Help me use my new crock-pot

Cafe Society
1

I received a nice crock-pot for Christmas, and I’m going to use it tomorrow for the first time. So tell me how.

I have a boneless chuck roast, about 2 lbs. I want to include potatoes and carrots, and possibly onions. I have all of the standard herbs, except for rosemary, marjoram and parsley (forgot to pick those up at the store).

Do I brown the meat first?

Should I peel the potatoes, or just cut them up? (They’re Idaho potatoes, if that matters.)

How do I put all the stuff in the crock-pot? Veggies first, or meat first?

High, or low heat, and for how long? I have all the time in the world, so if low and slow is better, that’s fine.

I’m assuming I add water to cover everything; is that correct? Do I need to replenish the water throughout the day?

When do I add herbs and spices? At the beginning, or toward the end?

Would fresh garlic be a nice addition? If so, should I mince it? And when would I add it?

What herbs would work nicely with this?

Any other suggestions?

2

I’ve made a roast in a crock pot. Usually, if you cover it with water to the top of the roast, then set it on low. If you start it at 8 a.m., it should be done by the time you get home from work.

Still, I would consult the cookbook that probably came with the crock pot. Either that or try www.allrecipes.com. Great website.

3

Here are answers based on how I do it.

I either brown the meat or do a dry rub.

I prefer them unpeeled, m’self.

I put the veggies as the bottom layer and plunk the meat on top of that, making sure it doesn’t touch the sides. If the meat is in direct contact with the bottom or sides of the pot, it can burn, so if you’re not making a roast with veggies you should put the meat on a rack.

High 5-6 hours, or Low 8-10 hours. I think it tastes better and the texture is more tender if you do it low & slow.

Yikes! I don’t, but I see that Indygrrl does. I add just 1/4 cup of water to prevent the vegetables from burning to the bottom. The vegetables and roast will release more fluids as the cook. Save the liquid for soup!

Nope. Just do not open the lid until it’s done. Every time you lift the lid, moisture and heat will escape, which is a Bad Thing.

I rub them into the raw meat, if I use them at all. More often the hubby and I enjoy the purity of a nice hunk of red meat ‘n’ potatoes without no frou-frou herbs and spices. :wink:

I’ve done the thing where you insert slivers of raw garlic into small slits cut into the raw meat before. It tasted pretty good, but was ulitimately not worth the effort IMHO. Throwing in some minced garlic with the veggies would probably be fine, too.

Oregano, parsley, and thyme are my standard choices. Rosemary is cool also.

My SOP: Dump in a layer of washed new potatoes. Dump in a layer of baby carrots. Dump in one small onion, peeled and cut into 8ths. Add 1/4 cup of water. Trim most of the fat from a beef or pork roast and brown in a heavy skillet on all sides or rub with a mixture of dried herbs, garlic powder, salt & ground pepper. Chuck into a crock pot on low for 8 hours. Ridiculously easy, yet it’s a “special” meal. :slight_smile:

4

Could you explain why it’s either/or with the browning and spicing? And why the browning is necessary at all?

5

For those outside North America, a Crock-Pot® is a brand of slow cooker (the generic term).

6

The browning is 'cause of the Maillard reaction, which combines cooked protiens and carmelized sugars to make delicious flavors.

I don’t have any deep reason for making it either or, but it seems like if you tried to brown after the rub, the rub would mostly just fall off and get in the way of the browning, and rubbing spices into hot meat doesn’t sound to appealing. :slight_smile: It may be that some people do both.

If I don’t do either one, in my experience things come out a little bland.

7

My quick crock pot roast recipe:

Roast

Two cans Campbell’s Golden Mushroom or Beef Mushroom soup, undiluted

One package dry Lipton Onion soup mix.

Dump it all in before you go to work, put the crock pot on low, and you have meat that’s fallen apart by the time you get home, with a nice lovely rich gravy.

We usually add the veggies during the last hour so they’re not mushy. YMMV.

8

Only, and I mean only if your food is noticably drying out. Drying out shouldn’t be a problem with your roast but it can be with recipes that have thick sauces (e.g.: stroganoff) if they’re left warming for too long.

9

Fix it and forget it There are several books in this series. All recipies sent in by real people. I got mine from the library first and thought I would only copy a few recipies out of it. Ended up buying it. Worth looking into.

10

Wherever anybody suggests water, substitute beer instead. Yum! :smiley:

11

I hate browning the meat first; it winds up tating like Dinty Moore. Put the raw meat in without browning it. It winds up a little shredded, like Pot Roast, but I prefer it that way. Roll the cut-up pieces of beef (or lamb) in flour, maybe with some corn starch mixed in. Or instead of stew, just slow-cook a huge hunk of beef, whatever cut is on sale, and throw a few cut-up potatoes in for good measure (I skin them, but follow your tastebuds).

As for liquids… Yes, fill to cover all the solid ingredients (except for the floating ones). I use mostly water, with maybe a can each of chicken stock and beer, a littl Worcestershire or BBQ sauce.

And I let meat touch the pot all the time and have yet to burn it. Actually, on low heat, it’s pretty difficult to burn anything in there. If you’re a few hours late from work and have to let the thing cook longer as a result, no biggie. It may even improve the flavor!

Beans are a big favorite. I buy a big bag of pinto beans, throw in a ham hocl, diced onions and peppers, whatever liquid is at hand, and a bunch of ketchup, mustard and brown sugar. I usually let it go on low heat for a full day, sometimes two. You have to really like beans, though; this makes a lot of them.

12

I usually just toss my roast in with enough water to come an inch or so above it and throw on some garlic salt. If I’m going to be around while it’s cooking, I let the meat get mostly done before adding the veggies. If not, I go on and put in the taters (we like the skin on). The carrots go in much later than anything else, because they cook so much faster. Save the juice and leftovers for soup–just add a can of tomato juice and some canned veggies and simmer for an hour or so. Serve with cornbread.

As an added bonus, I’ll throw in the recipe for Lemon Herb Chicken that’s in our crockpot cookbook. It’s incredibly tasty.

Put 1/4c chopped onion into cavity of bird and rub skin with 2T butter or margarine. Put chicken into crockpot and squeeze juice of one lemon over it. Sprinkle chicken with 1T parsley (1t if dried), 1/4t leaf thyme, 1/4t paprika, and 1/2 t salt. Cook on low for 8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

*Be carefeul taking the chicken out of the crockpot, because it will tear apart on you and fall back into the hot liquids, splashing your hands. *

13

Step 1: Go to the grocery store.

Step 2: Find and purchase Banquet’s Crock-Pot Classics

Step 3: Go back home

Step 4: Read and follow cooking instructions.

Step 5: Eat.

I’ve only used my own slow cooker once, and this is exactly what I did. It wasn’t bad. :slight_smile:

I tried the Chicken with Redskin Potatoes and Vegetables variety, but there are five others to choose from.

14

I forgot to mention: If you’re using dried beans, let them soak for a couple of days. The package likely has some useful instructions.

15

I have been using a crock-pot since the 70s and I have never heard of a recipe for a roast that involves submerging the meat. I think Podkayne has the general principles right although you can use a dry rub and brown the meat - very briefly just to stick the dry rub to the meat. I generally use as little fluid as possible and don’t use enough to touch the meat. You only ever need more than one cup of fluid if the recipe includes rice or pasta or is a soup or boiled meat dish. You will end up with more fluid at the end than you start with because none evaporates.

When adapting other recipes I generally skip all the non flavoursome liquids from the recipe. For instance any recipe that calls for tinned tomatoes (like the chili recipe I use), that is the only liquid that is used for a full crockpot.

16

I’m another one who’s never put more than a cup of liquid in the pot, if even that. By submerging the food in water aren’t you basically just boiling the food – even if at a gentle simmer – rather than slow roasting it?

Also, regarding high heat vs. low, the instructions that came with last two crock pots I’ve owned said that there is no difference between the two in the actual cooking temperature itself. Rather, the difference is that the pot will come up to temperature more quickly if set on high. This allows for shorter cooking time if the food can accomodate it, whereas the longer cooking time is better for foods that need all or most of that time to finish.

17

Thanks, all! It seems we have a bit of dissension about the amount of water to add, so I guess I’ll start with a little, and add more if I need to. I’m home all day, so I can keep an eye on it as it cooks.

I’ll update later, after it’s done, if we’re still alive after eating it! :smiley:

18

Well, I was not impressed much. The roast turned out quite tender, but my potatoes and carrots were too mushy (especially the carrots). I added less than a cup of liquid, and ended up with about a gallon. Where did all that liquid come from?

Plus, I didn’t peel the taters, and the skins came off and were floating around in a rather non-appetizing way.

I used salt, fresh-ground pepper, and thyme. The seasoning was ok, not great, so I think I’ll try something different next time. Perhaps rosemary? Tarragon? Bay leaf?

It was mediocre, IMO, but the SO and the kid ate it without complaints. I expected it to be better.

Ah, well. I’ll try again until I get it right. Thanks for all the suggestions!

19

Miss Gypsy, I got a Crock Pot for Christmas, and I’ve been using it several times per week since then. The only thing I’ve made that I didn’t like was pot roast. I’ve used the same cut of meat for other dishes in the slow cooker that have turned out well, but the pot roast was too boring and it made me sort of queasy after eating it.

Last night we enjoyed maple-mustard turkey from the Crock Pot. You should get a cookbook of slow cooker recipes. The one I have now is Fix it and Forget It .

20

Mostly from the meat but some from the veggies. Meat generates a lot of liquid, so much so that sometimes you won’t need to add any.

*I’ve used red potatoes and they didn’t have much of a problem holding their skin.

I like adding Worcestershire to the water.