/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Depends on your kitchen situation and lifestyle. If you're a student or living alone and like cheap, filling stews waiting for you when you come home, then it's a good buy.

live on stir fry meals instead

>>5920790
There's nothing wrong with slow cookers, but if you have a normal stove a nice heavy dutch oven will work as well.

>Is a slow-cooker worth my money?
For me it was.

>>5920790
they're for working class chumps

I fail to see how one would be a bad investment.

Don't they start at like $20 or so?

>>5920824
>tips fedora

>>5920790

I had just read an article about led in ceramic slow cookers this morning. If you're looking at one to buy do research and check that model isn't one of those led leeching ones.

I like to use mine for softening beans, though I made a pork chop in sauce dish with it once. I'm told you can make long grain rice in it as well but I haven't tried it yet.

Is it good for making very tender meat? The kind of stuff that melts in your mouth.

>>5920790
My roommate has one that I've used occasionally.

>>5920846

>led

>led

yeah, listen to this guy

>>5920867

Whoops meant lead.

http://blog.grasslandbeef.com/bid/89368/The-Hidden-Danger-in-Your-Slow-Cooker

I use my pressure cooker/slow cooker/rice cooker combo thingy a tonne. I eat a lot of rice. I cook a lot of stocks. I do a few long braises. It's an indispensable part of my arsenal.

>>5920829

Was your father a piece of shit like you?

>>5920849
Yes, it is well suited for taking tough cuts of meat and making them fork tender. Low Heat+Time=Love.

>>5921156

I like tender forks, how many tender fork I get from slow cocker?

>>5920790

I had a slow cooker. Maybe used it once or twice a month before I mothballed it. I could achieve the same results from using a stovetop and dutch oven and I couldn't justify the use of my counterspace for something that wouldn't be use every day.

>>5920977
Was yours?

>>5921196

No, he never had a slow cooker. He had a house, a wife, and a damm good job.

>>5921195
You don't need to keep it on the counter all the time you know. When I'm not using mine, it goes on a shelf so it's not in the way.

>>5920846
jesus your depressing

>>5921221

Yes, and? When I mothballed it, I put it on a shelf out of the way. The fact remains that when I was using my slow cooker it took counterspace that I quite frankly would rather keep free and clear. Moreover, doing setup for an appliance every time I have to use it gets annoying fast. I'd rather stick with either my dutch oven for slow cooking or pressure cooker when I want slow cooking done fast.

But that's just my personal opinion.

>>5921506
Noted. Wrong, but noted.

only if you don't have time to cook

i love mine.

i get my freezer full of frozen chicken/beef and frozen veggies and toss it the crock pot before i head to work with a little seasoning and some broth and boom it's good when i get home

>>5920790
They're god-tier if you're a student or if you work late.

Can I use one of those expensive Zojirushi rice cookers as a slow-cooker?

>>5921485
you're*

>>5921671
>>5920795

This is it for me. I work up in the mountains at a family business that requires me to be gone all day.

Coming home from the snow to a hot pot full of goodness is amazing.

You sound like a working class chump. I bet you thought it would be a great "investment", how you would wake up to a warm, healthy breakfast to start off your long day. Maybe, you even had a couple thoughts about all the other nifty little uses you could find for the thing, how it would help you cook healthier meals in general, shed a couple pounds off the old gut, boost your confidence around work and with the ladies. Yeah, maybe that slow cooker would start your life cooking again, wouldn't it? I can see your strained hands holding the box and reading through it carefully at the store. A little bit pricey, but you're the type of guy who thinks everything is more than you can spend, aren't you. And look what happened to you. Look what the slow cooker did to you. Fucked you over, and made you clean it like a useless bitch. You don't even fucking like oatmeal. Piece of shit, you've been repeating those three words your whole life, haven't you. Yeah, how was work after that piece of shit fucked you over? I bet it was on your mind the whole day, you probably didn't say shit to nobody. Can't be telling people about your mistakes. How your little fix yourself plan, failed you. Don't want people to start thinking you're the failure. You're the piece of shit, all along. You don't want that do you? You don't want to be the piece of shit everybody secretly whispers about, do you? Was your father a piece of shit like you? I bet he never had a slow cooker. He had a woman, a house, a damn good job. I bet it's slow cooking you the fuck alive, isn't it. Comparing yourself to him. How one day when all the steam runs our of your life, you'll discover how you're nothing more than burnt shit to be scrapped off and thrown in the trash.

>>5921795
Someone's projecting again..

>>5921807

newfag doesn't recognize copypasta again

>>5920790
I feel like the only advantage these have is I feel safe leaving them on when I'm at work. otherwise you can slowcook on the stove or oven.

>>5921810
Why yes, I am new.

>>5921176

>turn on slow cooker to high
>add forks
>??????
>profit

>>5921795
damn dude. I was just gonna say get one with the lift out pot. hope you are ok. be careful and know you are not alone.

>>5921820
Does it cost more to leave the oven or stove on for 8 to 10 hours or are electricity bills accrued by the slow cooker more expensive?

>>5922459
That's depends on 4 facts. You oven fuel source costs, the quality of your oven, the quality of the slow cooker, and the cost of electricity.

>>5922459
I think a slow cooker uses about the same amount of electricity as a 60w lightbulb left on, so in most cases it would be cheaper than an oven.

>>5921198

so did mine and he's still a miserable bully with a miserable wife and a slow cooker.

>>5921485

Good morning thread

Why am I depressing?

>>5920885

Looks like Facebook-tier clickbait spam.

Yes. It's a good buy. Very worth the money.

You can cook
- chicken/beef/pork/seafood/vegetable stock
- various stew
- bolognese meat sauce
- curry
- rice
- porridge
- oatmeal

Just bought a nice 7 quart at Costco for $40. I like to use mine for beef stock. Makes good carnitas too.

>>5922459
not sure about cost but I feel safer leaving that on vs oven or stove.

Can you cook chicken in a slow cooker or do you need to brown it first? I don't know if it reaches a high enough temperature this way.

>>5922811

Yes. But I can also cook all of those things with a normal pot, either on the range or in the oven. why would I want to buy a slow cooker when I can already do it without one?

>>5923762
>Can you cook chicken in a slow cooker

Yes.

>>do you need to brown it first?
It tastes better if you brown it first due to the malliard reaction, but it is not strictly needed.

>> I don't know if it reaches a high enough temperature

High enough temperature for what? To be safe? Yes, it will do that. To brown the meat and get malliard? No, it won't do that.

I cook boston butts (pork shoulder) in mine and I try to trim as much fat as I can and I still get this fucking pool of fat on top.

>>5922459
Generally cheaper than leaving the oven on.

>>5923767
Because you can leave it on when you leave the house and not worry about it? If you're busy it's a sensible purchase.

>>5923775
>I try to trim as much fat as I can

Why? As you've already stated the fat just pools on top where you can easily pour it off. Why bother cutting it off?

>>5923782
I cook around 6lb of meat at a time, is there a good way of getting rid of all the fat? I've tried just pouring off the layer of fat on top but the whole stew retains this oily greasy consistency anyway

>>5923781
>Because you can leave it on when you leave the house and not worry about it?

I don't worry about leaving my stove or oven on either. If it's on low there's no real concern. One cooking appliance with a thermostat is not magically safer than another cooking appliance with a thermostat. There's little difference in risk.

>>5923788
>is there a good way of getting rid of all the fat?

Yeah, pouring it off when you're done. I'm not trying to be an ass or anything, but that's literally the easiest way. Just let it float to the top and pour off what you can, skim off the rest with a spoon or a ladle.

>>but the whole stew retains this oily greasy consistency anyway

Two things:

1) Are you sure you're pouring/skimming off all the fat? If you leave any behind then it can have that oily consistency

2) What are you using for the liquid in your stew?

I put all the same stuff into a pressure cooker and it's ready in 15 minutes.

Slow cookers are great and some of the better ones have advanced timing features. But the standard ones you can get for like $20+.

>>5923788

If you can't get enough out when it's warm then put it in containers and into the fridge. Makes skimming much easier and more fat will rise to the surface.

>>5920790
There is nothing more food-related that is worth your money.

>>5923789
my gas stove flame could go out and the house would fill with gas. yes its unlikely but if I set it on low I have seen it happen.

also you can program most slow cookers to change temp at a certain time. or when internal meat temp is reached

>>5924673

what about food

>>5924690
Food is good too
Like this:

Two boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can hominy corn
1 can black beans
1 can red kidney beans
1 jar Newman's Own pineapple salsa
2tbsp taco seasoning mix
tsp or so sea salt
Other spices to your liking

Cook 8 hours on low. You just made the dankest salsa chicken you've ever eaten. Top with some shredded mexican cheese

I have an oldschool metal one i got from my grandma years ago. That fucker gets hot and barely classifies as a slow cooker. I mostly use it for shit like chili, beef stew, pork and kraut, beef roasts and gravy. Basically any sort of thing that needs time to cook or cheap meat that needs time to get fork tender.

I would love a slow cooker, but I have a weird fear of fires. Before I leave home, I have to unplug everything. The television, the fridge, all the lamps, etc. If anything is left plugged in, I'll go the whole day thinking my house is burning down.

I know, I have a problem, but I deal with it. The only things I keep in the fridge are water, juices, condiments, and other things that can go 8 hours without refrigeration.

>>5924731
I've had a computer catch fire and an old phone charger catch fire. I never leave a slow cooker on now because i think my house is gonna burn down randomly. Unplugging the fridge sort of seems like overdoing it though.

>>5924731
that is one hundred percent not "dealing with it"

>>5924731
Your furnace's pilot light is on right now.

>>5924742
The fridge is one of the things I worry about most,. It randomly starts up when it needs to cool down.

Who the fuck slow cooks a chicken

>>5924753
Ya I know, I try not to think about it. That and the fact that my electricity is constantly running...

>>5920790
>Is a slow-cooker worth my money?

Hell fucking yes. The large ones are like $15 new at Wal Mart. Or you could probably find a deal on a used one on Craigslist or a garage sale.

>Have you done anything interesting with yours?

Soups and meats. Super easy. Meats, roasts, etc. leave on low overnight or 8-9 hours; everything just falls apart - comes off the bone. Just ad some spice mix beforehand. Fucking fantastic. Can make your week's protein in one night without doing anything.

>>5924622

This. Also, there are certain foods that you probably shouldnt use with a slow cooker. Uncooked beans are one because the temperature doesn't get high enough to high enough to break down phytohemagglutinin which can cause nasty food poisoning and any unprocessed frozen meat because, well, slow cookers don't get hot enough to kill possible food-borne parasites.

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/features/beware-of-the-beans-how-beans-can-be-a-surprising-source-of-food-poisoning-931862.html

http://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/portal/fsis/topics/food-safety-education/get-answers/food-safety-fact-sheets/appliances-and-thermometers/slow-cookers-and-food-safety/ct_index

>>5921795
this whole post
10/10

I'm going to make some chicken rice soup in my slow.cooker when I get home though

>>5920790
My slow cooker is my best friend. Pop stuff in in the morning, come home to a hot, delicious smelling meal and a warm house. Pop steel cut oats into it before bed, wake up to breakfast already done. All I have to worry about is the cleanup. There are some great slow cooker cookbooks out on the market if you get bored of stews, soups, and roasts too.

>>5921679
You actually can. The expensive models like that (and even some mid-range ones, I saw a $40 Aroma with it) have a built-in slow cooker button.

>>5921795