I think slow cookers have a bad reputation. People love slow cookers for their convenience and ease of preparation, but I don't think anyone ever expects a really great meal out of them. I'm here to tell you that you can get a flavorful, fancy meal from a slow cooker with limited preparation.
A few things for a successful slow cooker meal:
- Look for meals that use cuts of meat that are best cooked low-and-slow. Pork shoulder (pork butt), ribs, chuck roast, and even dry beans do well in a slow cooker. Most people slow cook the wrong cuts of meat, resulting in over-done, rubbery meals.
- Meats that are extremely low-fat will dry out too soon (pork tenderloin, chicken breasts)
- Leave the lid on! Slow cookers only work when the heat can build-up. Removing the lid will release the hot air, and will increase the cooking time tremendously. Don't stir, and leave that lid on so the slow cooker can do it's job.
I often put together the meal the night before, stick the ceramic pot in my fridge for the night, and then all I have to do is stick it in the slow cooker in the morning! I don't have time to do a bunch of food prep in the morning, so this helps me a ton.
I'm going to share this recipe with you that I found in a Real Simple magazine. It's so yummy, and ridiculously easy. Jeff requests it often, so over time I've modified it just a little bit, but the original recipe is great, too.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups homemade or fresh salsa
2 tablespoons dried oregano
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Zest of one lime
Kosher salt to taste (I use 1-2 teaspoons)
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder
Corn tortillas
Monterrey Jack cheese
Limes
Sour Cream
Cilantro
Mix first 6 ingredients together (through salt) and place in slow cooker. Trim the pork shoulder of visible fat, and place in slow cooker, turning to coat. Cook on low for 8 hours, until the meat falls apart and shreds easily. If it doesn't shred, place lid back on slow cooker and turn the slow cooker temp to high for 1 more hour.
Remove meat, shred meat using two forks, and return to sauce. Serve on corn tortillas with cheese, lime juice, sour cream, and cilantro. Cilantro and limes are the key to bringing the flavors all together.
I hope you enjoy!
I wanted to post this recipe because it's exactly the kind of thing I would have avoided before. French name = difficult to cook. This kind of thing seemed daunting before, probably because there are several steps to this meal. Don't let that slow you down!
This has a typical french-style of food preparation. Brown meat is some kind of fat (oil, bacon grease, etc), remove meat, brown veggies, remove veggies, deglaze pan, add everything, slow cook until done. EASY! The same technique could be used for a pot roast, etc.
Ingredients:- 1 whole fryer chicken
- Bacon - 4-5 slices
- 1 medium sweet onion
- 3-4 large carrots
- 3-4 celery stalks
- 4-5 cloves of garlic
- 2 cups red wine
- 2 cups chicken broth
- Thyme - 8-10 sprigs
- 2 medium sized bay leafs
- Egg noodles
- Flour
- Butter
- Salt and pepper
Keep these things in mind:- You don't need to use a whole chicken if you don't want to, although it's the cheaper way to go. Buying a whole chicken is always cheaper than buying just a section of the bird. Ask your butcher to cut up the pieces for you if you don't want to handle the bird itself.
- You can choose white meat or dark meat, or both, but whatever you do, make sure you use skin-on bone-in pieces.
- Only cook with a wine that you would actually drink.
- Egg noodles are the traditional choice, but this would be good with new potatoes, or any other sides you want.
- Mushrooms are almost always included in this dish. I don't like mushrooms, so I've left them out. If you like them and want to include them, brown 2 cups of mushrooms after browning your other vegetables, remove the mushrooms, and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Preheat your oven to 250 degrees Fahrenheit.Start by cutting up 4-5 slices of bacon. Toss into your dutch oven over medium-heat, and cook until crispy and the bacon fat has all been rendered. Remove bacon and set aside. Salt and pepper both sides of your chicken.
Place chicken into the bacon grease over medium-high heat, browning both sides of the chicken.
Pull chicken out, and set aside. Meanwhile, chop up a medium sized sweet onion, 3-4 celery stalks, and 3-4 large carrots. (Use more or less depending on what you like!)
Place chopped vegetables into dutch oven, and cook for a few minutes until starting to tender and onions are beginning to be translucent. Then add 4-5 cloves of chopped garlic to the vegetables and cook another minute, or until garlic is fragrant. Salt and pepper generously.Before:
After:
Remove vegetable mixture from dutch oven, and add to chicken and bacon. Your pan will probably look like this:
No worries- all that mess is about to be scraped off the pan, and will add so much flavor to the final product! Plus, it won't be so hard to clean.
Pour red wine into pan, and using a whisk or wooden spoon (my preference) deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits. Add the chicken broth, and toss in all the other ingredients (bacon, chicken, veggies, and mushrooms if you used them), making sure the chicken is covered. If not, add a little more chicken broth. Add salt, pepper, bay leafs, and thyme sprigs right into the liquid. Cover tightly, and cook in a 250 degree oven for 2 - 2 1/2 hours, until chicken is done.
Remove bay leafs and thyme. Strain meat and vegetables, keeping the broth. Return vegetables and chicken to the dutch oven and cover to keep warm. Place broth into a pan over medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of butter and 2-3 tablespoons of flour. Whisk while the sauce simmers until sauce thickens to more of a gravy consistency. Add more flour if necessary.
So delicious! Serve over egg noodles with gravy, and enjoy. This is an extremely fragrant and flavorful dinner that would be great year-round! The chicken will literally fall off the bone. A sprinkle of chopped parsley would be wonderful right on top, but I was all out.
YUM!
