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I bought a new oval slow coooker which is about 6 litres capacity, I think. One of those chrome Morpht Richards ones, because I wanted one that I could put a whole chicken into, for making stock and using the meat for other dishes etc. My instructions say that when you are cooking you need to have a certain amount of water in the crock. There is only 4 in my family but if I used the amounts they said, I would have enough to feed an army So what I want to know is does it really make a difference?

There is a recipe on the site for braised steak and onion pie - i tried the recipe and the meat was tough - However, on Sunday - I chucked the whole lot (not the pastry!!) - everything raw - into my slow cooker - and left it on low for about 6 hours - occasionally taking the lid off so as the sauce was thicken - once ready I put it all in a pie dish - put on the pastry lid and it was VERY YUMMY!!

hi everyone...huggy, i had just been thinking about mince. that is the other thing i will cook first...must get rid of the fat/grease. it works really well in dishes if the mince is browned and drained first. chili especially!

I make the filling for my steak pie in the slow cooker and it is so tender. A trick is if I think the gravy is too thin then all I do is add the meat to the dish and reduce the gravy down and pour over the meat. One thing that doesn't work well is mince. I haven't tried it (it was my Dad that told me). I'd love to know if anyone has had success with mince. Currys are also good in the slow cooker.

I have had my slow cooker for years{15}at least, well I have brought more than one I find it wonderful.I do not but in hot liquid in fact I get it all ready the evening befor and leave in the fridge, then I just put it on next morning and I have never had a problem.Lamb shanks are just beatuiful they fall off the bone. Also try rice pudding just make it with the same ingredients as normal put in on and forget about it, it comes out the most creamy and delious pudding even using skimmed milk. I work shifts so dose the other half and I could not be without my slow cooker especially in the winter.

i don't heat the liquid because eventually, over the period of hours you are cooking it, it will all come to thermal equalibrium...the temperatures will be the same throughout the dish, not hot and cold spots throughout. to me, that just speeds up the process. the only times i brown the meat first is if the colour will show in the finished product (ie chicken breasts which obviously look better browned) OR if i want to keep the juices in (ie roasts). you'd be surprised at how hot it actually gets. as i said, i did the ribs today (they were yummy!)and by the end of the time, the liquid was actually boiling...not a great rolling boil, but a slow simmer. claire...NO, you don't have to cover all ingredients with liquid..this would result in a slow "boil". i have done a whole chicken with loads of liquid to make stock, then removed the meat and made a couple of other meals out of it. most things will make quite a bit more liquid than you started with. i used to brown the meat because i felt funny not doing it, then talked to a bunch of other "slow cooker cooks" who said they never do. that was a while ago and i've not gotten sick since not doing it...nor have i ever had undercooked meat. really, it just makes more work and takes away from the point of the slow cooker. i'd never even thought about heating the liquid before because no one i'd learned to cook from ever did that. SET IT AND FORGET IT!!! i worked in an private oncology practice with one of my very best friends who also loved to cook and almost every day, each of us would bring 1/2 the ingredients, throw it all in the slow cooker and not only enjoy it ourselves, but the patients LOVED it too! it was really nice, because on the days we wouldn't cook, the patients would buy us lunch out somewhere to make up for all the times we'd fed them! lots of them would be there for 8-10 hrs chemo treatments and it always made for fun conversation and brightened their days!

INTERESTED to hear everyone's comments! To brown or not to brown??? to heat or not to heat???
hope you all have nice weekends!!!

Can I just add, that I'm pretty sure that all liquid surrounding the meat has to be hot when placed into a slow cooker. Bit of a pain I know, but if not heated first the meat will never get up to temperature and and just sit in a warm environment - a bit like leaving it in a bag outside on a sunny day. Not particularly appealling!! I usually throw the meat into a big frying pan, then add any other ingredients such as onion and veg, then add stock/sauce or whatever, bring to the boil and then pour into slow cooker and leave for hours. Plenty of time to wash frying pan, dry and put away!!. ps. like the idea of doing ribs in my slow cooker - Thanks BeccaNurse - must try it out (after browning of course!!)

Thanks everyone, In reply to BeccaNurse can I cook a whole roast chicken in it say for sunday luch, if so how would i do it? Does everything you put in have to be covered with liquid?

Hi claire...i responded to a post the other day similar to yours. it's under the equipment section of chat, a couple of posts below yours. i use a slow cooker a lot, actually, i'm doing ribs today. easy...throw the ribs in, sliced onions, then either a bottle of bbq sauce or make your own. about 6-8 hours on low or 3-4 on high. you don't have to touch them while cookiing, but you can taste the sauce and see if you want to add anything. they come out sooooo tender and the meat just falls off the bone. sometimes i sear the meat first, but usually only with roasts and chicken if i'm doing breast pieces that will stay whole. if you are going to shred the meat in the end, there's no need to brown first, although some people just feel more comfortable doing so. if the meat is cooked long enough, it's not necessary. when in doubt, test with a thermometer. i've never made anything "HARD" in the cooker, but interestingly enough, i even have some dessert recipes for it! hope this and my other post helps you! enjoy

Don't have any of my own recipes but I did an internet search on Google, just for "slow cooker recipes" and found there are lots of sites with recipes on.

So I can't recommend any cos I haven't tried any, but worth a look I think.

You certainly have to brown the meat before putting in the slow cooker.