We've used the new "slow cooker" or « mijoteuse » three times since it was delivered on Tuesday. Wednesday morning, I got up early and prepared about 4 lbs. (1.75 kilos) of beef to be slowly stewed with carrots and onions for 4 or 5 hours.
First, I have to say that the Kenwood slow cooker I finally chose is an enormous machine. I didn't imagine that it would be so huge when I ordered it from amazon.fr. Be that as it may, I'll admit that we have filled the 6-quart cooking dish full all three times we've cooked in it. I think it's going to work for us.
Back to the beef — I bought two slabs of what is called « basse-côte » in French. It looks and cooks like a chuck roast to me, and I like it. Walt and I grew up eating oven-roasted and pot-stewed beef chuck with vegetables.
I cut the meat into big cubes and browned it in the oven. I thought that would be less messy than browning it in a skillet on the stovetop. I put it on a tray under the broiler, and I didn't even turn the pieces of meat over. Browning them on one side was enough.
All the other ingredients — chopped carrots and onions, garlic, bay leaves, thyme, and about 10 oz. (300 grams) of smoked bacon — went in raw, with 3 cups dry white wine and 1½ cups of water. At 7:00 a.m. I put it on to cook at the cooker's high setting.
Late in the cooking process, around 11 a.m., I added 1 lb. of mushrooms and a dozen small new potatoes to the pot. The stew was simmering slowly — the liquid was bubbling around the edges but not actually boiling in the middle. I guess that's the way it should work.
We turned off the cooker at about 12:30 and had lunch. As you can see, it was delicious. The beef was tender and juicy, and the pieces of smoked pork were starting to fall apart. The carrots were cooked through but not disintegrating into the liquid. Success...
The other two times we used the cooker was to make more tomato sauce using about the last of the tomatoes from the garden. Walt trimmed them all up and filled the 6-qt. cooking dish, seasoning the tomatoes with salt only. That batch cooked on high for 4 hours. Then he filled up the cooker again and let it cook on low temperature overnight — for at least eight hours. Both batches of sauce (11 pints in all) were perfect.
experiment away!
ReplyDeleteI have cooked boneless pork loin in wine & garlic, in teriyake sauce, and in bbq sauce for pulled pork sammiches. always tender!
I'm sure it was as good as it looks. Great.
ReplyDeleteI think you'll continue to see that this big 6-qt size is what you really need. The smaller ones sometimes don't seem to have enough room.
ReplyDeleteSo, if I'm understanding this correctly, when you made the pot roast, you cooked only on high? No time on a lower setting?
Judy, I cooked the Bœuf aux carottes only on the high temperature setting and for about 5½ hours. I wanted it to be ready for lunch.
DeleteI have found that it hardly seems possible to overcook meat in a slow cooker, it just gets better and better the longer it's in the pot. It is possible to undercook it, which is really frustrating, to be expecting a nice tasty dinner only to find it's not done and you have to wait for it to finish off in the oven or in a saucepan.
DeleteYours casserole looks delicious!
Is your tomato sauce just tomatoes and salt? What about the skins? My slow cooker is in the house and soon to come out of its box.
ReplyDeleteE., this year we have made tomato puree rather than actual sauce, figuring we can season and flavor it later as we want. So yes, just a little salt went in. And then we run it thru the food mill to eliminate the skins and most of the seeds. Using the food mill is easy and it's good exercise for your arm.
DeleteWe bought a slow cooker last year and in cool weather used it to make dinner dishes of endless variety. I work in my studio at home and I usually prepare the dish on my lunch break and then it is ready for dinner. I found I have more energy earlier in the day and I don't have to face a lengthy preparation at the end of my work day. There are many recipes for meat or meatless dishes that are easy, quick and nutritious as well as very tasty. Most of the recipes specifically for a slow cooker give you a choice of time for high and low setting.
ReplyDeleteI'll be making stews this fall when it cools - hopefully as goof as yours looks!
Richard, have you seen this collection of slow-cooker recipes?
DeleteKen, I just opened up this machine to find that Pauline's been looking at a mijoteuse in red [on Amazon]...
ReplyDeletebut that food looks very nice!
Looks delicious!
ReplyDeleteI usually use the low setting for around 10-12 hours, and if cooking for this length of time cut the carrots into larger chunks. This ensures that they still have some bite.
The only drawback (according to Tim) is that you can smell your dinner cooking at lunchtime, which Tim says makes him feel hungry, and less content with his sandwich!
We were passing through Saint Aignan on an errand and nearly called in on you, but it was 11.45 and I thought it would be a bit rude to land on you unannounced at lunchtime. Had I known you had a huge pot of stew on the go I would have been less diffident :-) (just kidding). We lunched in the unprepossessing looking bar at Villedomain with a bunch of harvest workers, and surprisingly good it was too.
ReplyDeleteHope traffic wasn't too bad in Saint-Aignan. I was at SuperZoo this morning...
Deleteyay glad that you are using the crock pot. i use it to cook down chicken carcasses - the broth is amazing. i also use it to make applesauce - so easy. just cut up the apples and leave it cook over nite. and i have to say - that bacon is insane! whoot!
ReplyDeleteOhioFarmGirl, that's what French poitrine (de porc) fumée (smoked pork breast) is like. Delicious.
ReplyDelete