Help me get started with this new crockpot

Very late to the game here, but my “secret” for crockpot cooking with ground beef? I buy a huge whack of hamburger meat when it’s on sale. When I get home, I break down the package - maybe fix patties for one meal, keep a pound of two off to the side for some random meal. Those get packaged for the freezer, and the remainder gets browned (usually with onions and garlic, because onions and garlic make everything taste better,) drained, and frozen in meal-sized packets. When I want to use the slow cooker, I don’t have to worry about browning or not.

When I worked overnights, the crockpot was a lifesaver. I’d come in from work, get the big kids off to school, toss some ingredients into the slow cooker, and go to sleep. By the time the kids and husband got home, the house smelled like I’d been slaving all day! The absolute simplest dish, and one of the most popular, was country pork ribs, jar of decent barbecue sauce, cook all day. I usually didn’t even thaw the ribs first - they cooked beautifully, regardless. Beef stews, made with cheap cuts, were also popular, but I usually browned the beef first. (Tip: If you’re too lazy to pre-brown, you can almost replicate the caramelized flavor with a judicious few drops of molasses or cane syrup or even a few grains of dark brown sugar. Sounds weird, tastes good.)

Chili, red beans and rice, dried beans cooked with a leftover hambone or some smoked ham hocks, all sorts of soups - these are exactly what crockpots were invented for. (I prefer to add rice later in the cooking process, though. Ditto noodles. Those things take a bit of trial and error, though, because every cooker is different.)

And, I’m almost ashamed to admit to this “recipe,” but it has become the “please bring this to the potluck” request among my friends and family: Premade meatballs (whatever’s on sale,) and barbecue sauce. Toss in pot. Cook until the meatballs are hot. Sure, I could (and have) gotten all fancy, and did homemade meatballs, made my own barbecue sauce, and? No one liked them as well as the version with Armour frozen meatballs and bottled sauce, and I worked lots harder and paid more for a final product that the audience didn’t appreciate.

I posted on Facebook about venturing into the fun world of slowcookery, and Moe advised me to check out his thread here in CS. Tomorrow I attempt crockpotting for the first time, going to make teriyaki chicken!

hey, glad you found it so fast.

Incidentally, a word of advice to everyone: don’t use your crockpot as a humidifier.

Slow Cooker Thai Chicken underway!

Question (in case anyone’s still following this thread): Chicken skin? Nearly every slow cooker recipe I’ve seen calls for skinless chicken. Of course you wouldn’t get the characteristic crispy skin quality in the slow cooker as you would with baking or frying, but is it always necessary to remove it?

I did in this case and I have all the skins nicely preserved in the fridge. (no way I’m throwing out all that yummy, flavorful goodness). Gonna fry them up like potato chips when I have some free time.

If I brown the chicken first, I leave the skin on. If not, I take it off and bake it on a sheet pan in the oven till crisp and delicious. Chef treats! My husband won’t eat dark meat so I do breasts for him and thighs for me. I always buy bone-in and skin-on thighs (cheaper and tastier) and take the skin off if needed. If left on without browning first it can render out a lot of fat while cooking. Not always good to have a fat slick in your crock pot.

Yeah, I was at the market today. they were $8 a lb! last time I bought them, about 5 months ago, they were $4.50

Has anybody else had any issues with their slow cooker running too damn hot?

Even on the low setting I can’t put in something before work and not have a completely overcooked mess when I get home.

I want to just put the sauce, meat, and everything else in a bag, freeze it all and then when I want to cook it, just put the frozen block in the slow cooker, but apparently some believe that is a recipe for food poisoning. My slow cooker also has a keep warm function, I have toyed with the idea of just using that.

Help, I really want to have dinner ready when I get home, but I also want it to be yummy, and not try and kill me.

Ludy, the modern ones do seem to run a lot hotter than the old ones. Maybe look for a “vintage” model at the thrift store? Otherwise, increase the liquid you add. Your result will be soupier, but for some recipes, where you just remove the meat/veg for serving anyway, it doesn’t much matter.

I put a corned beef in the crock pot yesterday while we were at a choir retreat (9 hours of singing is no joke!). Came home and realized there was no cabbage, no potatoes, and no bread! So I glazed some carrots and made soda bread, everything turned out pretty yum. But not a classic “boiled dinner” - I’ll get another corned beef next time I shop, and make sure I have all the trimmings too, including the bechamel, hot English mustard and carraway seeds for the cabbage.