I have had a number of slow cookers over the years…I find
that I don’t use them much for dinner preparation…but I do like them for things
I would braise all day anyway…like tough roasts, caramelizing onions, and
cooking stock. I have had some kind of
slow cooker ever since Rival brought out the Crock Pot in the 70’s. Myrna is not a slow cooker fan…she thinks it
makes chicken stringy for instance, and I don’t cook chicken in mine either.
My main slow cooker is now a Cuisinart Multi-cooker…It
browns and then slow cooks…I love the fact that I don’t have to dirty a
separate pan for browning so I use this one more than my Crock Pot brand
ones. The non-stick finish has some
complaints in online reviews…so far mine is holding up. It also is programable...very nice.
Some older crockpots did not reach a safe cooking time fast
enough…my older red oval Crock Pot that I liked was one of those models so I
discarded it…it was pretty old anyway.
Since then I have seen the suggestion of preheating the pot so it would
come up to temp fast enough…that might have worked.
I also have a newer crockpot that literally boiled my
stock…not what I consider slow cooking, and a small one I purchased very cheaply at a pre-Christmas sale last year.
If my current model gives out, I will have to search for a
more expensive one that also browns, or perhaps go back to stockpots and
roasters in the oven, the way Grandma cooked.
Some recipes to get your started, along with a few more
coming up later in the week.
I still am using the Farberware Country-Crocker-Cooker that my now husband gave me for Christmas when we were dating in the 70's. I was still living at home, not even out on my own yet. That is when I learned that if I said I liked something, I might end up with it. He got me a Coleman camp stove one year, too, and I still have it, as well. The crock pot is a bucket shape with a bail handle to carry it with a vegetable motif on the front and a heavy duty lift out crock. I also have a couple of Westbend crockpots - they are that rectangular style that could be set on a burner to brown meat before adding other ingredients. And like you, I also bought a small one on sale at Christmas a couple of years ago. I use it mainly for things like cooking dry beans or a few beets, etc.
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