Geo wrote:Didn't Cook's have a description lately how you can rig a covered cake pan or something to use as an indoor smoker? Seems to me I remember seeing something like that recently...

I've done similar many times before. First, make sure you have adequate ventilation, obviously. Your set-up should be a 6" hotel pan with your chips at the bottom, a 2" perforated hotel pan holding your products to be smoked, with a good tight cover of domed foil. Lay it across two gas burners. Gonna be reeeeal tough to control your internal temperature between heat escaping and clumsy burners. Also, be prepared to use these two pans for absolutely nothing else ever.

I've also heard of using the crockpot as a smoker, but even I am a little scared off by this one. I'd be interested to hear if anyone is daring enough to do this.

The third, least-intimidating, inexpensive smoker rigging option is Alton Brown's flower-pot setup. (That blog is just a google result that seemed well-thought-out and provided some links for component sourcing; no guarantees.) Never tried it, don't know anyone who has, but the principles, to me, seem sound.

Crockpot carnitas?

So I was thinking of trying to make carnitas in the crockpot. Not braised pork shoulder but actually cook it in fat its own as well as lard, maybe. Has anyone ever tried this? I'm wondering if the cooker would get hot enough?

Basically, I was thinking of seasoning up some pork shoulder chunks then toss into the cooker with an onion, garlic, bay, and orange slices. I was thinking the fat that would render from the pork as well as the liquid from the pork & veg would be enough to braise the meat tender as well as getting some crispy outer parts.

Any thoughts?

We tried this recipe, (coincidentally, I have a pork roast I'm thinking of applying one of these techniques to for Halloween - which is ALWAYS a crock-pot night in our household) but it didn't render - the water leached out of the pork and it stewed; at a higher temp the water boils away and it cooks in the fat, but not the case in a crock-pot. Still, it was tender and tasty if a bit bland; needed a sauce...

Mhays wrote:We tried this recipe, (coincidentally, I have a pork roast I'm thinking of applying one of these techniques to for Halloween - which is ALWAYS a crock-pot night in our household) but it didn't render - the water leached out of the pork and it stewed; at a higher temp the water boils away and it cooks in the fat, but not the case in a crock-pot. Still, it was tender and tasty if a bit bland; needed a sauce...

That's kind of what I figured but was hoping otherwise. Thanks!

Seems to me that if you covered the meat in fat--oil, lard, whatever--it would carnitate normally. I mean, why wouldn't it? It certainly resembles the way I was taught to make carnitas in my ill-spent California youthhood, e.g., like this. The only issue would be the setting. "Low" might just be too low.

Geo

I was actually wondering if you could copy one of the recipes for earth-oven pork; maybe wrapping it in banana leaves? I saw this recipe for cochinita pibil that calls for a slow cook in a dutch oven, I don't see why a crock-pot would be that different...

I also searched for Kalua pig recipes: I found one I know GWiv wants to try...

Michelle, I don't see the slightest reason why a crockpot couldn't be used in lieu of a dutch oven. In fact, Sonoma Howie and I have done just that with a couple of Molly Stevens' braising recipes. If you can find a banana leaf--which shouldn't be difficult--I think that the pibl recipe is eminently do-able.

But report back with results!!

Geo

re: carnitas in the crockpot

I asked Bayless via Twitter if he thought doing carnitas in lard in a crockpot would work. He tweeted back that he had never tried and thought the temp may be too low. Just FYI.

Also, someone mentioned that there is a recipe in the May 2008 issue of Cook's Illustrated that does carnitas in a crockpot but then uses the broiler to crisp the outside. I'll have to look in to that.

I just checked Cook's. They do it in the oven, in water, with various accouterments: onion, orange, etc. at 300°F until tender. After pulling, and reducing the liquid and other stuff to a glaze, they crisp the glazed meat under the broiler. No mention of lard.

Bayless might very well be right. I've looked at a bunch of recipes using lard, and they all note that the lard should be *very* gently simmering.

I think I confused the temperature range for carnitas with that for duck confit. According to Charcuterie, the range is 180°—190°F for confit. I suspect that lard wouldn't be simmering at that temp.

Geo

Below is a recipe for a Crockpot Chicken Vindaloo which I originally found here, but I changed it to (1) fit my needs in quantity, and (2) fit my needs on taste/flavor. The overall result was pretty good. Here the new recipe:

Crockpot Chicken Vindaloo
Serves 15-ish

1 cup plus 1 tablespoon vinegar
9 garlic cloves, minced
4 1/2 tablespoons fresh ginger
2 1/4 tablespoons curry powder
3 tablespoons ground cumin
3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 teaspoons ground black pepper
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons mustard seeds
6 tablespoons olive oil
3 cups tomato sauce
3 cinnamon sticks
3 small onions, chopped
16 boneless skinless chicken thighs
6 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

Directions:

1. Puree first 12 ingredients in a blender or food processor.
2. Pour into the crock pot, add tomato sauce, cinnamon sticks and onion and mix well.
3. Add chicken and turn to coat.
4. Cook on low for 5 1/2 to 6 hours.
5. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro before serving.

I believe I have a 5.5 or 6 quart crock pot, and this amount worked perfectly to fill it to within an inch of the top once everything was cooked. I would suggest tasting this at the 5 hour mark to see if you prefer additional salt and/or cayenne. When I do this again, I'm going to add some peas and maybe diced potatoes. I'd probably toss in the peas within the last hour or so, and the potatoes (depending on the size of the dice) within the last 2 hours. Serve with rice or bread.

I did some crockpot nehari a few weeks ago.
Shan nehari masala
Four decent sized beef shanks

I did a sizzle of the masala along with fresh garlic, onion, ginger, curry leaf, and a few different chile peppers in a sep pan with some hot oil, threw the shanks in the crock along with the sizzled spice mixture, covered it with water, and let it go on low for a good 8 hours. I'll be making this again REALLY soon. I purchased some better looking shanks a few days after I made it, but life happened, and I had to freeze them. I think I'll thaw those bad boys out early next week.

Anupy wrote:Wellll...it's sooooo funny that you ask! Do you like Indian? I am writing an Indian Crockpot Cookbook. I have a blog where I post some recipes. One is Rajmah...Punjabi Kidney beans to die for. Yum. Check it out and tell me if you would consider trying. I'd love feedback on my blog.
It's at http://www.indianasapplepie.com
That's Indian as Apple Pie

Hope that helps. -Anupy

Hi,

FYI - Anupy will be a guest at Culinary Historians tomorrow. She will be practicing what she preaches with a number of crockpots in tow. More information can be found here.

Regards,

C2--

Tnx for your post--I just saw that Anupy's slow cooker cookbook is out! That is soooo cool. I'm going to order it right now, so I can get a signed copy.

Geo

PS. Speaking of that sort of thing, look what has just appeared! Finally! I am sooo relieved to have the job over....

I'm sure this is the kind of thing that you learn the basics and put together your own recipes. Can anyone rec a good book to learn the basics?

I'll second this query. I've done some searching on this thread and elsewhere on the site, but I'm curious if anyone has a recommendation for one of two indispensable slow-cooker books for someone who's never really used the slow cooker for anything but transporting chili and soup to friends' homes.

The Fix-it and Forget it series of cookbooks are pretty basic.
http://fix-itandforget-it.com/blog/

You can find lots of them cheap on Ebay .

A friend recommends this list of recipes - the best part is that you put everything together and freeze it in bags. When you are ready, you thaw it the night before, slide it into the pot in the AM and then come home to your dinner
http://www.mommysfabulousfinds.com/2013 ... als-2.html

Menard's has a tin of Crock-Pot recipes on sale for $8.99 with about 70 recipe cards and some blanks. I bought one as a gift before Christmas for $6.99 with a $5.00 rebate, not sure if the rebate is still on. Target has a book of 120 recipes from CrockPot for $9.99. Finally I was at a beginner slow cooker class in Highland, IN last Thursday at a place called Mrs. Dornberg's Culinary Experience. (She does a Seattle Sutton type meal service and cooking classes in the evening.) $30.00, but I had a 1/2 off coupon. She demonstrated 4 dishes which we got to sample. There will be a more advanced class in February. (I've got another coupon!) https://www.mrsdornbergs.com/

Woodbutcher68 wrote:Finally I was at a beginner slow cooker class in Highland, IN last Thursday at a place called Mrs. Dornberg's Culinary Experience. (She does a Seattle Sutton type meal service and cooking classes in the evening.) $30.00, but I had a 1/2 off coupon. She demonstrated 4 dishes which we got to sample. There will be a more advanced class in February. (I've got another coupon!) https://www.mrsdornbergs.com/

And it's next door to Memo's

A friend of mine that I respect as a cook recommended America's test kitchen 'Slow cooker revolution'.

Legit black beans recipe, especially the oil which is what makes it good and authentic. Most versions suffer for lack of olive oil. Old, light Spanish brands like Carbonel or Sensat work well.

But this is not a Moros y Christianos recipe. In that dish the beans and rice are cooked together.

Here's an explanation and recipe.

http://icuban.com/food/moros_y_cristianos.html

Hi, anyone have a source or advice about using a family size slow cooker for a single person? I was gifted one but have not used it much.‎ Thanks for your help.
‎
Also has anyone tried a slow cooker for desserts? I even found a recipe for making bread but I haven't tried it yet.

And, reading back on this thread, I don't see any followup on Anupy's cookbook and the tasting event she was at.  ‎Did anyone attend or try out the cookbook? Anupy seems to have disappeared from LTHF, i'm sure her life is much more busy now as an author! Here is an article I found: http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2012 ... ate-surrey

excelsior wrote:Hi, anyone have a source or advice about using a family size slow cooker for a single person? I was gifted one but have not used it much.‎ Thanks for your help.

I, also, could use large crockpot advice. One year our regular oven was down. I bought a large crockppot to cook the turkey for Thanksgiving. We've used it maybe once since then (5 years ago?). We are usually a two person household. PM me if you want to trade a medium crockpot for a huge crockpot

excelsior wrote: ...Also has anyone tried a slow cooker for desserts?....

The "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker" book by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann has a chocolate pudding cake recipe that is really good-- kind of a cake with a hot fudgy sludge. With vanilla ice cream, yum!

I also see that the same authors have a "slow cooker for two" book in their "Not your mother's" series.

Cooking smaller quantities in a large cooker can, as you suggest, be problematic. I suggest picking up a smaller slow cooker (perhaps in yard sale season) but saving the larger one for things you would make in quantity and freeze-- stock and marinara come to mind.

Happy cooking!

Pie-love wrote:. The "Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker" book by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kaufmann

Thanks for this suggestion, i'll check it out.

I found a terrific Thai red curry chicken soup on Pinterest that I've made twice. Here's the link: http://www.foodiecrush.com/2013/10/slow ... cken-soup/. I've modified it a bit. I don't think you need as much coconut milk as chicken stock, so I used 1 part coconut milk to 2 parts stock. I doubled the recipe when I made it, it just barely fit my Crockpot. So good that I didn't mind eating it for several days.

Just saw this slow-cooker PB-fudge cake recipe from King Arthur Flour in my FB feed--

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/ ... ake-recipe

If my daughter didn't hate PB (and all nut butters), I'd be all over this recipe-- but, alas, not something I need to eat all by myself.

Cheers, Jen

knitgirl wrote:I found a terrific Thai red curry chicken soup on Pinterest that I've made twice. Here's the link: http://www.foodiecrush.com/2013/10/slow ... cken-soup/. I've modified it a bit.

Knitgirl, that looks delicious. How spicy was it? I don't really cook with curry. Would it depend on the curry paste that I buy? Thanks!

Not spicy at all. I think for spice you'd need some sort of fresh pepper. I don't like Indian curry powder, but Thai curry pastes really appeal to my taste buds. Don't be afraid of the fish sauce. You don't use that much but it gives a nice umami flavor. The most recent time I made it, I added some lemongrass that I had getting old in the fridge which added a nice flavor. A good squeeze of lime before serving is great. I've made it 3 times this winter which isn't something I normally do, but I love soup, and I love not having to cook every day.

Yesterday I made a beef sirloin roast with a jar of Orlando giardiniera poured over it in the crockpot. It took about 7 hours. The recipe said to drain the giardiniera first, which I missed until too late. I'll skim the fat off the leftovers before I reheat it. I also added 2 sliced red onions and about 6 halved garlic cloves. The house smelled great, and I the beef broke down into small tender pieces. I think it would be great with mashed potatoes or egg noodles. (I am avoiding carbs, so I won't be trying that.)

This is my "go-to" recipe for pot roast made in the crock pot. It makes a rich, dark gravy. I use a 4 quart crock pot.

Coffee Pot Roast
adapted from a recipe by Sue Spitler “1,001 Best Slow-Cooker Recipes” which was reprinted in the Chicago Tribune 11/12/08

2 large onions, thinly sliced
4 pounds chuck roast, appx.
1 or 2 cups chicken or beef broth, depending on the size of your crock pot
2 bay leaves
1 cup strong brewed coffee
¼ cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
Freshly ground pepper
other seasonings to taste

Season roast with oregano, pepper and other seasonings to taste. Place half of the onions in a slow cooker; top with roast. Top roast with remaining onions, bay leaves, coffee, and soy sauce. Add only enough broth to bring liquid about 1.5 inches below rim of crock pot. Cover and cook on high for about 1 hour. Then reduce temperature to low setting and cook until beef is tender and falling off the bone, about 5 or 6 hours. If you will not be around to turn down the temperature, cook on low for about 8 hours. Before serving, transfer 1 or 2 cups of the liquid to a sauce pan and thicken using your preferred method for making gravy (e.g., Wondra flour, cornstarch, roux, etc.)

Notes:
--There are no coffee drinkers living in my home. So, when I make coffee for guests, I freeze any leftover coffee and save it for this recipe. The thawed coffee works just fine.
--The original recipe also calls for 2 cloves garlic, minced.