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Crock Pot advice

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Zeze said:
Wow, thanks for the sensible response.

I half expected 'CROCKPOT IS GOOD NOOB' reaction. Good to know I"m not really missing anything that a pot + slow heat + equal hours of cooking can't already solve.
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no its just more convenent really. form some things i woudl say its easier as i get less moisture loss using it vs the stove for long cooking items
 
Zeze said:
Wow, thanks for the sensible response.

I half expected 'CROCKPOT IS GOOD NOOB' reaction. Good to know I"m not really missing anything that a pot + slow heat + equal hours of cooking can't already solve.
Click to expand...

I rarely use mine except in winter. I love chili and make it a lot. I also like pot roast. Both of which are great in the crock pot. Sure you can cook them on the stove but then you have to keep your eye on things.

With a crock pot you throw everything in there, turn it on low, then go to work. When you come home its done. You really can't (or shouldn't) leave your stove on while you are at work.
 
rudeguy said:
I rarely use mine except in winter. I love chili and make it a lot. I also like pot roast. Both of which are great in the crock pot. Sure you can cook them on the stove but then you have to keep your eye on things.

With a crock pot you throw everything in there, turn it on low, then go to work. When you come home its done. You really can't (or shouldn't) leave your stove on while you are at work.
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Ah I see. Thanks.

Crockpot is still interesting- especially the huge convenience factor (coming from work).

How does crockpot know when to turn off and burn everything?
 
I guess it depends on the pot involved, but I'd also assume that a good crockpot would provide a more consistent and even heat than a stove burner.

Zeze said:
How does crockpot know when to turn off and burn everything?
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mine's got a timer... you set it based on the recipe (eg: "low" for 8 hours), and once the timer is reached, it kicks down to a "warm" setting where it should keep the food hot but not significantly cook it further (and eventually -- I think it's 8 hours on warm -- the crock pot will eventually turn itself off for safety reasons if it's not turned off manually before then).

I've never used it, but my crock pot also has a temperature probe so that I could stick the thermometer in a piece of meat and the crock pot would kick down into warm as soon as it reaches whatever temperature I tell it to look for.
 
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Zeze said:
Ah I see. Thanks.

Crockpot is still interesting- especially the huge convenience factor (coming from work).

How does crockpot know when to turn off and burn everything?
Click to expand...

If you get an old one, with a true low, you hardly have to worry about it.

But even with the hottest crockpots, on low you'd still have to be gone a looong time for all your liquid to boil off & start burning.
 
Anubis said:
depends on the unit but most have times today

mine can be programmed on when to auto on and off and timers and whatnot
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I have a hand-me-down from my folks. New crockpots get way too hot and ruin shit imo. I want mine about 1 degree warmer than botulism.
 
yeah some of the better ones have a timer. Just plan ahead. you can toss stuff frozen into the pot and it works pretty well.

A good party snack is meatballs and a jar of grape jelly and a jar of chili sauce.
 
rudeguy said:
mine does

You can set it for 4 or 8 hours. If its on high or med, you can have it go to low after so many hours.

Its great!
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yeah. I had a cheap one but we got to useing it enough i could justify getting a fancy one.

i can se the temp and time. it will go from high to med, then to "keep warm" or just turn off.

though i think its a little large. it's a 6 qt one. fucker is huge.

I want to get 1 and 2 qt one also.
 
We used to have chili cook offs in the IT department at one of my old jobs. Everyone would bring a crock pot of chili in, various heats. Many of the crock pots are designed well for travel these days. For those competitions, I bought one with an insulated jacket and the crock is actually an insert that can be removed from the base (heating element) so you can easily clean it in a sink without worrying about damaging the controls. So much better than the old ones.

My wife makes soup beans every few months in ours. Basically, she just takes pinto beans or cranberry beans (a little larger than pintos) and soaks them overnight. Then gives them a quick boil after rinsing them....then pours them into the crockpot to cook on low for 4 hours with a stick of unsalted butter. Then she adds a little salt for flavor. (not much)

If I were in charge, I'd totally add bacon to that. 😛
 
Zeze said:
Wow, thanks for the sensible response.

I half expected 'CROCKPOT IS GOOD NOOB' reaction. Good to know I"m not really missing anything that a pot + slow heat + equal hours of cooking can't already solve.
Click to expand...

That, but also leaving stuff cooking for a long time can let the flavor really sink in. The pulled chicken recipe I posted is amazing! Especially after you cook it and let it sit in the fridge - good up to a week, and the flavor gets better every day!
 
Scarpozzi said:
We used to have chili cook offs in the IT department at one of my old jobs. Everyone would bring a crock pot of chili in, various heats. Many of the crock pots are designed well for travel these days. For those competitions, I bought one with an insulated jacket and the crock is actually an insert that can be removed from the base (heating element) so you can easily clean it in a sink without worrying about damaging the controls. So much better than the old ones.

My wife makes soup beans every few months in ours. Basically, she just takes pinto beans or cranberry beans (a little larger than pintos) and soaks them overnight. Then gives them a quick boil after rinsing them....then pours them into the crockpot to cook on low for 4 hours with a stick of unsalted butter. Then she adds a little salt for flavor. (not much)

If I were in charge, I'd totally add bacon to that. 😛
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Not only do a lot of the new ones have locking handles for travel, but you can also buy disposable liner bags - basically trash bags for the food, so you don't have to clean out the crockpot bowl ever:

http://www.amazon.com/Reynolds-Metal.../dp/B00578EKRY
 
W.C. Nimoy said:
If you get an old one, with a true low, you hardly have to worry about it.

But even with the hottest crockpots, on low you'd still have to be gone a looong time for all your liquid to boil off & start burning.
Click to expand...

I've noticed that. I still have a hand-me-down from my mom with a manual dial, it works great! I also have a newer one with a digital dial, but yeah, the temperatures are not the same for heating on high & low. So if I need a timer thing done, I use that, otherwise I just use the manual dial one. I would like a mix between the two though, or maybe a high/medium/low type of deal. I dunno. I have a Tiger fuzzy-logic rice cooker and it does everything perfectly, not sure if I just need a different crockpot model or what.
 
Kaido said:
I've noticed that. I still have a hand-me-down from my mom with a manual dial, it works great! I also have a newer one with a digital dial, but yeah, the temperatures are not the same for heating on high & low. So if I need a timer thing done, I use that, otherwise I just use the manual dial one. I would like a mix between the two though, or maybe a high/medium/low type of deal. I dunno. I have a Tiger fuzzy-logic rice cooker and it does everything perfectly, not sure if I just need a different crockpot model or what.
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Since the timing is not super critical on crock pot cooking anyway (increments of 1/2 hours etc.), you could use an outlet timer with your old hand-me-down pot that has a true low. Best of both worlds.
 
Zeze said:
I love an idea of crockpot. Even the word sounds delicious.

HOWEVER,

I'm not a fan of slow cooked food. Most of the time, they're tough, chewy, 'shreddy' meat that I don't care for (similar to pulled pork).

I'd rather eat something that's high heat and tender inside.

I love making beef stew. But even then, I sear the meat on a skillet separately and add them almost last = super tender and juicy + all the wonderful slow-cooked veggies & potatoes.

But I AM keeping an open mind. Maybe there's a decent reason for crockpot? I do love soup.
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the great thing about crockpots is that they are the laziest way to cook.

also, after 9 to 10 hours on low the beef in beef stew is so tender it almost falls apart.

My crockpot actually has a real low setting @ 175 - 180F.

I make a mean baked beans in my crockpot.

PRO TIP: if making stew or soup - don't forget to add celery and/or crimini mushrooms for awesome flavour.
 
Zeze said:
I'm not a fan of slow cooked food. Most of the time, they're tough, chewy, 'shreddy' meat that I don't care for (similar to pulled pork).
Click to expand...

If you are getting pulled pork which is tough and chewy you have badly cooked pulled pork. Slow cooked food is tender when cooked properly. The only time it is tough is when it is not cooked properly (cooked too short or too high temp too long usually).
 
Kaido said:
Not only do a lot of the new ones have locking handles for travel, but you can also buy disposable liner bags - basically trash bags for the food, so you don't have to clean out the crockpot bowl ever:

http://www.amazon.com/Reynolds-Metal.../dp/B00578EKRY
Click to expand...

I don't typically cook in anything plastic... I don't mind letting it soak for a few minutes and cleaning a crock pot. Not a big deal....even with things that most people think are messy.
 
Scarpozzi said:
I don't typically cook in anything plastic... I don't mind letting it soak for a few minutes and cleaning a crock pot. Not a big deal....even with things that most people think are messy.
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Crock pots are easy as crap to clean. if it's something really mess i let it soak overnight then it takes me 5 min in the day to clean it (or throw it in the dish washer).
 
waggy said:
Crock pots are easy as crap to clean. if it's something really mess i let it soak overnight then it takes me 5 min in the day to clean it (or throw it in the dish washer).
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yea...even if you used one of those bags the odor and taste would still linger.

Even my messiest chili only takes a quick scrubber sponger to clean up. I'm 100% for being lazy but...just no.
 
I like the bags. They're not necessary, but boy are they quick & easy.

No overnight soaking. It's the top edge, where stuff dries & get's tough.
 
We have a big crock pot and a little one.

Use the little one almost weekly to make shredded chicken tacos. Easiest thing ever.

1 lb of chicken breast
some of your fav salsa
some taco seasoning

low for 5-6 hours, pull it apart with some forks and bam ya done.
 
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