Mercy, I made pulled pork yesterday that was so easy and good I was embarrassed to accept the compliments I got for it.
get a pork butt/shoulder roast (a fatty cut) of whatever size you like; 3lbs or better; I usually get about a 5lb one
put in about 1/2 a bottle of barbque sauce of your choice (cover the roast).
cook on low forever, about 8 hours
When time is up, shred meat with 2 forks, mix with sauce in pot and any remaining sauce. Serve on rolls with slaw, baked beans and those thick kettle cooked chips.
SO GOOD you will not believe it. I made it last night, fed 4 people and could probably easily feed us all again on the leftovers, so it has a large yield. Freezes well.
I lift the lid on mine all the time and it doesn’t seem to affect it- but it does seem to run pretty hot. It will boil hard on high and simmer on low.
Today I made split pea and ham soup- basically just chicken broth, split peas, ham, onion, red pepper flakes, and garlic on high for 4 hours, and added two cups of cream at the end for extra creaminess. Crockpots are good at taking whatever you have- no recipe has to be exact.
Other things I make with it- Cincinnati Chili, pork roasts, pot roasts, roast chicken, lasagna, other bean/pea/lentil soups, etc.
I love my crock here too. I have an oval double divided one that I use for anything from stews to baking. It works very well with my mennonite cooking style…
Jayjay and I were discussing this thread (on our way to the TJ’s in King of Prussia), and he suggested that I post this recipe.
Crockpot Lasagna
2 15 oz cans tomato sauce
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 lb. ground beef
1 onion chopped
1 garlic clove chopped
1 tsp. dried basil
1 tsp. dried oregano
1/2 tsp. salt
about 1/2- 3/4 of a box of lasagna noodles, (I used whole wheat)
1 carton cottage cheese
1-1.5 cups shredded mozzarella
1 c. parmesan
Brown the meat, onions and garlic til meat it browns. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste, oregano, basil and salt to heat through. Spread a layer of meat sauce on bottom of crockpot. Break the lasagna noodles into about 3 pieces each, and place 2 layers of noodles over sauce. Spread about 1/3 of cottage cheese, 1/3 mozzarella, and 1/3 of parmesan. Add 2 more layers ending with mozzarella and parmesan. Cook for about 3 hours on high, or 6 hours on low, checking periodically.
This one may be a bit blasphemous for some of the non-envelope gravy crowd, but I found this recipe to be very tasty and great in the crock.
Savory Sage Pork Roast with Apple Pork Gravy
2 1/2 teaspoons sage
1 1/2 teaspoons garlic salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3 pounds pork loin
1 tablespoon oil
2 cups apple juice
2 packages McCormick pork gravy mix
Combine spices. Rub oil and spices on pork roast and place in crockpot. Pour 1 cup apple juice over and around roast. Cook on high 4 to 5 hours. With 30 minutes left or so, whisk gravy mix into remaining apple juice and pour into crockpot. Bring to a boil before serving.
I made pretty much the same recipe and it was the first time in 28 years of marriage that my husband truly gushed over my cooking. Ditto with pot roast and chicken.
Agree.
The low and slow method has a way of smoothing everything out.
I do think that certain dishes lend themselves more than others.
I doubt that I would experiment with crockpot eggplant parmesan, I’d rather just make it the traditional way.
But I would like to try cooking cubed eggplant/tomatoes etc into a pasta sauce.
A while ago I came across someone’s lament about the unavailability of Chicago Italian Beef where they lived. I looked it up, became intrigued and made a batch in my crockpot. It was fantastic and everyone who has followed my example has loved it though we Aussies have never had the real thing.
splash of fluid in the pot (I always use way less than recipes call for unless making soup) - stock preferably or Italian salad dressing, but water is OK
slice potatoes or pumpkin or sweet potatoes to cover the bottom of the crockpot (I do this with most recipes so that meat doesn’t swim in fluid for hours and you get to eat 'em)
pile of Italian herbs (dry or fresh) - salt, pepper, oregano, basil, parsley, garlic, minced onion, bay leaf and anything else you like (I think my brother adds some lemon zest)
Big hunk of roasting beef (maybe 4 or more pounds)
Rub the herbs all over the meat and put it on low for many hours.
When it’s all falling apart I take out the meat, slice it, return it to the crockpot while I reduce the liquid in a pan.
Some of this is because I don’t like thin, watery sauces. If you do you probably don’t need the veges in the bottom of the pot or the reduction step. But you need more bread rolls than you think because you don’t end up with as much in the way of leftovers as you would expect.
Like many crockpot meals it isn’t really a recipe just a method.
I don’t think it’s quite gospel that the round ones are only for soups, stews, or beans. My round one makes a roast pretty nicely. Use what you have.
And any of the oven roasting bags work nicely as a liner, you don’t have to look for one specifically marked Slow-Cooker. At least, that’s what I’ve found.
Don’t be afraid of the steel-cut oats even without a liner. A tiny bit of butter schmeared around the inside before adding everything else helps with clean-up and tastes yummy, and as long as the inner crock is removable, there’s not an oat in the world will stand up to a good sudsy soaking in the sink.
Our fave steel-cut oats
1 cup steel-cut oats
3 cups water
1 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup dried fruit, we like apples and cranberries especially
1/2 cup pecans or walnuts, chopped
dash of cinnamon and
Use a tablespoon or two of butter to coat the bottom and up the sides a bit, dump everything in and turn on low before going to bed. Wake up to the most yummy smell and good tasting breakfast. Add sugar/butter/milk to taste. It keeps well in the fridge, just add a bit more water or milk to reheat on subsequent mornings.
I find Indian dishes work very well in a slow cooker. For instance, here’s a basic chana saag:
3 - 10 oz. or 1 - 32 oz. package of frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 onion, diced
3 tomatoes, diced (or a 15 or 24 oz. can, diced tomatoes)
2 bell peppers, diced
24 oz. can chick peas, drained
curry powder to taste
Put everything in cooker. Mix. Cook.
Rice is optional.
I love my crockpot and the liners. I’m “fixing to” make black eyed peas in there for New Year’s. I’ll put my soaked peas in there, along with some nice smoked ham shanks, chopped up onion, and bell pepper. You can pretty much use any kind of pork for flavor. Sometimes I use jowls, hocks, neckbones, or fat back. Cook it on low all day, then serve with greens I’ve cooked up and cornbread to soak up the pot liquor. MMM–dammit–I sound like Granny Clampett! Maybe I should throw in a few buzzard gizzards, too.
3 lb plain brisket (not corned beef!)
2 bottles Heinz chili sauce
1 envelope onion soup mix
5 or more peeled garlic cloves
1 onion, sliced
Place the onions in the bottom of slow cooker with the garlic, and put brisket on top. Mix the chili sauce and soup mix, and pour on top. Cook on low all day. The sauce is very vinegar-y, but yummy.
Crockpot Cassoulet is great. Just throw in all the standard cassoulet ingredients (and improvise, since it’s a crockpot, after all). Browning the meats in a skillet ahead of time always improves any recipe. So does Kitchen Bouquet if you don’t have time to pre-brown.
I bought myself a small CrockPot (and liners!) six months ago, but I haven’t taken it out of the box yet. About a month ago I finally took the box off the counter and moved it to the pantry floor. My main problem is that when I go on recipe sites, everything says to cook for 8 hours – but I’m gone for 9-10 hours on weekdays, so I need a 10-hour recipe. And I’m just not up to figuring out the math of “lower the temp X amount to be able to cook 2 hours longer”: having to do that defeats the convenience of having a slow cooker in the first place, IMO. grin
No, one of the wonderful things about cooking in a crockpot is that the times are far from critical. If something needs 8 hours but gets 10 on low it makes little difference.
I make tons of stuff in my crock pot- I’m going to make a ham in there next week, I’m just looking for a good recipe (COUGH COUGH COUGH).
Anyway :), the last thing I made is a pot roast that was delicious. I used this recipe, but used golden mushroom soup instead. Om nom nom. It made AWESOME gravy.
My main problem is that when I go on recipe sites, everything says to cook for 8 hours – but I’m gone for 9-10 hours on weekdays, so I need a 10-hour recipe. And I’m just not up to figuring out the math of “lower the temp X amount to be able to cook 2 hours longer”: having to do that defeats the convenience of having a slow cooker in the first place, IMO. grin