Slow cookers?

[queens of the stone age]

InstantPot has a slow-cooker function and uses a stainless-steel insert.

And can do all the other nonsense InstantPots can do (I wouldn't know, I've only ever used mine as a slow cooker and poor-man's autoclave).

another vouch for instantpot, it’s a great slow cooker and a great pressure cooker (if you don’t already own a rice cooker). get a nicely sized one and it can do just about anything you ever need it to. used to make soup or stew in mine during college, go to a couple classes, and come home to a hot and fresh meal. reliable as long as you don’t fuck up the temp/cook time/pressure. stainless steel removable inside, and it usually comes with stainless steel accessories too

 

[JohnnyG]

1. Put a shoulder roast in the slow cooker
2. Dump a can of Cream of Mushroom soup on top
3. Turn on Low for 4-6 hours.

Please season (and sear, if beef) your roasts you monster. Salt/pepper/garlic/onion on all sides...if you're worried about too much sodium from the soup you can skip salt on the roast, but better is to salt the roast and go with low-sodium soup. And searing beef on all sides is worth the extra few minutes of prep.

Yes, it has a Teflon coating in the cooking bowl (not to mention it's not available on Amazon.co.uk), but you're using liners anyway, right? Right???

I'm not as militant about this stuff as some, but there's really no need to cook your food in a plastic bag. Ceramic slow cookers are very easy to clean, because the temp is low and everything stays wet. Same deal with stainless instant pot bowls.

 

[Harvey Danger]

Please season (and sear, if beef) your roasts you monster. Salt/pepper/garlic/onion on all sides

Well yeah, "season your meat" is one of those things you're supposed to know already. It's like saying "wash the dirt off your vegetables", it just adds redundant lines at the top of thousands of recipes.

Like you point out, it's dependent on what your preference is, how much salt is in the soup/sauce, etc. For beef I usually go with coarse salt rubbed in so it penetrates better, but if you can't get low sodium soup/sauce then you might have to skip. You can also poke a fork in the meat to let that flavor get deeper in during cooking.

However, though I sear my beef for other uses, I find it doesn't do much in a slow cooker recipe. I don't know why, it adds flavor in almost every other context, including soups and stews. But something about slow cookers doesn't seem to add much benefit. That step is in my "skip if lazy" category here.

 

[JohnnyG]

though I sear my beef for other uses, I find it doesn't do much in a slow cooker recipe

I usually do the brown --> deglaze with liquid --> scrape browned bits off pan to start the sauce thing, but I'd be lying if I said I could tell the difference after a multi-hour slow cook...more one of those things you take on faith.

But I do find that if you're making shredded beef, then giving the meat a nice steak-level sear before the slow/pressure cook can give it more texture, so it's not universally soft like pulled pork. I usually chop the roast into 3-4" chunks and do half at a time.

 

[Harvey Danger]

But I do find that if you're making shredded beef, then giving the meat a nice steak-level sear before the slow/pressure cook can give it more texture, so it's not universally soft like pulled pork. I usually chop the roast into 3-4" chunks and do half at a time.

That's interesting, I've never actually done shredded beef in the pot, just pulled pork (another stupidly easy recipe). I can definitely see the sear making a difference there.

 

[JuanLee]

Recipe:

Vegetable curry

Courgette
Aubergine
Tomatoes (cans work)
Squash , or tatties
Cauliflower
Carrots
Couple of bell peppers
Spring onions
Couple cans chickpeas
Spinach (frozen works and is cheap)
Curry paste (if UK based suggest Mr Vikki's)

Cook for 8 hours

Salt to taste.

 

[Doggo]

Amazing that this thread just started to exist yesterday, as I just bought a slow cooker* myself. In reality, it’s just a medium or so cast iron pot that I can throw into my you beaut toaster oven that does fucking everything. Among its many cooking modes, and there are *many* of them, it’ll slow cook.

Why didn’t I get get a proper one? Well I haven’t got the space for one, my kitchen is tiny and I have to be picky about what stays and what goes. Only stuff I actually use in my kitchen stays in my kitchen. In saying that, I love standalone slow cookers, but I reckon this will do the job alright.

I’ve just put my first meal in the oven maybe half an hour ago, the place smells amazing, but I’m hungry so I kinda hate it. I still have to wait over 3 hours *and* cook some mashed potatoes, but at least that can be a later problem.

Here’s what I’m cooking up. Beef and red wine casserole.

Also apologies if the photos are huge; I’m on my phone.

Edit: I also wouldn’t really recommend stainless steel, personally. I love stainless, my frypan is stainless, but it is harder to clean (though there’s a powder you can get, sulfamic acid. It’s like Brasso, I guess) that helps to clean stainless. I have a bottle of this stuff and it works great. Clean out as much as you can, put some of this on paper towel, wet it under the tap, and go to town. Works really well.

I’m with you on the no Teflon, at least not the cheap stuff. My mum’s $750 Scanpan set - that’s good shit, I happily used it when I still lived at home. The coating is as hard as a wedding prick, so I’ve got no worries using it.

As for what I recommend? Most slow cookers come with ceramic pots, which would be ideal for you. Failing that, and if your oven supports it, go the route I took. My pot is cast iron (as mentioned previously) and has a thick enamel coating. I don’t think you’ll have any problems with these. You don’t need to season either of them, for what it’s worth. Just dump and cook.

I don’t know how easy it is gonna be to clean this thing, considering I’m only using it for the first time right now. I will edit this post when I’m done and let you know how that goes.

 

[Squanto Airi]

I got this one as a gift. It"s quite nice, I'll use it for veggie soups and roasts.

An easy recipe too is 3-4 chicken breasts, some salsa (about 16 oz), cumin, oregano, garlic, and chicken broth (1/2 cup). Let that cook for about 4 hrs on slow. Take the breasts out, shred them, and return to the pot.

 

[Otterly]

I don’t know how easy it is gonna be to clean this thing, considering I’m only using it for the first time right now.

It’s easy to clean. Just soak it. Don’t scrub with anything harsh, there’s guides online I’m sure Let it cool before you put any sort of cold liquid it it though, you can temperature shock the lining. I have this exact thing, if it’s a le creuset. I use it a lot and it’s great (you can even do bread in them) and they last forever if you look after them.)
But I do want something I can use without the oven being on - so I can leave the house.
Thanks for all the suggestions!
For whoever said liners - no they’re also either plastics or pfas so a no no. Cheap Chinese brand enamel sometimes has lead or cadmium in so I’m happy to spend a bit more and get a decent one.

Maybe this can be the generic slow cooker recipe thread??

 

[General Zigger]

I own a Ninja brand "Foodi" Pressure Cooker / Slow Cooker. I also similarly don't trust non-stick pots, but you can get a stainless steel pot on Amazon for less than 20$ to replace the nonstick pot it comes with. I have never been happier with a kitchen device before. The slow cooker functionality works great, no complaints. The pressure cooker functionality was a surprise to me, as no one my age seems to know what a pressure cooker is, but I can make a whole pulled pork shoulder in about an hour which is fantastic. The sear function makes it easy to make beef stews as I can just brown the meat in the same pot it slow cooks in. The air fryer part works great too. It has basically replaced all kitchen appliances for me which is fantastic as I live in a dump where the kitchen is just a counter and a sink.

@Otterly since you are in the UK this is a link to the UK version. https://ninjakitchen.co.uk/product/ninja-foodi-11-in-1-smartlid-multi-cooker-6l-ol550uk-zidOL550UK
It seems you English get the non-cucked version which is an upgrade over the US version (We have two lids we have to swap between for pressure cooking vs. non-pressure cooking "for safety"). If you end up going with this I can share a link to the Amazon posting for the stainless steel pot, but I don't know how useful that would be since I am in the US. I will warn you though that if you use the pressure cooker functionality do not let people unsupervised mess with it, it seriously builds up some pressure/steam behind it.

It may be overkill compared to just a slow cooker that is a fifth of the price, so this may not fit the bill for what people are looking for in a slow cooker. If you just want a slow cooker I can highly recommend the "Crockpot" brand. Hopefully its the same quality as it is in the US. Here you can get a quality ceramic pot slow cooker from them for about $40 to $60 USD. It looks like they go for about the same cost in English money, so I bet its the same models we get here across the Atlantic.

Maybe this can be the generic slow cooker recipe thread??

I originally came to this thread hoping that is what I would find, so I hope others share their recipes too. I guess I'll start with one of mine:

General Zigger's Broke Student Chili:
Makes about a weeks worth of chili for about $20-$40 depending on beef prices.
Ingredients:

• 2.5 to 3 Pounds of 80% lean beef chuck (Or substitute with ground turkey, or get higher lean % beef if you are feeling fancy).
• 2 15 Ounce cans of diced tomatoes, do not drain liquid.
• 1 15 Ounce can of tomato sauce.
• 1 cup of beef broth, or substitute with 1 can of lager, or substitute with water if you are truly beyond financially ruined.
• 2 15 Ounce cans of beans. I swap between black beans, kidney beans, or a mix of the two. Make sure to wash your beans, we don't want the canned bean juice.
  • I don't bother with the "For chili" beans because they seem to add very little but cost significantly more than just plain beans.
• 3 Cloves of garlic - minced.
• 1 white onion - diced.
• 1 packet of chili seasoning.
  • Or if you have a real spice rack: 2 Tbsp Chili Powder, 1 Tbsp Cumin powder, 1 tsp paprika, 1/4 tsp cayenne powder, 1 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper

Directions:

1. Brown meat, diced onion, and garlic with some oil or butter or whatever you want.
2. Put browned meat and onions in slow cooker pot, add all canned ingredients, stir in seasoning.
3. Put on low for 8 hours for high for four hours.

Additions (Things to add to make it different, or add calories without breaking the bank):

• Jalapeno peppers
• 1 can of pumpkin (unsweetened don't make my mistake, the only ingredient should be pumpkin puree)
• Diced bell pepper

I like making mine with cottage cheese to add after its done cooking.

I have many other slow cooker recipes I can share as well, but I'll stop here because this post is already long.

 

[Evan Kor]

I’m thinking of getting a slow cooker.

Just get the standard Walmart one. Its ceramic, reliable, and cheap. Been using one for years and have had no problems.

 

[XYZpdq Jr.]

I don’t know how easy it is gonna be to clean this thing,

we have a couple like that from la cruset, my wife's used them for deep frying and normal pan fry with heavy curryish seasonings, so we've gunked them up pretty hard
usually at worst it's just rinsing the basic crap off and run it through the dishwasher a couple of times

but yeah if you've literally never used just a basic crockpot they're pretty simple to work with
instapots are good but we have both an instapot and a crockpot, they each work well in their own ways

those liner bags are sorta handy but I never bothered to rebuy them unless the wife specifically requests them, it's not THAT hard to scrub the crock pot a bit with a sponge and all that stuff

 

[Champion of Khorne]

I love my slow cooker. Through a bolognaise or a curry in there, bugger off the pub, come back with your mates later and every gets some good grub.

I’ve had the Pressure King Pro for longer can I remember and would recommend it to anyone. I use the slow cooker function 99% of the time.

I used to use the pressure cooker function for rice, but found it inconsistent and ended up getting a rice cooker (the Yum Asia ones cook rice perfectly and can keep it warm for hours whilst you’re out without ruining the rice.)

 

[sodaboard]

i got an instant pot years ago after my sister ordered one for my mom, macy's fucked up and dropped off two for some reason so i got the other one. i've used this chili recipe for years now and it's easily one of the best things you can make with it, feeds me for 3-4 days and it's delicious.

Spoiler: the best chili you will ever eat in your life + my notes

EQUIPMENT

• Instant Pot Pressure Cooker
• Medium Bowl
• Wooden Spatula

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1⁄2 cups dried pinto beans (red beans provide extra flavor IMO)
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil (use EVOO instead, seed oils bad)
• 1 1⁄2 lbs ground beef (2⁄3kg) (sometimes I'll use other ground meats like lamb, I'll also cut up some round steak and throw it in with the ground meat since the cook time is long enough to soften it and it adds some chunkiness/texture)
• 2 cups onion chopped
• 1 cup bell pepper chopped
• 2 tablespoon garlic minced (I like to go heavy on the garlic and just throw in a few spoonfuls without measuring)
• 3 tablespoon Mexican chili powder (if you can get extra high-quality chili powder make sure to use it and LOTS of it, none of the sawdust Great Value brand crap, ask your local Miguel where he gets his)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano (same as above, get the good shit if you can)
• 2 teaspoon cumin powder
• 2 teaspoon cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
• 1⁄2 teaspoon black pepper powder
• 1⁄4 teaspoon cayenne pepper or to taste (getting high-quality cayenne is really hard for some reason, I love Sauer's but haven't found any in years. McCormick is OK but try your local brands first)
• 4 cups beef broth
• 14.5 oz diced tomatoes (1 can or 411 grams) or 2 cups fresh tomatoes, chopped
• 1⁄4 cup masa harina e.g. Bob's Red Mill brand (I prefer Maseca since it comes in a giant bag so you can make a ton of tortillas out of them later)
• Your choice of toppings (sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onions, shallots or green onions, sliced jalapenos, hot sauce, diced avocado, or Fritos chips) (I usually just do sour cream, green onions and cheddar. Since my local Mart™ doesn't have a very good cheese section I go with Old Croc Extra Sharp, you can probably get better selections than I can)

INSTRUCTIONS
TO PRE-SOAK PINTO BEANS IN THE TRADITIONAL WAY IN A BOWL: (I never use this method lmao)

1. Rinse pinto beans and drain.
2. Place beans in a medium bowl and add enough water to be 1 inch above the level of the beans.
3. Let bowl sit on countertop for 4 to 8 hours.
4. Drain and set aside.
   

TO DO A QUICK PRE-SOAK OF PINTO BEANS IN INSTANT POT: (cooking with cheats/trainers)

1. Rinse pinto beans and drain.
2. Add pinto beans to inner pot of Instant Pot and pour in enough water to be 1 inch above the level of the beans.
3. Close the lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 5 minutes.
4. Do a Natural Pressure Release (NPR), about 12 minutes.
5. Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot; drain the beans and set aside.

INSTANT POT CHILI INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Select Saute mode.
2. Once the Instant Pot is hot, add oil to inner pot.
3. Add ground beef to inner pot. (also add the round steak + other large cuts here)
4. Stir with a wooden spatula to break up the meat into smaller pieces and saute until meat is browned, about 3 minutes. (make sure the larger cuts are also brown on all sides)
5. Stir in onions and saute until soft, about 2 minutes.
6. Stir in bell peppers and garlic.
7. Add chili powder, dried oregano, cumin powder, cocoa powder, salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.
8. Stir in beef broth, tomatoes and pre-soaked pinto beans (use either countertop or Instant Pot quick pre-soak method from above).
9. Close Instant Pot lid and pressure cook on High Pressure for 20 minutes.
10. Do a Natural Pressure Release (NPR), about 15 to 18 minutes.
11. Press Cancel and open the Instant Pot.
12. Select Saute mode
13. Stir in masa harina. (if you want it to be extra thicc you can add another 1/4 cup as well)
14. Cook until chili has thickened, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
15. Press 'Cancel'.
16. Allow the Instant Pot Chili to rest for 5 more minutes before serving, it will thicken some more.
17. Ladle chili into serving bowls and serve with your choice of toppings: sour cream, shredded cheddar cheese, chopped red onions, shallots or green onions, sliced jalapenos, hot sauce, diced avocado, or Fritos chips

NOTES

• Prep time does not include steps that are already accounted for in the ingredient list, e.g. chopped onions, minced garlic, cut vegetables, etc.
• If you choose not to thicken the chili with masa harina, your chili will be soupy. Please keep that in mind before you omit the ingredient.
• The chili powder called for in this dish is Mexican chili powder which is a mixture of spices including cayenne and garlic. Don't use ground chili pepper!
• After 15 minutes, if you wish to, you can release the remaining pressure by moving the pressure release handle to venting position.

 

[talk talk talk]

I heartily recommend buying these at thrift stores or garage sales. They are incredibly simple devices which either work or don't work. They last for decades.

 

[Squanto Airi]

Slow Cookers?

Yeah I believe the disabled still deserve work, even if it is as chaotic as the kitchen.

 

[honse]

I have both an instant pot and a slow cooker. I love them both, highly recommend. I actually used my instant pot for tonight's dinner which was a chicken and rice dish.

 

[sodaboard]

if you can get a smol slow cooker/crockpot those work great for dips/sauces and can be easily transported as well. idk if crockpot brand still makes them anymore so you'll mostly be reliant on chinkshit that may or may not explode one day.