Crockpot Experiments
Aug. 10th, 2017 10:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
chuckroI had a bit of a rough week last week*, so I bought myself a cheap slow cooker. I've never had one before, though I've done a bunch of the higher-heat recipes in my cast iron dutch oven. B's mom was talking up making stock in one, and that idea intrigued me.
So, the first thing I tried was putting the carcasses of two roasted chickens in on low overnight (~10 hours). The result was a very rich broth that wasn't terribly complex. I think it worked as proof of concept, but next time I need to throw a few carrots, celery stalks and onions in with the chicken.
I tried a slow-cooker bread with a very standard part-wheat recipe. It cooked (on parchment paper, which made life easy) for about 3 hours on high, after doing the first rise by hand. The result was a dense, soft bread with very little real crust. I'm glad I tried it, but it's more work for no quality improvement versus just using the bread machine. (As opposed to versus baking in the cast iron, which produces a much better boule.)
Yesterday, I put in a pot roast at 6:30am before I left for workâlondon broil, red wine, beef stock, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, carrots, onions, celery and garlic. It cooked on low for 12 hours and the meat was totally falling apart at the end of it. The sauce didn't reduce at all in that time, though, as I'm used to it doing when I make this recipe in other ways. It's convenient for a weeknight, but for a showstopper dinner I need to use the cast iron so I can sear the meat, brown the veggies, and reduce the sauce.
I definitely want to try pulled pork, I'm tempted to try a chili, and the idea of slow-cooker cake has been brought to my attention. I have yet to hit on anything that I would argue was better than my existing method, but I think there's a convenience factor to be gained, here.
* I had fights with my mother and sister; several longtime coworkers who I rather liked got fired very abruptly; we were briefly afraid ARR had a UTI (he didn't, phew); I have cavities that need filling; and there's another surprise insane step in the continue saga of my house's elevation certificate.
So, the first thing I tried was putting the carcasses of two roasted chickens in on low overnight (~10 hours). The result was a very rich broth that wasn't terribly complex. I think it worked as proof of concept, but next time I need to throw a few carrots, celery stalks and onions in with the chicken.
I tried a slow-cooker bread with a very standard part-wheat recipe. It cooked (on parchment paper, which made life easy) for about 3 hours on high, after doing the first rise by hand. The result was a dense, soft bread with very little real crust. I'm glad I tried it, but it's more work for no quality improvement versus just using the bread machine. (As opposed to versus baking in the cast iron, which produces a much better boule.)
Yesterday, I put in a pot roast at 6:30am before I left for workâlondon broil, red wine, beef stock, tomato paste, bay leaves, thyme, carrots, onions, celery and garlic. It cooked on low for 12 hours and the meat was totally falling apart at the end of it. The sauce didn't reduce at all in that time, though, as I'm used to it doing when I make this recipe in other ways. It's convenient for a weeknight, but for a showstopper dinner I need to use the cast iron so I can sear the meat, brown the veggies, and reduce the sauce.
I definitely want to try pulled pork, I'm tempted to try a chili, and the idea of slow-cooker cake has been brought to my attention. I have yet to hit on anything that I would argue was better than my existing method, but I think there's a convenience factor to be gained, here.
* I had fights with my mother and sister; several longtime coworkers who I rather liked got fired very abruptly; we were briefly afraid ARR had a UTI (he didn't, phew); I have cavities that need filling; and there's another surprise insane step in the continue saga of my house's elevation certificate.
