/ck/ - Food & Cooking

I think they're neat.

>>9655429
Oh, okay, fair enough. Everyone go home then, thread's over.

one of my friends is really obsessed with slow cookers, to the point where he took the one his family had but seldom used and left it at my place as a gift because I have pretty limited cookware, but the thing only ever got used when he'd come over and insist we go buy some cuts of meat and a cabbage and slow cook them. I make a lot of soup, but I make it in a pot so the ingredients actually retain some color and flavor of their own. Things out of a slow cooker are like some kind of sci-fi nutrient slop. It tastes okay, but the texture is always wrong and there's no sense that different bits of it actually came from different things, it's all the same color and all tastes the same.

I was thankful when he took the thing back.

I don't think slow cookers are as bad as certain kitchen gadgets but I'm never ever going to buy one myself. I see the appeal for people who want to pop shit in and come home to a ready meal, or for housewives that use it as a stand-in for making a proper roast or stew, but I am not in that demographic.

>enables lazy and insipid dishes
try adding salt and spices to the food

>gets crusty and needs to be scrubbed
soak in water immediately after pouring warm contents into containers

>it'd be a pain in the ass to wash even without that factor
literally takes less than 20 seconds to brush away the shit stuck to it since it never dried

>keep warm setting is just inviting food-borne illness
food is kept at over 145F

>roasties around the world share crockpot recipes despite every one of them having one texture and one of three tastes
irrelevant, you probably can't get a roastie, that's why you even mentioned them. you'll probably never have crockpot roast beef nor a real life roastie irl

>>9655403
Pretty good for beans desu

>>9655429
>t. flyover housewife

>>9655473
Aw shit, salt and paprika were the missing ingredient in the haute cuisine that is chicken and rice with cream of mushroom soup slopped over the top. Good call.

If you do proper prep and sear the meat, saute the veg and deglaze the pan it's just a convenient method to safely cook stews and braises while you're away from home. Don't look for retarded housewife "crockpot" recipes. Use your head and just use it as a means of cooking any braise or stew while you're away. Only a total retard would leave a stove or oven on while they aren't home.

Post your favourite slow cooker recipes. I was gonna do some lamb shanks in my slow cooker today but I don't feel like them now.

>>9655403

because it favours dishes that need to be cooked you tard.

>Making chili is easy
>A whole chicken is pretty good.
>Pulled pork from pork shoulder - vinegar or sweet based sauce works well, then you reduce the braise for a nice bbq topping on the stove.
>oxtail or stewing steak stew
>soups of every kind

maybe they all taste the same to you because you don't know how to prepare the ingredients before slow cooking them or you don't use any spices/herbs; you're meant to sear the meats you're putting in.

its not the best way to cook but when you work/study all day, its nice to come home with a french baguette or some crusty rolls and have a comfy oxtail stew.

I've never had any problems with washing it, you just empty the leftovers into containers then rinse it in hot water and scrub it for like 20 seconds lol.

>slow-cooked mini meatballs in butter and garlic tomato sauce

>>9655485
>refer to people as flyover
>also support Clinton
>flyover people don't like you
>make them hate Clinton more
>Trump gets elected
>city cucks wonder why
Thank you for supporting our President.

>>9655455
>Things out of a slow cooker are like some kind of sci-fi nutrient slop. It tastes okay, but the texture is always wrong and there's no sense that different bits of it actually came from different things, it's all the same color and all tastes the same

Pretty much this, but as a student it's nice to set on Monday morning, then come home and have dinner ready and leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week.

>>9655812
>pulled pork
>slow cooker

kys holy shit

>>9655636
This. Also, nowadays many crockpots can be used on a stove so you can start cooking the meal at a high-heat and retain all the good stuff on the bottom of the pot before braising it.

>>9655403
Careful, your kitchen ignorance is showing.

>>9656115

yeah i'll just smoke some pulled pork in my non-existential student flat garden.

REEEEEEEETARD detected.

i said its not the best way to cook foods genius but its a decent substitute.

>>9656149
No, it's not a decent substitute. Frankly I'm left wondering what kind of shit-ass pulled pork you've been eating to even make that claim. Better than nothing? Fair enough. Decent substitute? Either fuck off and get more exposure or kill yourself. Preferably the latter.

>>9656115
Pulled pork in a slow cooker works really well you fucknut.

>>9656169
Spotting a lot of plebs who have never had properly smoked pulled pork tonight. Anyone else want to out themselves of not knowing a goddamn thing about real barbecue? Don't be shy, be curious about doing it right.

>>9656189
Smoking is bad for you should quit that shit before you die.

>>9656154

you must be a really awful cook if you can't make it work then lmao.

And you tell people to kys over a cooking choice, you must be a social autist too

>>9656189

are you retarded? not everyone has access to a smoker (e.g. students)

Are you autistic?

Yea, just get a liner.

>>9656207
Are you? Do you not understand why "decent substitute" is incorrect? Putting a pork butt in a slow cooker is like boiling hot dogs. Better than nothing at all, but absolutely no replacement for the real deal. You may as well pick up some frozen prepackaged shit from costco if you're settling for something that garbage, and as a bonus you can even use the microwave for that instead of sneaking a slow cooker past the rules which many schools have about cooking in your own room.

>>9656243

it is a good substitute though, it infuses flavour from the braise into the meat while tenderising it.

>>9656243
Low quality bait

>>9656243
>is like boiling hot dogs. Better than nothing at all
whats wrong with boiling hot dogs? the hot dog carts boil them and they taste good

>>9656243
This is decent bait because I know people this spastic about things who genuinely can't perceive things as a spectrum. They really believe it's an all or nothing (may as well get costco etc) though typically I've found they've used neither the method they shill or the one they attack.

>>9656258
Litrally wrong fagfucker

>>9656337
6 hour boiled hot dog is best hot dog.

>>9656243
>which many schools have about cooking in your own room
Why would they deny me a slow cooker in my room?

>>9655881
Holy fuck stop getting so triggered over being called a fly over

>>9656189
What is it like to care this much about barbecue

I'm about to make some beef stew in one of these for the first time. Here is what I bought:

>Chuck roast cubes
>Potatoes
>Celery
>Carrots
>White onion

I have a hand full of dry spices and broths, I'm poor as fuck and just moved into my own place. I'm hoping this will feed me for several days. How do I not fuck this up?

>>9656939
Because it's not ok to be white

Remember kids, don't feed the trolls

>>9655403
*Blocks Your Path*

>>9657053
>cooking in plastic

>>9657011
Check on it a couple times while cooking, if you can and stir it so nothing burns if the broth cooks off, and refrigerate once you are done.

>>9657004
BBQ is one of those rare foods where doing it right REALLY fucking matters, and it requires a lot of time and investment.
Crockpot pulled pork is the equivalent or getting a steak at Denny's and saying it's the same as wagyu

>>9657062
I haven't noticed any difference in taste when using them or not, and worrying about toxins in cookware is for wimpy babies.

>>9657065
>Really fucking matters
>Meat flesh that we smash into our food hole for the sole purpose of getting body energy
Which is it.

>>9657075
>The sensation and pleasure of taste does not exist
So what are you doing posting here instead of utilizing every nanosecond for pure production and improvement, you goddamn cyborg?

>>9657065
>BBQ is one of those rare foods where doing it right REALLY fucking matters
and it really fucking matters to have your opinion on the subject validated on a Sri Lankan cinnamon grinding board, too. I can see now why you're so upset: no one thinks you're right!

>>9657099
You're the guy who brings the disgusting, overcooked, wet-but-somehow-dry food to thanksgiving.
Nobody likes your cooking.

>>9655403
How the fuck do I make chicken and dumplings in one of these?

>>9655403
I enjoy crockpots for dishes that benefit from long hours of slow cooking, but the "just dump in n' go!" culture exploding lately is cancer. I saw a video recipe not long ago that called for melting chocolate for 2 or more hours in one of these shits just because "look waht ur cockpot can do!" when you could have easily achieved the same result on a double boiler (or, fuck, a microvave) in 2 minutes.

>>9657108
Joke's on you, autist, all I'm required to do is bring the beer bread, and before your autism flares again, no: it will be of good quality and enjoyed by all.

Maybe I'll bring some pulled pork, too?

>>9657130
> all I'm required to do is bring the beer bread
Because nobody trusts you to make anything else, because you're so fucking bad at cooking.

>>9657115
You don't, you do that in a pot. Make a creamy chicken soup, then make buttermilk biscuit dough but throw an egg in with the wet ingredients. Put that shit in a ziplock bag, cut a wide hole out of corner. Squeeze with one hand, cut off extruded dough with sharp knife to make little dumplings, easy.

>>9655403
I agree entirely. People that disagree are lazy bastards, simple as that. If you're a student you can just as easily braise something in the oven while you study then take it out before going to bed. I've been thinking for a while now that this slow cooker shit has been getting out of hand. People are trying to make all different kinds of sloppy shit in these things. Might as well put forth that effort towards learning how to cook better. Crockpots are one small step away from microwaving frozen dinners. Everything is going to be soft in a slow cooker. A good stew should have the vegetables added at different intervals so that they retain their texture. Then again most of the people on this board are home cooks who consider themselves "foodies", I shouldn't expect quality posts.

>>9657177
>t. adultlet with no responsibilities and lots of time to spare

>>9657065
Hi I've worked in Nashville BBQ for maybe 4 years so don't count me an expert but that analogy isn't quite 100% there. It doesn't kill the dish from the get go, but it's like starting out around 60%. You need a lot of good things going to get it back up to speed and even then it'll never reach true max.
Denny's steak vs wagyu is just a factual inaccuracy.

>>9657134
Is your thanksgiving filled with iron chefs or something where people are omitted for not knowing how to cook? What is this elaborate role play and how do I get in?

>>9657201
The people we know suck shit at cooking we delegate to making things that are nearly impossible to fuck up, like brownies or "Oh just bring some cider!". Then we just tell them that it's always oh-so-wonderful so they stay happy doing that and don't try to get people to eat their nasty ass main course """dishes""".
We started doing this when somebody insisted they made the best chicken dumpling soup and served us half-frozen sludge with the chicken still partially raw.

>>9657198
You are familiar with the concept of hyperbole, yes?

>>9657242
You just seem like you think youre on /b/ or /r9k/ when its perfectly reasonable to habe a civil discussion here.

>>9657255
>Exaggeration to make a point is shitposting
So you're not familiar with the concept then? You're just stupid?
Crockpot pulled pork is the equivalent of a Denny's Steak, but I couldn't think of a well-known, reliable metric of "high quality steak" that wasn't wagyu, so I opted for a hyperbolic comparison.
This shit isn't rocket science dude, anybody with half a brain would understand I wouldn't imply that "properly made bbq" was always the absolute top of the chart quality.

>>9657274
It seems like you're proving me right, but sorry for misunderstanding.

>>9657291
hyperbole (hī-pûrˈbə-lē)
n. A figure of speech in which exaggeration is used for emphasis or effect, as in I could sleep for a year or This book weighs a ton.

Maybe you would feel more at home on a board that speaks your native language.

i love crock pot. im ging to cook you many future dinners with my device. oi wish i had a waifu here to cuddle

>>9656154
I recently made some roast pork tenderloin and had a lot of leftovers as it was a 6lb loin. I took some of those leftovers and mixed it with BBQ sauce. Tasted pretty good to me man. Next time Ill add some liquid smoke, it tastes the exact same as real smoking anyways

I like slow cooking because I can prep for one day, then turn it on the next morning and just come home and eat after work. Coming home to a hot meal already finished is amazing. I cook plenty without it too, but it's a huge convenience.

Plus it saves a lot of money, since I can buy the shittiest chunk of meat and it will turn out okay. Experimenting with spices and liquids finding good combinations to turn a cheapo cut into a solid meal is kind of fun. I really like beer braising lately.

I wouldn't claim what comes out its gourmet but I'm eating better than most normies do

>>9655403
My mom got this and has repeatedly made the same three dishes for four years straight. Help?

>>9656207
You dont need a full blown barrel offset smoker. You can easily convert a propane or 10 dollar walmart kettle grill into a smoker. Public parks even have grills you can convert for smoking, stop being retarded.

>>9657011

Sear the meat before you put it in the slow cooker.

I like my slow cooker. It's not the best at anything but you can make things that I'd grade a B+ with almost no effort, and you can make a week's food at once. You can't beat the convenience.

>>9657634
why?

>>9657648

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maillard_reaction

meat with a seared surface tastes a ton better

>>9655881
kek, imagine being this triggered

>>9657668
does it make a difference if the seared meat is just gonna get slow boiled in a stew for 8 hours though?

>>9657690
Maillard reaction. Yes. Google that too.

>>9656154
I've made pulled pork in a crock pot and tasted pulled pork from my dad who's been smoking meats for 10+ years. I can confidently say it is a decent substitute.
kys meatfag elitist

>>9656717
elitists, man...

>>9657547
>implying everyone has the space for a fucking kettle grill
or
>implying everyone is close to a public park or wants to go to a fucking park and wait around all day making sure nobody steals their food
either way, just deal with the fact not everyone is obsessed with their meat and just like the convenience.

>>9657792
You arent buying a pork butt for one person. If you had any friends they would join you.

>>9655403
Since I've been trying to stay vegetarian i never use my slow cooker anymore, anything that isn't meat just doesn't need to cook that long. But I've been using my dutch oven almost everyday.

>>9655429
They are. Best chilli possible.

>>9655881
Calm down snowflake

>off /ck/ for some months
>same fucking slowcooker threads
every time man
and people still bite hard into the memethreads

>>9657826
I read this ready to fire back with another argument but this actually hit me really hard...
the only person i consider a true friend lives over 1000 miles away.

>>9657690

very yes. When you sear it's at a much higher temperature than the slow cooker. You are basically low-level burning the outside. THe slow cooker is just warm. Searing makes a huge difference in slow cooked stuff (which I make all the time)

>>9657232
Memories of only being trusted to open a can of cranberry sauce at childhood thanksgivings just came rushing back.

>>9658438
It's like putting on a nicely broken in baseball glove

>>9655403
Why not use a pressure cooker? Why wait 9 hours for food?

>>9660764
So the flavors can marry and make flavor babies.

>>9655403
>>9655473
>>9657121

Some recipes for the slow cooker take the "convenience" angle of the appliance too far, to the detriment of the final product. It's recipes like these:
https://www.gimmesomeoven.com/2-ingredient-slow-cooker-salsa-chicken-recipe/
https://www.reddit.com/r/slowcooking/comments/inuz5/6_ingredient_or_fewer_slow_cooker_recipes_go/
and all variations of 'X ingredients or less', or 'Lazy X' that give off the impression that the crockpot is a nutrient-slop production machine. If you're going to cook something in the slow cooker using a 'Lazy Man's X' recipe, your food will taste like a lazy man made it. The benefits of the slow cooker shine when applied in dishes in which multiple ingredients have to be promixal under long heating conditions to combine flavors (stews, curries, soups). 2-ingredient salsa chicken and recipes like it are abortions of real recipes derived from a tragic mindset that the cook can now be lazy with the ingredients and prep simply because a slow cooker is involved. Have some respect for yourself and what you eat. Just because the appliance cooks in a convenient fashion doesn't mean it's acceptable to not put any effort into the food. Everything said above also applies to microwave meals.

>>9655429
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 scraped off and thrown in the trash.

>>9660767
You mean flavors can run together in a haze in a destructive heroin-filled relationship where nothing is distinguishable from another.

http://www.seriouseats.com/2016/10/why-pressure-cookers-are-better-than-slow-cookers.html

Testing with soup, red sauce, stew and stock cooked in a dutch oven, pressure cooker and slow cooker.

Shows pretty conclusively how shit slow cooker food is.

>>9655429
Should I get one? I want to work overnight too because I like money so I want to spend less time cooking

>>9662574
this

Instead of getting a slow cooker you should either get a rice cooker or a pressure cooker (or both I guess). The rice cooker will make great rice and if you know how to do it can be used for slow cooking and the pressure cooker can do all of the above with the tradeoff being that the rice wont be as good as a good rice cooker.

>>9662576
Get two! Different meals throughout the day but more prep time.

I feel exactly the same way op

>>9662637
I'll take the pressure cooker for the sole fact that you can cook rice and dry beans at the same time in one pot

>>9655403
This thing is better

>>9657062
>/ck/ falls head first into the sous vide meme
>plastic made specifically for cooking is completely safe and anyone saying otherwise is mocked
>/ck/ talking about slow cooker liners
>plastic made specifically for cooking is bad a health risk because it's convenient
Really makes you think.

>>9662767
mmmmm steamed fish and veg without any spices. sooooo yummy! my hubby will love this.

>>9656243
Not here.Just no open flames.

>>9662557
learn to space your paragraphs faggot, I'm not reading that wall of text

>>9655403
Just made a Chinese beef tendon soup in mine, did a beautiful job- perfect temperature control. Also ideal for congees. Fite me fgt.

>>9655881
>making a thread about slow cookers into a political slapfight over an incompetent meme man winning instead of an evil zombie woman

the absolute

STATE

of

americans

>>9662537
>2 ingredients
>one of them is a ready-made sauce

This has absolutely nothing to do with cooking

>>9662767
>>9662946
Superior Dutch engineering though

I fucking love my slow cooker. I haven't made a huge variety of stuff with it though.

red wine beef stew
guiness/gravy beef stew
chilli
creamy chicken soup
split pea/ham soup


all tasted amazing. I hate the recipies that try to meme as only having 2 or 3 ingredients though. I'm going to be cooking for 6+ hours, spending a bit more time prepping ingredients is not an issue.

>>9657177
So why do you think it's impossible to let your proteins slow cook, and then when you come home, add the ingredients that will be piles of mush if you cook them for the full time? Slow cookers like everything else in the kitchen simply require a little thought to be used properly.

>>9655636
Exactly this. Sauté your veg, pan-sear your meat, combine them in a pot, and leave the slow cooker on the shelf. If used in this way the slow cooker works just fine.