Anonymous wrote:I find meats in the slow cooker taste better if you brown them first in a skillet before adding them.
Anonymous wrote:I agree with OP. Slow cooker meals taste tin-ny.
Anonymous wrote:In addition to sauteeing aromatics and browning meat before putting them in the slow cooker, I usually add a couple of bay leaves. I also use homemade stock exclusively instead of commercial. (I make the stock in the crockpot!)
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For some reason onions, garlic and shallots develop that metallic taste in slow cookers. I would either sauté them separately and add them near the end, omit them or substitute leeks. I don't know if other foods do the same thing. I've heard some commercial broths have a metallic taste, and that would only intensify when concentrated.
Why bother using the slower cooker, then?
It's a cooking technique - low temps over a long period of time - not just a lazy mom gimmick. If you put crappy ingredients in there you will get a crappy meal. If you use it correctly you will end up with some delicious meals.
Agree. Anybody use their slow cooker instead of a pot on the stove (turned on high) b/c is safer and can be left alone? I make a lot of soups that way. Also almost any processed food will break down in a bad way in a crock pot.
That's interesting, because one reason I haven't bought a crock pot is that 90 percent of the recipes I see for them (on this site primarily) seem to rely heavily on processed foods--soup mix, canned soup, jarred salsa, barbecue sauce, etc.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For some reason onions, garlic and shallots develop that metallic taste in slow cookers. I would either sauté them separately and add them near the end, omit them or substitute leeks. I don't know if other foods do the same thing. I've heard some commercial broths have a metallic taste, and that would only intensify when concentrated.
Why bother using the slower cooker, then?
It's a cooking technique - low temps over a long period of time - not just a lazy mom gimmick. If you put crappy ingredients in there you will get a crappy meal. If you use it correctly you will end up with some delicious meals.
Agree. Anybody use their slow cooker instead of a pot on the stove (turned on high) b/c is safer and can be left alone? I make a lot of soups that way. Also almost any processed food will break down in a bad way in a crock pot.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:For some reason onions, garlic and shallots develop that metallic taste in slow cookers. I would either sauté them separately and add them near the end, omit them or substitute leeks. I don't know if other foods do the same thing. I've heard some commercial broths have a metallic taste, and that would only intensify when concentrated.
Why bother using the slower cooker, then?
It's a cooking technique - low temps over a long period of time - not just a lazy mom gimmick. If you put crappy ingredients in there you will get a crappy meal. If you use it correctly you will end up with some delicious meals.
Anonymous wrote:Anonymous wrote:Slow cooker food is nasty. You are just tasting nasty American style food.
Not everything -- but I agree most things. You can make a good pulled pork, a good chili (although I do brown the meat and par cook the veggies and garlic) and even a good beef stew (again with the browning of meat.) Other than that, I think slow cookers are kind of terrible.