandwiches are on the menu this week!
Thank you for really clear (and empowering) instructions!