Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
True, I was thinking mainly of red meats, I've never done chicken or other poultry in the crockpot...but this thread is giving me some new ideas. I *do* brown pork roasts first, though.
It's only in the last few years (since moving to an area where it is commonly available) that I have really started cooking with wild game. Years ago I had a bad experience with venison, my first time using it, that had really turned me off from the idea- someone gave it to me and it tasted terrible (it turned out to be the part where the bullet had fragmented) so I didn't contemplate using it again for a long time. But, for the first couple of years after moving here money was very tight, I couldn't find much work and I didn't have much money for food...but I did have about ten acres of grass, which I let a local deer farmer (Red Deer, a sub-species of Elk) cut for hay to feed his animals in trade for meat from them. I was hungry enough to give the 'strange' another try...and it turned out to be quite good. Since then, I've traded for moose and whitetail as well, from local hunters, and it has all been excellent.
Lately, I've been seeing more unusual items, such as bison, ostrich, and duck, offered in grocery stores. There used to be (and maybe still is) a store in Cambridge, MA that offered some *very* exotic meats, but at the time that I lived in that area I was not adventurous enough to try them. I did try pheasant and duck at some restaurants in the area and they were quite good.
Here where I live now, the wild game is a daily part of the scenery wandering through our 'front yard'...and occasionally munching on the things that *we* intend to eat, that we planted. Mrs. Z insists that she will NEVER eat deer or moose or elk...but some of the meals that she has eaten that she has proclaimed are the best I've ever made were *not* made with the beef she *assumed* was in them...I just smile and accept the praise. I don't actually lie and *say* it's beef when it isn't, I just don't say what it really is- she doesn't ask and I don't tell. That's *my* "Don't ask, don't tell" policy .
oh you cheater, just like my dad cheated. I wonder how many times we thought we were eating beef when it was something he had shot or how many times we thought a fish was one kind, but it was another? We too live where the wild creatures walk through our yard (not as much so as where you live) and I am like your wife; keep Bambi in the forest, not on my plate.
I am a slow cooker junkie and one of my latest purchases was this Cuisinart 3 in 1 slow cooker. It can slow cooker, steam and can also brown and saute meat! I still will brown some things in another pan but this is also a nice consideration!
That is on my Christmas list. Our family exchanges names, my granddaughter got my name and she is very good about matching her shopping with the list. I feel comfortable thinking I am getting one. She even made the comment to her mom, she really liked my list this year. I know she has one, so I just hope she realizes that is what I want and doesn't think I want the crock pot that has 3 small ones in one appliance.
If you can't prepare a decent meal in a slow cooker, you're doing something wrong. I use mine at least twice a week and often more. It's very rare that I use condensed soups or packaged spice mixes or marinades in it. When I do use a "cream of something" soup I use the low sodium, low fat variety. I rarely use beef or chicken broth. I use soup base and water. It has more flavor and less sodium than bouillon.
A couple of our favorite recipes require I make the rice on the cooktop. I only use basmati rice because it takes less than 15 minutes to cook. The rice cooks in the time it takes to set the table and make a salad or other side dish.
One of our favorites is a Chinese style pork. I use boneless pork tenderloin, a bit of soy sauce, a little water, a tablespoon or so of brown sugar, and Chinese 5 spice. If we have leftover pork I shred it the next day and mix it with BBQ sauce for sandwiches. I've also used leftovers for a quick stir-fry. It smells wonderful while cooking.
Got a small pork roast, seasoned and seared the outside in a skillet, popped it in the slow cooker. Added red potato wedges and carrot, celery and onion chunks. For good measure I threw in a half dozen whole garlic cloves. Poured in a splash of chicken broth. Six hours later, sprinkled in fresh thyme and made gravy with some of the liquid in the crock. Served it all on top of egg noodles. Delicious dinner.
Planning my next slow-cooked meal as I write this. Thanks everyone for your feedback, negative and positive.
My Crock Pot is too hot. I just tried it out and could have cooked the meal in the oven in the same amount of time. No way can I leave it while I go to work!!
Have you checked the settings? There's normally a few different temperatures on it.
I'm so glad I stumbled on this thread. I have a very smart, as in she has a Ph.D, niece who is clueless in the kitchen. I'm getting her a crockpot for Christmas and want to include a really good cookbook with it. I'd like the recipes to be very simple, 5 or 6 ingredients at most, not too much processed foods and easy to follow. She works very hard at her job and I think she'd love to throw a few things in the pot in the morning and come home to delicious aromas and dinner ready. Anybody have a cookbook they'd recommend?
Since we are on the topic of slow cookers, can someone answer a quick question for me?
I recently bought a 4-quart slow cooker. I was searching for recipes and it seems like so many of the recipes were written for 6-quart cookers. Assuming all the ingredients fit into my cooker, will it take the same amount of time to cook in a 4-qt slow cooker? Thanks!
My rival oval slow cooker ran hot. It's one of the reasons why I bought another slow cooker as it was annoying not to have a "real" low setting.
My oval one runs hot, as well, even on the warm setting. It's never burnt anything, though...just makes the food very hot. It's nit a Rival, though...it's Hamilton Beach. My Rival Crock Pot (smaller, round edition) isn't as hot, but it's also vintage 1970's or early '80s, whereas my big Hamilton Beach one is just a couple years old.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
That's *my* "Don't ask, don't tell" policy 
.
We too live where the wild creatures walk through our yard (not as much so as where you live) and I am like your wife; keep Bambi in the forest, not on my plate. 
