How can crockpot recipes taste good?

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  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,742 Member
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    I hear you loud & clear, OP. It is so weird to me when friends and coworkers talk about "yeah I just throw everything in the slow cooker and dinner is ready when we get home every night", because when I pick their brains it's stuff that just doesn't sound like it would work out well, and my own attempts have met with uncooked or burnt-around-the-edges toughness. eek

    The only truly successful Crock Pot recipes I use are pretty high maintenance...lots of prep and pre-cooked elements and several layers of ingredients added at various times. Like a sweet potato, kale & butternut squash recipe that takes 4-5 hours to cook but you have to add everything at different times. In other words...no more convenient than just using a Dutch oven.

    I tried steel cut oats in the Crock Pot last week and it was tasty but the texture was SUCH a disappointment compared to 15 minutes of cooking soaked-overnight oats in a big pot. Especially with the leftovers. They were mushy and sad.

    I'm convinced I'll just never be a Crock Pot fan, and I seriously view it as a type of cooking that people either love/hate, excel at or just fail at.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
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    My recipes turned out a lot better when hubby started turning off the cooker about 2:00. An all-day cook CAN turn to mush.
  • KJoubert1966
    KJoubert1966 Posts: 49
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    It makes decent soups, chili, and beans. But I am not a big fan of most of the recipes you see out there.
  • Torontonius
    Torontonius Posts: 245 Member
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    Big fan of the crock pot. Key is to brown meats like pork, beef, etc, caramelize onions and carrots, etc and use plenty of seasonings. Easy to make a very tasty dish, even if it's not usually the most aesthetically pleasing. Nothing quite like coming home at the end of the day and smelling a glorious pulled pork or beef stew.
  • 0utrun
    0utrun Posts: 71 Member
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    I make a lot of crock pot dishes. I always sear my meat first, add fresh spices and veg to stock. For whole chicken, stuff cavity with fresh herbs then pop in and add stock base.

    Let your meat set out overnight if it is a freezer issue. The more spices and season you add to the stock, the better it will taste.
  • gramarye
    gramarye Posts: 586 Member
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    harlequin0318 wrote: »
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    harlequin0318 wrote: »
    I refuse to put my chicken in the crockpot, because I can't make it turn out to be tasty or whole - it always ends up shredded. So I now only use the crockpot for soups and chili :)

    If you put a whole roasting chicken in the crock pot, it's glorious...and you have leftovers!!! (*)

    I've never used a whole chicken! I'm only one person so I wouldn't know what to do with all of that lol

    I'm sure someone has said it, but I freeze out portions of the meat! I'm 1.5 people (single mom, part-time custody of the child), and I can get a lot of meals out of one chicken, between the meat and the bone broth.
  • angelinhell
    angelinhell Posts: 56 Member
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    Ome of my faaaaaaaaave meals is in a "crock pot" (or slow cooker where I come from). Sausage casserole. Low cal sausages, mixed beans, chopped tomatoes, worcestershire sauce, onion, garlic, paprika, mixed herbs... so good!
  • AngryViking1970
    AngryViking1970 Posts: 2,847 Member
    edited December 2014
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    Cathalain wrote: »
    I have a Breville combination cooker where you can sear meat in the pot and then add your ingredients right after it and slow-cook your dish - no extra pans necessary. I love this thing and have no idea of how I lived without it before. It also pressure cooks, too, and it's a rice cooker as well.

    Best gift I ever received!

    http://www.surlatable.com/product/PRO-1008036/Breville+Pressure+and+Slow+Cooker+

    Sweet fancy, why is this not in my kitchen right now!?
  • LifeInTheBikeLane
    LifeInTheBikeLane Posts: 345 Member
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    I cook with a crock pot so much it's not even funny. I put a lot of care into my recipes and food and never use frozen meat in it. People who do it like that are in a hurry and there is nothing wrong with that but a crock pot recipe can be amazing.

    I.E, I made a huge chicken in it a few weeks ago when my Loves family flew down to visit. I put sliced lemons under the skin and lemon pepper on it. Random veggies in it and suspended it from aluminum foil. It has more flavor and turns out better then any oven baked chicken I could ever make. Maybe it's operator error but I will never cook a chicken in the oven.
  • CorlissaEats
    CorlissaEats Posts: 493 Member
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    Crockpots are great! Not all crockpot recipes are awesome too though. :)

    I rarely use it to cook dinner while I am at work TBH. I use mine a lot for making broth from bones. I save my leftover kale stalks, washed potato peels and broccoli stalk to boost the nutritional value. Saves money over time not having to constantly pay $4 for a 900mL box of broth.

    I also use a lot of dried beans/legumes in my diet which is cheaper and also means less cans I throw away. Crockpot cooking is great because I dont have to watch them and the pot never boils dry on me. Just this weekend I make beefy chickpeas and a cream of chicken and broccoli soup from scratch. It's in my freezer for work lunches. Chickpeas take around 18hrs to cook in this methods so thats like 4hrs of stove boiling? I'd rather not forget them on the stove and have to throw out an expensive pot...

    I also make desserts in mine. I have to be home for this since it only takes 2 hrs and I dont have automatic timing on my device. I have a decent lemon sauced pudding cake and a chocolate sauced pudding cake recipe.

    Like others said, its a cooking method. It has its limitations. Cooking meat more than 6 hrs in my experience gives you a dry, tasteless product. If you have to leave it longer because you are away from the house, use frozen meat or leave it until a day you can be home. Its best suited for tough cuts of meat in savoury sauces, or for soups or stews. I often brown my meat first, or fry the onions in oil because it gives more flavour. I also don't used canned soups or other shortcuts.

    My mom has one that can roast and brown food. Once one of my pots dies, its the kind I'll upgrade to.

  • Sumiblue
    Sumiblue Posts: 1,597 Member
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    I do not like how onions turn out in the crock pot if they are put in raw. I sautee them first, along with carrots and other veggies like that. The C.P. slow cooks them the rest of the way. I used to make a pulled pork recipe in the crock. Brown a pork roast in a skillet with onions and put in the crock. Slather Dijon mustard over the pork and add a bottle of dark beer and turn on low. Delicious and it makes its own sauce. I do cook (non frozen) chicken in the crock pot frequently. Usually it's been marinated and I will add broth over the top before I turn it on. Makes really great, tender stewed chicken.
  • kungabungadin
    kungabungadin Posts: 290 Member
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    unsuspectingfish wrote: »
    Well, for starters, don't use frozen meat.

    That and don't put in a can of nasty soup make your own it will taste better. Why would slow cooker meals some how taste bad verses food cooked any other way? I have put in a nice pork roast minus the gross can soup and it always comes out moist and tender. Then if you want add some bar-b-que sauce or serve with whate every you want. There are so many great recipes out there and the slow cooker alows you to go do other things while dinner is cooking.
  • kungabungadin
    kungabungadin Posts: 290 Member
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    harlequin0318 wrote: »
    jenilla1 wrote: »
    harlequin0318 wrote: »
    I refuse to put my chicken in the crockpot, because I can't make it turn out to be tasty or whole - it always ends up shredded. So I now only use the crockpot for soups and chili :)

    If you put a whole roasting chicken in the crock pot, it's glorious...and you have leftovers!!! (*)

    I've never used a whole chicken! I'm only one person so I wouldn't know what to do with all of that lol

    Sounds good to me but there would be no left overs at this house that's for sure, but since you are just one person I guess so.
  • stacceyw
    stacceyw Posts: 4
    edited December 2014
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    I use my crock pot all the time. I work full time and have a family that is starving at the end of the day, so it helps me stay on track to put together healthy ingredients and have it ready to go when we get home. I have an amazing recipe that is soooo easy, the whole family loves it and it is fast. http://www.simplehealthykitchen.com/crockpot-chicken-fajitas/
    Any tomato type sauce gets better if it is allowed to slowly simmer - spagetti sauces, chili, anything like that. Today I have spagetti sauce (homemade so no extra sugars or salt) in the crock pot and spagetti squash pre-cooked and ready for me when I get home :smiley:
  • JenSD6
    JenSD6 Posts: 454 Member
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    jgnatca wrote: »
    My recipes turned out a lot better when hubby started turning off the cooker about 2:00. An all-day cook CAN turn to mush.

    Or dry out things like chicken if cooked too long. I'll never have a crockpot without a timer and "Keep Warm" feature again.
  • Turning_Hopes_to_Habits
    Turning_Hopes_to_Habits Posts: 103 Member
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    I know that technically food safety says not to put frozen meat in the crockpot, but I take some chances with food safety guidelines when it means the food tastes better to me and the risk is really low. I have always cooked a turkey to 60-65 degrees, even when they used to say 80 (blech!), I let my kid lick the bowl of cake mixes, I prefer a raw egg in my Caesar salad dressing and a barely-cooked one in others (as a thickening agent in some sauces, for example), etc. Oh, I eat my steak medium rare, like my tuna seared only, and like raw oysters, too. :smile:

    I agree with CorlissaEats that almost any meat gets dry and stringy and tough if you cook it more than 6 hours. Putting it in raw fixes that problem. Or just put it in thawed, but not for 8 or 10 hours.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    I use my slow cooker all the time. As others have said, there are certain recipes, certain cuts of meat, and certain techniques that it is better for than others. For me, I am out of the house for 8-10 hours during the week so I tend to favor the recipes which have a protein that can be in for that length of time - a beef or pork roast, country ribs, etc. I enjoy chicken in the slow cooker but the longest I've ever been able to leave chicken in with good results is 6 hours and that is if I start with frozen chicken (and yes I've done it plenty of times and never had issues with food safety). I do chicken recipes more on the weekends.

    It is also great for soups, stews, chili, and one pot meals - it is ideal for these so that when you come home from being gone all day, pretty much everything is ready to go.

    I have found a lot of good recipes on this site:
    http://www.crockingirls.com/recipes/

    The Skinny Taste Slow Cooker recipes that I have tried have also been very good.


    One of my go to's is salsa chicken - I use this for burrito bowls, enchilada filling, throw the leftovers in with a quart of chicken broth, vegetables and spices for tortilla soup.

    Italian Beef and Buffalo Chicken for Sandwiches are other favorites in our house.

    The canned "cream of" soups are often used in crockpot meals and I have no problem with those either - some recipes I use them and others I don't. Just depends how much time I have and what I have on hand.

    OP it doesn't sound like you are particularly comfortable in the kitchen - so, I think a crockpot is a great tool for someone who isn't as experienced. It really is pretty hard to screw up most of the basic slow cooker recipes...
  • Acg67
    Acg67 Posts: 12,142 Member
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    They generally cannot compare to other cooking methods
  • kwjager
    kwjager Posts: 29 Member
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    I use it to make marmalade--easier than the stove top, as the temp is more even and there isn't a risk of flare up or scorching.
  • WinoGelato
    WinoGelato Posts: 13,454 Member
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    Acg67 wrote: »
    They generally cannot compare to other cooking methods

    The average home cook doesn't use the same cooking methods as you Acg! I agree, I prefer other cooking techniques for depth of flavor and textures - but a crock pot is a convenient tool to use for certain foods/recipes.

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