Crockpot cooking

[mlucier]

Does anyone have a good recipe for cooking in a crockpot? I just got it and have only made chili..... I need ideas!

[GroovinGourmet]

Get this book. It is fabulous, and you'll be amazed at how many different things can be done...

Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook

Amazon's got it. If buy.com does it will be less.

[luniz]

Season 2 lamb shanks with salt, pepper, & cumin. Brown them on the stovetop. Put in crockpot with 1 or 2 cans diced/whole tomatoes and a bay leaf (or two). Maybe a little more cumin. Cook low 8 hours. Serve with side boiled, fresh green beans. Cheap & good.

[jinet12]

I think it is great for BBQ ribs...Take any cut of ribs....Brown them first, then put them in the crockpot and cover with your favorite BBQ sauce...Cook for about 8 hrs. on low...Delicious

[Miss Needle]

As I like to have a hearty breakfast (not a cereal/toast/juice type of person), I make my breakfasts in the crockpot the night before. Certain items I usually have for breakfast inculde congee, soups (split pea, mushroom barley, vegetable) and dal. Depending on if I have time, I will usually sautee the aromatics before putting it into the crockpot. Definitely improves the flavor of your food.

[torty]

I followed an internet idea a while ago (can't find the link) that was layers of skinless chicken thighs, sliced onions and good good quality paprika (salted of course). The concept was about an onion to 2 thighs and a ton of the paprika. It tuned into the most incredible mixture. Great over noodles or rice, or piled in a sandwich like pulled pork w/ coleslaw. No pre-browning, no stirring. Crock pots vary- so basically till super soft.

[chef chicklet]

I have placed a few recipes earlier on another thread but you can also make yummy
Pork Spareribs and Sauerkraut. It is delicious, and a great Mexican Pork or Beef Chili Colorado. SO many ways to use the pot. Cassoulets, and any bean soup recipe
One my friend makes that I have not tried yet, Roasted Chicken and Stuffing
On the bottom place about 4 inches of cut up carrots, and celery,and thick onion. Then the next layer so is stuffing so that it catches the juices, about 4 inches thick. Then place the chicken breast (on the bone) brown them off first. ON HIGh, and it takes two seconds, then layer overlap, the chicken.
GOOD GOOD>GOOD....so many recipes really there is! Have Fun!

[cateomalley]

I have a great recipe that we like for Melt in Your Mouth Sausages. When they're done, I either make Hot Sausage Sandwiches with them, or use it over spaghetti. Easy and truly do melt in your mouth. Recipe is here > http://sweetnicks.com/recipes_meatand...

[laurie]

When I get a yen for corned beef brisket, I throw one in the crockpot with a can of beer and wah-lah, six to eight hours later I have a wonderfully moist, melt-in-your mouth brisket.

[ciaogal]

I was running out the door early yesterday and no idea what I was making for dinner...
had a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs an onion a few plum tomatoes and a jar of store brand salsa....I threw it all in the crock pot on low...8 hours later...OMG...It was the best tasting thing I have ever made.
I boiled up some papardelle and topped it w/ my chicken salsa recipe w/ some shredded jack cheese and green onions......

The leftovers were gone before noon today!

Just bought a bunch of Trader Joe's Simmer Sauces...Green Curry, Cuban Mojito,Piccata, and Korma....
Thought they might be fun to throw in the crockpot w/ pork or chicken....

[dietfoodie]

That's how I did my corned beef this year -- one chopped onion, one corned beef brisket, a tablespoon or two of Penzey's corned beef spice, one 12oz bottle of Guinness, in that order into the pot. Added half a cut-up cabbage about a half hour before we were ready to eat... delicious!

[girlwonder88]

My all time favorite crock pot recipe is a boneless pork roast, with a medium sized jar of pepperoncini poured over it. Cook on low all day. Makes amazingly tender pork-falls apart, it's tangy and a little spicy. We love making soft tacos with it: good corn tortillas, avocado, cotija cheese, cilantro, salsa verde.

[Scrapironchef]

I do the same with beef, not quite Chicago Italian beef, but it makes a great week night sandwich meal. Add a few sliced onons and bell peppers to the pot and as much garlic as you can lay hands on for more fun.

Cochinita pibil is another easy favorite, pork shoulder marinated in achiote paste and lime juice. Made into tacos with pickled red onions, it's dangerously addictive.

[AnneInMpls]

My favorite crockpot recipe is lamb and eggplant - a stewy dish that is served over pasta and sprinked with feta cheese. I typed in the recipe a while back:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/282451#1505974

And there are some great recipes and ideas in these threads:

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/346207

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/331396

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/310245

http://www.chowhound.com/topics/348570

Anne

[Val]

Anne...I tried your recipe for Lamb and Eggplant today...totally delicious!!!!! Thank you, thank you for a new "keeper" in my crockpot line-up!!!! I added 2 cloves of crushed garlic and served it over Orzo Pilaf (toasted the orzo first!) ... what a delicious meal! What I love *most* about it is that it does not come out too soupy, one of my pet peeves about crockpot dishes. Wow...I want 'thirds' now!

[AnneInMpls]

Val, I'm so glad you liked this recipe! My hand-written copy says "serves one" because I always eat too much of it. But it actually freezes quite well (without the pasta and cheese) if there's ever any left. I've only managed this once.

Anne

[leanneabe]

I love my crockpot! I'll make shredded pork often with a pork shoulder. Just lightly salt and pepper it and throw it in overnight on low. I'll add bbq sauce after it's cooked so I can freeze the rest unseasoned for other uses (chili, sandwiches, burritos).

I've done a "roast" chicken, too. Place wadded balls of foil on the bottom of the crockpot (this is in my large oval one, not my small round one) and place the seasoned chicken on top. Cook on high for 6-8 hours and it's done. I do this before I leave for work so I have chicken to come home to for dinner. Once the bones are clean, you can throw those into the crockpot with some water and let it go overnight to make stock.

You can cook beans in them, make applesauce, cook stew with root veggies...

[dietfoodie]

Oh, what a good idea! I have a bunch of leftover bones I've been freezing to make stock, but haven't wanted to haul out the big pot and heat up the kitchen... do you need to skim very often when you use the crockpot? Or just when you check it in the morning?

[leanneabe]

I just skim it after it's all done (in the morning, if I've cooked it overnight). Or I'll pour it all through a colander lined with a single layer of cheescloth. The cheesecloth picks up enough "scum" for my tastes.

[dietfoodie]

Thank you, I'll try that! As soon as I get through all this leftover ham, that is.

[dietfoodie]

Okay, just wanted to report in -- the technique worked really well!

I took an onion (rough chopped but not separated), four stalks of limp celery (sliced in half and then quarters), and half a head of garlic (peeled), put them on a foil-lined cookie sheet with all the chicken bits (four thighs, four bones from thighs, a 1lb package of wing drumsticks, a chicken back -- everything was half-heartedly defrosted). Seasoned with salt and pepper, then roasted at 450' for about forty minutes.

Then I dumped everything (after scraping the foil really well) but the four chicken thighs (those were too luscious looking, I saved them for dinner later this week) into the crockpot with five cups of water. Added some thyme, some more pepper, some marjoram, and some savory (we were rushing out the door and I couldn't find my rosemary or I would have added a pinch of that, too) along with a couple of bay leaves.

I ended up cooking it for a very long time on low (twenty hours! we got back late and I didn't want to wait for it to cool so I could put it up before going to bed), but it looks quite reduced and smells and tastes very chicken-y this morning.

There's no scum (probably because I didn't use a whole lot of bone?). I'm going to fish out the bay leaves and as much meat as I can as soon as it cools down a little more, then freeze in cup-sized portions.

Was definitely a lot easier than the usual simmering thing I do with leftover bones, and I actually feel like I made 'stock' instead of just broth.

[Val]

Gently asking: you removed the chicken before actually making the stock and the stock still tastes like chicken? I could see it tasting like roasted vegetables but not chicken...? I'm just trying to understand this method! Thanks!

[heatherkay]

looks thighs were removed, back, bones, and drumsticks stayed

[dietfoodie]

Yep, as heatherkay said, I just reserved the four or five thighs since they looked too golden and smelled too deliciously roasted to sacrifice. The meaty bones (originally from the other half of the thigh value pack), the pound of wing drummettes, and the chicken back all went into the pot. Probably way too much meat (?) for what's supposed to be a 'use the leftovers up' technique, but I have a really small freezer and the chicken pieces were accumulating.

I ended up picking out about a quart bag's worth of chicken meat, and had a salsa jar plus a cup or so of dark brown liquid out of it.

[Val]

ohhhhhhhhhhh, okay... got it now, thanks!

[onefineleo]

Thanks to advice I got from another thread, I put a chicken carcass, and skin, in the crockpot last night, along with a whole onion, roughly chopped, 4 chopped carrots, some celery, peppercorns, a bit of white wine, bay leaf, and water to cover. Ten hours on low. I could barely sleep last night because the house smelled so delicious. No actual chicken to speak of. Mighty chicken smell to drool by.

[onefineleo]

That's a great idea. I'm going to do that tomorrow (yay, I have time to cook all day). Do you have a recipe for stock that you like?

[justagthing]

in regards to the pork, you can also use kosher salt and liquid smoke...great kahlua pork

[Aimee]

The chicken sounds great. Obviously it doesn't brown or crisp, but I imagine it's very tender. Does it fall apart or is it something that you carve?

[bigjimbray]

I cook my pot roast or chuck roast in mine with a envelope of dry onion soup
and a small glass of water. and comes out fantastic.

[aurora50]

This may be a copout, but when you're really tired and really don't want to bother, there's always the frozen crockpot dinners --

[jennykay]

What do you think is the best type of roast to cook in the crockpot?

[bigjimbray]

a serloin tip is the best That I can confess to. very good and tender. used
the soup juices to make gravy. had mashed potatoes, buttered corn.
and a nice green salad. with blackberry cobbler./ice cream

[southerngal]

I lean toward boneless chuck roast. I don't recall ever cooking any roast in my crockpot that didn't turn out great.

[leanneabe]

The chicken ends up very tender. The skin doesn't crisp, but the fact that I don't have to wait an extra two hours after I come home for dinner is worth that trade off (we'll do beer can chicken on the weekends to fix the crispy skin craving). If you pull on the drumsticks and wings, they pull apart from the bone, but I do carve off the breast meat.

[gooseterp]

Yes! I love the crock pot! It is great for full-time working people. The beans should be soaked from the night before in the first two of these recipes. Cook the beans so that there are 6 inches of water above the beans. 1. Great White northern beans cooked with just water in the crock pot. On your stovetop, make a pot of tomato sauce with oregano. (Feel free to toss in sausage) Drain and rinse the beans and toss them back in the crockpot with the sauce for 20 minutes. Top with parsley. 2. Black eyed peas and a quartered onion cook in the crock pot all day. Plate in bowls with lemon, salt, and olive oil 3. Put lentils and water in the crock pot and when you get home use an immersion blender to puree the soup. IN a separate frying pan sautee garlic, cumin, and corriander in olive oil. Add spices and salt to lentils.

[mojoeater]

I just made pork barbeque and it turned out great. Cut up an onion and put it in the bottom of the pot. Rub the meat with brown sugar and your favorite spices. Put about an inch of your favorite bbq sauce in the bottom (I made my own) and let it go. I cooked it on high for four hours, turning once, then deboned and defatted, then cooked on low for 2 more hours.