15 Slow Cooker Dinner Recipes | Gimme Some Oven (2024)

FAQs

How do I use my oven instead of a slow cooker? ›

In comparison, when using an oven as a slow cooker, you'll typically set the temperature between 325°F (similar to the low setting) and 375°F (resembling the high setting). Opt for a heavy, oven-safe pot with a tight-fitting lid, like a Staub or Le Creuset Dutch oven, to mimic the moisture retention of a slow cooker.

Low Oven Temperature Water boils at 212F/100C, right? That means we want to slow-cook at 210F or 220F for an all-day cook or slightly higher 240F or 250F for a shorter cooking time. If you want to safely "hold" a dinner that's ready to eat but nobody's home yet, just lower the oven to 180F.

If you have a model that runs “hot", 15 hours may be too much and will result in an overcooked taste. If this is new model to you, try it out on other dishes to get a feel for it. If you are using a lean cut of meat, long cooking time is not the way to go. The meat will get tougher the longer it cooks.

If you take an extra 10 minutes to sauté the aromatics before scraping them into the slow-cooker, the finished dish will have deeper flavor and better texture. (And some new slow-cookers allow you to sauté right in the insert, so you don't have to wash a separate skillet.)

Slow-roast

Best cooked at 150-170C, recipes that require slow-roasting are trickier to control using a domestic oven. Brown the joint first to give it a bit of colour, cook it covered on low, then turn up the heat at the end to brown the meat.

Slow cookers typically cost less to run than an oven. They won't necessarily save you money compared with using an induction hob, or even a gas hob. Making exact comparisons is difficult, because there can be lots of variables, such as the type of hob and how you use it.

With this low-and-slow method you simply set your oven to the temperature you want your joint to reach and let the meat do the work. The good thing is once the temperature is reached, the meat won't cook any further, so you can't overcook it! It's actual science.

The slow cooker cooks foods slowly at a low temperature, generally between 170 and 280 degrees F, over several hours. The combination of direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking and steam, destroys bacteria making the slow cooker a safe process for cooking foods.

Originally Answered: What can be used as a substitute for a crock pot? As long as you are relatively familiar with the heat characteristics of your stove-top, or even oven, you can go ahead and use a regular old cooking pot with a lid. A casserole dish covered with foil in a low temperature oven will work fine too.

Yes, you most certainly can cook raw meat in the slow cooker! You put it in “cold”, with whatever liquid your recipe calls for, turn it on either “low” or “high” depending on your recipe (I usually start it on “high” for a couple hours, then turn it to “low”), and in 6–7–8 hours, it's now COOKED meat!

What is the best meat to cook in a slow cooker? ›

Choose the right cut: Chuck roasts, short ribs, pork shoulders and lamb shanks (think fatty and tougher meats) become meltingly tender with the moist, low heat of a slow cooker. Leaner cuts like pork tenderloin tend to dry out. Likewise, dark meat chicken — thighs, drumsticks, etc.

"Raw meat is a slow-cooker staple, but you may need to add it to the pot before adding other ingredients like green vegetables," she shared. "Browning meat in a skillet before adding it to the slow cooker has been a game-changer for my slow-cooker meals.

It can be nice to cook the onions beforehand, as the flavour is different to when you put them in raw, but experiment both ways as you may find you prefer one. It can also be good to brown meat to give it some colour, but again, this is not essential.

Due to the nature of a slow cooker, there is no need to stir the food unless it specifically says to in your recipe. In fact, taking the lid off to stir food causes the slow cooker to lose a significant amount of heat, extending the cooking time required. Therefore, it is best not to remove the lid for stirring.

To keep a pot roast from drying out, your slow cooker needs liquid to create a moist environment, and that can include meat or vegetable stock, wine or water. This doesn't mean the meat should be submerged; a cup or two of liquid will be enough, since the cooker is covered and liquids stay trapped inside.

If you don't have a slow cooker, you can slow cook right on stovetop using a cooking pot that has a heavy build (like a Dutch oven) so it can disperse heat evenly to the food cooking inside. You should cover it well with a lid, keep the heat low and keep checking food in between so it does not run out of liquid.

While a slow cooker offers convenience, it's not the only route to slow cooking. With alternative methods like Dutch ovens, stovetop simmering, oven baking, pressure cooking, and utilising crockery, you can still savour the joys of slow-cooked meals. The results will be worth the wait.

What temperature is 'Low' on a slow cooker? Most slow cookers have two slow cooker temperature settings. The 'Low' cook setting reaches temperatures between 164-182°F (reaching a peak of around 205°F after 4 hours).