• Cyburbia is a friendly big tent, where we share our experiences and thoughts about urban planning practice, the built environment, planning adjacent topics, and anything else that comes to mind. No ads, no spam, and it's free. It's easy to join!

Food / drink 🍗 The crock pot/slow-cooker thread

Maister

Maister

Chairman of the bored
Staff member
Moderator
Messages
38,149
Points
78
Slow cookers are great time management tools. You can cut up some meat and vegetables in the morning (or at lunch), turn the slow cooker on and that evening you're welcomed home to the aroma of a delicious soup or stew. For me, the aroma is a big part of the appeal. Weekends are great for slow cookers because you can do the day's work in the morning, spend the rest of the day playing and dinner is already done. And if you fire up the slow cooker on a snowy weekend you can spend the entire day enjoying the great food smells and anticipating how yummy it will be.

Popular things to make in our slow cooker include:
chili (a true staple). This is a dish in its own class where crockery cookery is concerned because the flavors have all day to intermingle. You know how chili is usually better the next day? Well, it starts out that way when you make slow cooked chili.
stew. Irish stew or stew with apple cider is great
bean soup. Lots of variants here, but good ol' navy/great northern bean is a regular favorite
pea soup.
bbq meatballs
Chicken noodle soup
mulled wine or glug (seasonal beverages occasionally served at holiday parties)

Do you own a slow cooker? If so, how often would you say you use it? What are some of you favorite things to prepare?

images
images
images
 
Last edited:
I'd consider getting one but just don't have room. Only so much cabinet space. Still seems more useful than a lot of small appliances.
 
I have a slow cooker and might use it twice a year. It's great for making dressing or stuffing, and sometimes I'll make mac and cheese in it. I'll use it if I want to make chicken broth but won't be around to watch a pot on the stove. I prefer food that's cooked on the stove or in the oven. Same aromas, different methods.
 
We use ours at least once a month. Mrs. P said she would use it more, but doesn't like to get up early to "load it up"
 
My favorite thing these days is to make pulled pork in the crockpot. I start with a 1.5 lb. Hormel pork roast, put it in the pot with a half a bottle of bbq sauce, fill the rest with water, and let it go. If it's early in the morning, I set it on low; if it's lunch time I set it on high. By dinner time the roast just falls apart into pulled pork.
 
Planit said:
We use ours at least once a month. Mrs. P said she would use it more, but doesn't like to get up early to "load it up"
Click to expand...

I've filled the crock the night before and put it in the refrigerator. Has Mrs. P tried it?
 
Planit said:
We use ours at least once a month. Mrs. P said she would use it more, but doesn't like to get up early to "load it up"
Click to expand...
We probably use our slow cooker at least a dozen times a year too. That works out to once a month on average, but in practice we seldom use it during the summer but use it every couple of weeks during the winter months.
 
Wife doesn't use it much. She actually takes the time and enjoys cooking the old fashioned way. Once in a while she'll do a pot roast or use it for making chicken stock. Just one of those moments you realize that, damn I'm well fed and it's all thanks to a great wife.
 
Im gonna make a giant crock of red beans and rice this weekend and will simmer the crap out of the beans.
 
I love using my crock pot and don't use it enough as every time I do use it I think I should be using it more!

I love making stews in it - not just red wine based or beer based, but also curried stews
I do make my baked beans in it when I have a big crowd, but I will say my grandmother's bean pot works the best
and yes, pulled pork in the crock pot is a good standard - less likely to dry out than in an oven
it's good for making bean dips too for parties

When we lived in a kitchen with an Aga, the lower oven was a slow cooker so we actually gave our slow cooker away but when we moved in a house without an Aga, we had to get one...
 
I didn't know what you were talking about when you referenced an Aga so I had to look it up. I've never heard of that in my life. I learned something today!
 
Planit said:
We use ours at least once a month. Mrs. P said she would use it more, but doesn't like to get up early to "load it up"
Click to expand...

kms said:
I've filled the crock the night before and put it in the refrigerator. Has Mrs. P tried it?
Click to expand...

x2, this is how I use mine. I don't use mine much because I live alone. A crock pot makes a heck of a lot of food for one person, even the small one I have. I usually make beef stew with it.
 
I use my crockpot way more in the cold months. During the summer, I don't think I use it at all . . .

Usually do stew or soup that will provide leftovers. Pot roast, my holiday Turkey breast, sometimes a large side dish for a party, those types of things, but mainly pull it out Sunday morning and let it do it's thing all afternoon. Leaves the whole downstairs smelling like food.
 
MD Planner said:
I didn't know what you were talking about when you referenced an Aga so I had to look it up. I've never heard of that in my life. I learned something today!
Click to expand...

We bought that house simply because it had an Aga - it's a northerner thing as in the south, you would die in the summer with it being on - it's amazing though
 
We tend to use our crockpot ever week or two, and is usually to cook a either whole rotisserie-style chicken or chicken breasts during the workweek. The concept of throwing all the ingredients into a bowl to cook while you are at work is fantastic, and certainly nice to have an easy meal to prep during a long week.

However, my favorite style of slowcooking is using the dutchoven. With a 9-80 workweek, some of my Fridays off involve a slow-cooked meal for a shabbat dinner. Alot of red meat-based meals work well: stews, brisket, beef osso-buco, short ribs.
 
I mentioned this in the dinner thread but I'll mentioned it again. I have a electric pressure pot. It's the opposite of the a slow cooker. I too like the idea of crock pot cooking and coming home to something already cooked. I don't like "loading" it in the morning. I found with a pressure cooker that I can cook the same stuff in less time with a electric pressure cooker. My pot has a "slow cook" setting too so I may put my slow cooker in storage or get rid of it all together. I am a big fan of multi-taskers. I have used it a lot in the 2.5-3 weeks that I have had it. More than I ever used my crock pot. Some of it's the fact that its new to me but I think I'll end up using it once or twice a week. I had a stovetop pressure pot but I didn't use it much because I had to baby sit it. I don't have to with the electric pressure pot.
 
dw914er said:
We tend to use our crockpot ever week or two, and is usually to cook a either whole rotisserie-style chicken or chicken breasts during the workweek. The concept of throwing all the ingredients into a bowl to cook while you are at work is fantastic, and certainly nice to have an easy meal to prep during a long week.

However, my favorite style of slowcooking is using the dutchoven. With a 9-80 workweek, some of my Fridays off involve a slow-cooked meal for a shabbat dinner. Alot of red meat-based meals work well: stews, brisket, beef osso-buco, short ribs.
Click to expand...

This is what my wife does. Lots of dutch oven roasts and coq au vin.
 
kms said:
I've filled the crock the night before and put it in the refrigerator. Has Mrs. P tried it?
Click to expand...


No, she's one that tends to be leery of leaving uncooked food out of airtight containers. She's very concerned about freshness of food due to a bout of food poisoning when she was a teen. Expiration dates are almost gospel to her.
 
I have one, but I use my pressure cooker more. Same result and done for the most part in under an hour.

I make a pulled pork that's pretty good. Season up a pork shoulder and brown it on all sides, put it in the slow or pressure cooker with half an onion thin sliced, a couple of smashed garlic cloves, 1 cup BBQ sauce, 1 cup orange juice. When it's done, just pull it apart and serve on some white bread or buns with coleslaw.
 
The house was cold yesterday, so I left hot cocoa to simmer in a small slow cooker. Good idea.
 
We use it 2 or 3 times a month.

We do soups, pot roast, chilli, chicken tacos, pulled pork, italian meatballs, roast chicken, and a bunch more stuff in it.

Thanks,
Mike
 
beef chuck roast with a gravy base will be cooking all day on Saturday...mashed potatoes & sweet peas will complete the meal
 
luckless pedestrian said:
TOFB - my vegan daughter does a chick pea curry in ours that is really good!
Click to expand...

I did a stove top version of chick pea curry about two weeks ago... I wonder if it would be different in a crock pot, because it seemed like a natural fit for slow cooking.

I make a lot of soups/stews in the slow cooker in the winter. My favorite slow-cooker item though is pulled pork.

I've always been a bit spooked by pressure cookers. I don't know why... maybe it is because I view it like placing a bomb on my stove.
 
My wife made a weight watcher's Chicken Tikka Marsala in the crock pot this week... it was fabulous.
 
Planit said:
beef chuck roast with a gravy base will be cooking all day on Saturday...mashed potatoes & sweet peas will complete the meal
Click to expand...

Hey, us too! Pot roast in the crock pot, plus mashed potatoes, gravy, rolls, asparagus, and broccoli. And salmon for my vegetarian sister.
 
I am going to bump this because I want to get more ideas as fall is not too far off and we now find ourselves eating at home more often.

What are your favorite Crock Pot recipes? I am especially looking for things that are not soup related.
 
michaelskis said:
I am going to bump this because I want to get more ideas as fall is not too far off and we now find ourselves eating at home more often.

What are your favorite Crock Pot recipes? I am especially looking for things that are not soup related.
Click to expand...
I suggested this past weekend (it was gray and rainy for a while) making some chili and was told off big time. DON'T YOU KNOW SUMMER IS STILL GOING ON? ARE YOU IN SOME KIND OF HURRY TO END SUMMER?

Now apart from chili, what sounds really good is pulled pork. Here's a slow cooker recipe:
www.allrecipes.com

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

This pulled pork recipe braises pork shoulder in a tangy barbeque sauce in the slow cooker until fall-apart tender. Delicious served in toasted buns.
www.allrecipes.com www.allrecipes.com
 
Chicken noodles
1-1/2 lb boneless, skinless chicken breast
Two cans Cream of Chicken soup
One stick butter
One 32 oz Chicken broth
One bag egg noodles frozen
Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker
Add Cream of chicken, butter, and broth
Cook on high for 6 hours
Shred chicken with fork
Add frozen noodles and stir every 30 minutes for 2 hours

Serves (generously) eight
 
Maister said:
I suggested this past weekend (it was gray and rainy for a while) making some chili and was told off big time. DON'T YOU KNOW SUMMER IS STILL GOING ON? ARE YOU IN SOME KIND OF HURRY TO END SUMMER?
Click to expand...

We restocked some varieties of ground meats over the past weekend...Mrs. Bubba referenced that last night and noted that she was ready to make some chili in maybe a couple of months from now.
 
I threw together some frozen stuff and a sauce into the crockpot last week.

-1.5lb pork roast
-1 bag frozen broccoli florets
-1 prepackaged (I think it was Campbell's) Creamy Garlic sauce (was supposed to be for the oven)

Put the broccoli on the bottom. Half the sauce, then the roast, then the remainder of the sauce. Low heat for about 2 hours. Stir, make sure sauce covers the meat and veggies, cook another 4 hours (maybe stir one more time). I made a large pot of pasta (but rice or couscous would work too). Had leftovers which were just as tasty!
*if your family/spouse will eat it, cauliflower would make a good substitute. I would have also added carrots but didn't have any.
**you need 2 sauce packages if you add a lot more stuff. And be prepared for a thinner sauce, since the veggies were frozen

Pork was tender enough to do as pulled pork, but I did messy slices and served the veggies as a sauce over the pasta. The resulting review from spouse: Damn that was f'ing good!
 
I make beef and peperoncini sandwiches pretty often in the fall. Literally FOUR ingredients.

Throw about two pounds of chuck roast in a crockpot with a 16 oz. jar of peperoncinis (jarred banana peppers will also work) on low for however long. When they're done, you can pull the fat off the beef and then shred the beef and mix it all together.

Toast some rolls and add slices of mozzarella or provolone cheese and set under the broiler until the cheese is melty. Then just top them off with the beef mixture.

You can also do baked potatoes in the crockpot and they always turn out much better than if I do them in the oven. Just prep the potatoes like you would to stick them in the oven (wash, add oil and salt to the outside, poke holes, wrap in foil), but pile them in the crockpot in the morning and let them cook on low all day so they're ready when you get home. If you have two crockpots, make chili in one, potatoes in the other, and you're good to go!
 
gtpeach said:
You can also do baked potatoes in the crockpot and they always turn out much better than if I do them in the oven. Just prep the potatoes like you would to stick them in the oven (wash, add oil and salt to the outside, poke holes, wrap in foil), but pile them in the crockpot in the morning and let them cook on low all day so they're ready when you get home. If you have two crockpots, make chili in one, potatoes in the other, and you're good to go!
Click to expand...
I gotta try this.
 
Maister said:
Now apart from chili, what sounds really good is pulled pork. Here's a slow cooker recipe:
www.allrecipes.com

Slow Cooker Texas Pulled Pork

This pulled pork recipe braises pork shoulder in a tangy barbeque sauce in the slow cooker until fall-apart tender. Delicious served in toasted buns.
www.allrecipes.com www.allrecipes.com
Click to expand...

We do a lot of pulled pork, but we have also gotten into doing brisket in the crockpot as well.
 
I do baked potatoes in the microwave. After prepping, I have a nifty potato bag (received as part of a Secret Santa package!) that keeps the potato, seasonings, and damp towel all together, and helps with the steaming aspect. Depending on the size of the potatoes, 16-20 minutes total, turning over once.

This is for 2 potatoes. If you're doing more, I recommend more time.
 
I made these ribs in the slow cooker. I was skeptical but they were fantastic. The only change I made was using half sweet and half smoked paprika.

leitesculinaria.com

Slow Cooker Ribs

Feed a crowd and leave your oven free with these lip-smacking slow cooker ribs.
leitesculinaria.com leitesculinaria.com
 
luckless pedestrian said:
I don't use my slow cooker often but when I do, I always wonder why I don't use it more
Click to expand...
I love walking into the house when it's been cooking all day. You get hit with a wall of aroma...chili....stews...hearty soups. It always smells so appetizing. I also like how most of the work is up front; you chop up the veggies, add the seasonings and fluids, and then leave it alone for the next 6-8 hours - it's ready to serve when it's dinner time. You're done. Nothing more to do beyond setting the table.
 
Maister said:
I love walking into the house when it's been cooking all day. You get hit with a wall of aroma...chili....stews...hearty soups. It always smells so appetizing. I also like how most of the work is up front; you chop up the veggies, add the seasonings and fluids, leave it alone for the next 6-8 hours and it's ready to serve when it's dinner time. Nothing more to do beyond setting the table.
Click to expand...

yes, exactly!

I have taken to making overnight peasant bread which has a similar feel to it, you set it up to rise before bed and you wake up and bake it and you have this amazing loaf
 
We made pot roast in our instapot yesterday. It was awesome although I think I overcooked the carrots a little bit.

We use it a couple times a week. On Tuesdays, I toss chicken in to make chicken tacos. We also use it for Chili, pulled pork BBQ (after it smokes for several hours), and stew. Once a year I get to make corned beef and cabbage in it.
 
michaelskis said:
We made pot roast in our instapot yesterday. It was awesome although I think I overcooked the carrots a little bit.

We use it a couple times a week. On Tuesdays, I toss chicken in to make chicken tacos. We also use it for Chili, pulled pork BBQ (after it smokes for several hours), and stew. Once a year I get to make corned beef and cabbage in it.
Click to expand...
We do the same and make corned beef and cabbage in it every St. Patrick's Day. Another thing it tends to get used annually for is bbq meatballs at the annual Christmas Eve party. We actually have two slow cookers. One is an original from the 1970s and a more modern one (circa early 2000's). Having two is handy because we sometimes make pea soup and bean soup at the same time - usually after having a picnic ham the day prior.

This one:
1761570761097.png


and this one:
1761570816684.png
 
I use a baby crock pot from Goodwill to hot wax my bike chains. :cool:

Definitely chili and pulled pork in the "food grade" one. Couple times a year.
 
Back
Top