I'm old; I've been around. I once flew in a plane and I've seen an ocean and felt the wind spray drops on my face from breaking waves. I've known love and hate (love was better) and watched my babies being pulled (cesarean-sectioned!) out'n their momma. I shot a man in Acapulco, just to watch him hail a cab...

But I've never cooked with a crockpot. Why would I? I have the priesthood, so...

But I am repenting of this attitude. I WANT to cook with a crockpot. I am GOING to cook with a crockpot. I'm going to order one from Amazon and my first attempt will be Spanish Rice, like Jesus ate when they got back to Nazareth, from Bethlehem. That's right, I'm going biblical.

Does anyone have any praise for the crockpot? Does anyone have any cautionary tales? It's real, right? It isn't like snipe hunting, right? Right?

Rice will turn to mush in a Crock Pot, or even worse, part mush and part raw. Think of a crock pot as a braising machine. Throw some tough pork shoulder or beef chuck in there, and it will come out moist and fall apart tender. Anything that you would braise or stew, you can do in a crock pot. People will tell you can make anything in a crock pot - bread! Cookies! salmon! Yes you can, but not with a good result.

Dang it! It was the Spanish Rice recipe that tipped the scales for me!

Shoot!

I was getting close to picking one, on Amazon...

Congee in a slow cooker just to show rice can work.

8 parts water or stock to 1 part rice
1 small piece of tough meat, pork, beef or chicken thigh
1 coin sized slice of ginger
Splash soy sauce
splash of rice wine

Cover let it cook over night. Remove meat and break it up. Ladle out how much you want to eat, sprinkle it with some meat, some sliced green onion, additional soy sauce, maybe some black vinegar and have a great breakfast.

I have been using crock pots for at least 30 years.They are terrific!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Even tough cuts of beef slow cooked in one overnight come out TENDER.
Be careful of using too much salt. It tends to intensify during cooking.

yes but Gongee is SUPPOSED to turn to porridge

elderolddog Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Dang it! It was the Spanish Rice recipe that
> tipped the scales for me!
>
> Shoot!
>
> I was getting close to picking one, on Amazon...


I got yer slow cooker.

Crock pots are great! I don't use them much anymore, but I used to. One of my fav's is pork chops or country style ribs, layered with sliced onion, some black pepper, pour in a bottle of Italian dressing.....cook until the chops are falling apart.

I've turned into a pellet head......I'm cooking on a Traeger smoker these days.

Oh, you should try a dutch oven too....some charcoal underneath, some charcoal on the lid, cook slow just like a crock pot.

Good luck, Crock on dude!

I've used a crock pot a few times and it's awesome for turning a tough cut of meat into the most tender of offerings. Put in a roast, some liquid (beer works great) and let it cook all night on low. Also great for stews and soups. I've never cooked rice in one though.

Whatever you do, don't look up crockpot in the Urban Dictionary. I would provide a link, but that would be contributing to your delinquency and gawd would punish us both for that.

I was wondering, if you cooked a duck in a crock pot, would that be called a quack pot?

Yes.

Kinda like what happens to a duck when he flies upside down?

He quacks up!

Crockpots are the bomb. If you are going to be gone all day, put in a hunk of meat, if you wish, and lots of veggies and liquid. When you get home. voila! dinner is ready! You can cook chili and soups,too!

I used one regularly when I worked full time. LOVED it.

Try one of the new pressure cookers instead.

Daughter in law makes all manner of meals including rice.

She can make hers be a slow cooker too.

Besides.....didn't you get enough crock at church?

I am going with the pressure cooker!

Thanks!

probably just because it was easier and less stressful for me to prepare.

However, I have used it a lot with DHII. It produces tasty meals with minimal effort, and therein lies the blessing.

Great for soups, stews, and chili.
Love to throw some beans, a little browned hamburger, tomatoes, peppers, and seasoning in on a cold morning as I left for work. At the end of the day it was nice to have dinner waiting as I got home.
Good luck and have fun experimenting with different things.

Stuff that works out darn well in a crockpot:

Ribs. Pork Chops (bone in). Chuck roast. Brisket (it's not slow-smoked, but it ain't bad). Lasagna (I'm entirely serious). Soups, stews, chilis.
Pork shoulder/butt.
A few other big-cut, non-tender meats.

Stuff that doesn't work well in a crock pot:

Whole chickens (can you say rubber? I knew you could!).
Chicken anything except soups, stews, chilis.
Anything that's already decently tender (steaks, pork loins, etc.).
Rice (hey, a good rice cooker is only $20, go for it!).

Anything in the first category will be improved greatly if you sear/brown it first ('cause that won't happen in the crock pot, and if it does, you didn't have enough liquid to start).

We have two. Use 'em all the time. Only way I can cook on weeknights (I toss something in, seared & seasoned, at 4AM when I go to work, set the 'pot to come on at 10AM and cook on low for 8 hours, when I get home it's time to eat!).

But we only use 'em for stuff that works.

Have fun exploring, pal!

i estupedo !

How can you make the best machacas and tamales without a crock?

Sabor, elder pendejo.

Mejor tarde que nunca.

"Elder Pendejo"

Hey, I'm old and it wasn't especially easy getting back up from the floor, after laughing so hard!!

I've been bilingual most of my life, but I didn't learn "pendejo" until I moved to NM back in the late 80s. I never heard it, growing up on the SoCal/Mexico border.

I actually had to ask a bilingual supervisor what it meant, explaining that we didn't use it where I came from.

My problem with it has been that it cooks unevenly. However, it works with pork.

Betty Grave's recipe (she was the French professor in Adam's Rib) Package of country ribs, some pineapple juice, some diced or sliced pineapple, liberal quantity of good mustard. Cook till meat is very tender. Serve with gin and tonic.

One of my favorite people. http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/pressdemocrat/obituary.aspx?page=lifestory&pid=143488857

2/3 apple juice, 1/3 pineapple juice, float sliced oranges & cinnamon sticks, warm in the crock pot all day and make the house smell good. Serve with rum on the side.

Another of hers - marinate whole mushrooms in Italian dressing. Serve in a silver bowl. toothpicks on the side.

All of her recipes don't need to be written down. Such an elegant and fun lady. Her parties were great because she DID NOT STRESS over the food. Her doctors kept telling her to stop drinking, and then she outlived them.

Here ya go -

http://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/to-die-for-crock-pot-roast-27208

Simple, easy, tastes great, makes a great gravy as well. I use a chuck roast. Yummmmmm.

I cheat and use Minute Rice. Not the same variety of textures and flavors but darn, it's quick and less clean-up.

My first job out of college I would peel a potato. Put it in a pot to boil. Sat down to read the paper or watch the news. Woke-up to the smoke alarm and a charcoal brickette in my pot. Did this routine three days in a row until I got my crock pot. I'd buy turkey legs for a pennies. Put them in the pot before leaving for work. Came home with the meat having fallen off the bones and tendons. Delicious if properly seasoned. The fat also rose to the top so I could skim it off. Crock pot is for slow and low.

My mother told wonderful stories of tough old birds my dad would shoot on the farm. She'd use the pressure cooker and they'd come out tender and fast. She also did all kinds of other cooking in that gadget but never taught me how to use it. Mom's the Martha Stewart of my home town. Everyone envied us getting to eat her cooking. But pressure cookers require a bit of skill. I've heard they are much user friendly these days. Go for it and tell us how it goes. Maybe I'll follow your lead.

Pressure cookers are for fast and fantastic. I believe they are more versatile than a crock pot.

Thank you, nice people.

I use (and love) my computerized pressure cooker much more than my crock pot. Set it and forget it.


It seems that I only use my crock pot for pot lucks at the office.

I made great ropa vieja in one.

Then I use it to make soap. Better use of the crockpot.

There's nothing you can do with a crock pot that you can't do better on your stove top. The only advantage is that with a crock pot you can set it and walk away for 8 to 10 hours.

Bear in mind that food can spoil while the crock is in delay-start mode, and be sure to study proper cooking temps.

Take a look at pressure cookers before you decide.

I just did the recommended test run on my new pressure cooker and when it went ding-ding at the end, I asked myself, what happens if you push the little handle from 'seal' to 'vent'? So I did, using a spatula. It was like Old Faithful!

Scared me!

It's an electronic multi-function pressure cooker, slow cooker and much more. I love mine and use it all the time.

Some very tasty recipes, plus easy versions on similar themes if that is to your liking.

I have other crock pot cookbooks, but this is my favorite.

I love my crock pot!I

Just yesterday I stopped and bought a "beef crock pot roast". I'd worked overnights, and wanted something healthier than fish sticks for when I got up.

I threw the roast in the pot, then added a packet of brown gravy mix, ranch dressing mix, and Italian seasoning mix. Yum!

Sadly, I had to go out and help hang quilts for a local quilt show before I got to eat any, but it was good.

My father often makes goulash with his, and he's got a smaller crock pot he uses to cook a pork loin with canned veggies. He's 89, so anything simple is good.

escapee