slow cooker Q

[Levo-Lon]

Using one today for the first time..
beef casserole..
beef ,sliced beans carrots,mushrooms ..stock..

now i like onion but the wife cant eat onions..would a whole onion cook ok for flavour or would it be better cut in half?
Or is there another way to get onion flavour into the food?
I want to cook it for about 5,6 hrs so start time around 10,11 ish..

over to you

 

[welsh dragon]

Id leave the onion whole. The flavour will permeate the casserole but stay whole.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Ill get a couple of small onions ,and try whole..i dont want to be picking out onion later if it breaks up..
Glad you mentioned that Reg..as i was going to just put it in raw ..i seal all meat usually..

brown the veg? Do you mean a quick blanch in a frying pan if blanch is the right term?

 

[welsh dragon]

Ill get a couple of small onions ,and try whole..i dont want to be picking out onion later if it breaks up..
Glad you mentioned that Reg..as i was going to just put it in raw ..i seal all meat usually..

brown the veg? Do you mean a quick blanch in a frying pan if blanch is the right term?

Yes. Id seal the meat first, then do the same to the veg using any fat/juices that have come out of the meat.

 

[Levo-Lon]

Thank you..off to the shops then for ingredient hunting....

 

[welsh dragon]

You don't have to brown the meat first at all.

Youre right. You don't have to if you dont want to, but a lot of people do. Its up to the individual

 

[raleighnut]

I wouldn't put the sliced beans in until the last hour, they'll tend to go to mush.
If the onion is left whole (just top and tailed) it should remain whole so you can just lift it out.

 

[welsh dragon]

You do, on the other hand, have to brown the onion. If you don't it is just boilled onion.

Correct. But in meta lons case his wife cant eat onions. He is only putting it in for flavour so it doesn't matter if it is boiled or sealed.

 

[Markymark]

Brown the meat if roasting. No need in a slow cooker.

Best benefit of a slow cooker is to chuck everything in the pot the night before and stick it in the fridge. Next morning switch it on before you go to work.

You really don't want to start cooking meat then refrigerating it.

 

[snorri]

Where's Patrick when you need him?

 

[subaqua]

Brown the meat if roasting. No need in a slow cooker.

Best benefit of a slow cooker is to chuck everything in the pot the night before and stick it in the fridge. Next morning switch it on before you go to work.

You really don't want to start cooking meat then refrigerating it.

or leave it on overnight so you come down in the morning and really want to eat it then !

we sometimes do overnight then leave to cool during the day and then reheat properly in the evening as it "stews" and brings a good flavour.

a great one to chuck into almost any stew type thingy you do in it is pearl barley.

have never browned the meat as i don't buy rubbish meat that tastes like cardboard. maybe if i browned that it would be ten times better but to be fair i have better things to do with my life , like riding a bike

 

[PK99]

You don't have to brown the meat first at all.

Browning enhances the "meatiness"

https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/meat/INT-what-makes-flavor.html

 

[Markymark]

...not in a slow cooker.

 

[PK99]

...not in a slow cooker.

Which is why it is best to brown meat before slow cooking for maximum flavour.

 

[Markymark]

In my experience it does. It also saves on having to use things like gravy browning or Marmite to add colour.

Yes, aesthetics is probably the main reason. However being able to assemble the day before outweighs this. And again, part cooking meat then refrigerating it can be dodgy.