Why bother with a Slow Cooker?

[RWebb]

feeling the need to branch out after the other thread?

got a full head of steam up and can't stop posting about kitchen gadgets?

have at it...

[stomachmonkey]

Convenience, I can prep a gumbo, pork loin or just about Anything else in 10 minutes before leaving in the morning.

Everything always comes out moist and tender.

Love slow cookers.

[J P Stein]

We have a vat of Scotch Broth going now. It'll be done sometime tomorrow morning......yuumm.

[jyl]

I like the idea of a slow cooker but for some reason am never organized enough to use ours. I fear my wife has given it away, as I can't find it. Bummer, since it is an old one, and hence should have a lower "low" than the current crockpots.

[UconnTim97]

We use ours all the time. Excellent for ribs, chili, stews...you name it.

[944Larry]

Fix it in the AM, ready when you come in at night.

[cgarr]

Let me ask my Wife why she uses one.......

[john70t]

The "metrosexualization" of the modern male certainly has evolved to an extreme. Now finer clothing, perfume, and even..um..makeup is being advertized for men.

In defense of this, one could argue that the sucess of the human species, disgrarding brain size agrairian and/or animal domestication advancements, is linked to the two-parent social base. No longer is the reproduction of a species soley based on a few minutes of insemination. The male human has a genetic impulse to protect and raise his offspring. Even male alligators have this impulse to some degree.

One could go further, and point out that the male and female human are born identical until the testis decend and the estrogen/testosterone levels differientiate.

One could also argue that a male with good nutritional intake has the potential to be the most physically fit.
Certainly, within the historic quarters of royalty the primary food-preparers were male-dominated, and in past wartime male cooks were the ones physically able to transport all the materials needed to give sustinance to an army.


I will concur with your sentimentality of thought, though. My cats would look lovely basting over an open flame.

[Tishabet]

Because meats which enter the slow cooker exit the slow cooker delicious. Next question.

[jeffgrant]

Show me good BBQ that hasn't been slow cooked.

Anyone who hasn't taken advantage of a slow cooker is missing out.

[legion]

When it's too cold for slow cooking on the grill, the crock pot isn't a bad second choice.

[klm2500hd]

Good for making food in quantity also. When having a party, I can set up 4-5 slow cookers and walk away, instead of being stuck at the grills for hours. Sure slow roasting a pig tastes better, but throw a couple roasts in the crock pots, pull apart when done (pretty much falls apart on its own), and mix w/sauce is a lot easier. Leaves me with more time to socialize.

We usually have a few big parties a year, and I set them up the night before. Food cooks overnight and is done in the morning. Wake up, shower, crack the kegs (if not done already), finish final preparations, and enjoy the day like I was one of the guests.

[Seahawk]

I don't cook because it would be redundant: My wife loves nothing more than preparing meals. She throws some stuff in the crock pot in the morning before she leaves for work, and the elfs do the rest.

Astounding chow.

Originally Posted by Tishabet

Because meats which enter the slow cooker exit the slow cooker delicious. Next question.

Originally Posted by jeffgrant

Show me good BBQ that hasn't been slow cooked.

Anyone who hasn't taken advantage of a slow cooker is missing out.

Originally Posted by UconnTim97

We use ours all the time. Excellent for ribs, chili, stews...you name it.

[Joe Bob]

Perfumes the house, tender fall off the bone meat, no burning due to high heat, a few minutes of prep, go to work....

[Seahawk]

Originally Posted by Joe Bob

Perfumes the house...

Worthy of a bump...I meant to write that

[J P Stein]

The barley has been ruduced to little slime balls in our Scotch Broth.

Yummy..... gruel. .....

[Joe Bob]

Anything soft like noodles and veggies goes in last.....otherwise it turns init wallpaper paste.

[Danimal16]

The task of the food is great.
I have two, a little one and a big one.

When I get in the mood, ususally when I am out working on the car, I make different soup stocks and than freeze them. Makes it very easy to throw stuff together for a single person with minimal fuss during the week.

The little one is the through it together in the am and eat in the pm. Yes, the noodles go in last. But they cook in short order.

My next step is pressure cookers for tomatoes this year.

[RWebb]

not many recipes yet...

here is one a friend gave me & it induced me to buy a slow cooker:

chunk of cheap pork - buy it on sale (you want a cheap cut for slow cooking, it will break down the collagen and flavor the meat well {the friend is a surgeon BTW, can you tell?})

red HY sea salt - buy at an Asian grocery store, where it will cost 1/4 what you pay in a "gourmet" store {the friend is a cheap azz SOB like me, can you tell?}

liquid smoke & wine

toss it all in using whatever prefatory steps float your boat; stick the temperature probe in the pork; turn it on and walk away

[vash]

i never liked my slow cooker. gave it away to an office friend. why?

you still need to pre-cook before you get anything good from it. brown everything. it takes up to much counterspace in my retardedly small kitchen. (same goes for storage). plus anything you can do in a slow cooker, i can do in a cast iron dutch oven placed in a 250 degree oven.

just got back from turkey hunting. my host family tried ribs of some animal. nothing was pre-browned, and the result was some watery, clear, fatty mess. no thanks. i bet the leftovers will still be there next weekend when i go back.