Crock Pot & Slow Cooking

A frequent question comes up during the winter time.   Many come up here to ski on the week-ends and don’t want to spend tons of time preparing an evening meal.   Well here’s a great solution.   Use a crock-pot or a slow oven.   You can do a portion of the cooking in a crock-pot, and when you get back from skiing you can finish it off.   Or, you can just take your meal directly out of the oven.   How easy is that?   And, to avoid that “same taste” crock cooking,  here’s a recipe suggestion:

• 5-spice Beef Stew.   Stews are great for the winter.   You can prepare this dish the night before or the morning before you go skiing.
  • 1-lb. of cubed beef for stewing
  • Flour for dusting
  • Stock (beef, chicken, tomato sauce) 8-oz can plus 1 can water
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • Oil for browning (about 2-3 tablespoons)
  • 1-small chopped onion
  • 1-tsp minced garlic
  • 2-tablespoons of five-spice-powder
  • 1-tbsp brown sugar
  • Your choice of assorted Vegetables (carrots, potatoes, peas, cabbage, string beans etc.)

  Lightly flour and salt and pepper beef. Brown the meat in a skillet with about 2-3 tbsp of oil.   Make sure the meat is nice and seared.  Once browned, transfer them to a crock pot.  Chop a small whole onion and garlic.  Add liquid (beef stock, tomato sauce, chicken stock, fresh tomatoes) enough to cover the meat, add the onions and garlic.  Put 2-tbsps of 5-spice powder (available in the Asian section of Safeway or Albertsons), sugar and mix with the beef put it on low to slow cook while you are out skiing.  If you’re doing it the night before, refrigerate the browned beef in the crock pot and add the liquids the following morning.  Note:  The flour used to coat the beef will thicken the sauce and give it a nice nutty flavor.

  The trick is, you want to finish off this dish when you come back from skiing.  After you’ve rested and had enough wine or libations to replenish all that lost body fluid, transfer the stew to a regular pot.  Simply cut up some of your favorite vegetables (e.g., carrots, potatoes, cabbage etc.) and cook until the vegetables are al-dente and serve over rice or noodles, or alone with a side of nice crusty bread.  Adjust salt/pepper if needed.

  The trick here is that the 5-spice adds a nice flavor differentiating it from that “crock-pot” taste, and the vegetables are not cooked with the meats, but cooked later so you have that nice al-dente texture.  You’ll be amazed how tasty this dish is and how moist and tender the meat is.

Another tip/trick is to use a slow oven (200-250 degrees).

• Cassoulets.   This is a great winter dish.   This is an easy recipe you can prepare in advance.   Normally, you would make this dish with duck confit (which is time consuming).   The trick is you can use left over grilled meats, sausages and/or poultry.   In this dish, we’ll concentrate on the easy method, since you will be going skiing during the day.
  • 4 8-oz cans of navy beans or cannelloni beans
  • 1-lb meat (poultry, ham, sausage etc.)
  • 1 16-oz can chopped tomatoes
  • 1 tsp mined garlic
  • 1 8-oz can of chicken stock
  • 1-cup bread crumbs
  • ½ -cup parmesan cheese
  • 2-tbsp Herb de Provence
  • salt/pepper to taste

  What you will need:  4 8-oz cans of navy beans (white beans) or 4 8-oz cannellini beans rinsed and drained.  Note: if you feel up to it, you can prepare the beans ahead of time; just follow the instructions on the bag.  A pound of mixed meat.  This depends on your preference.  It can be all meat or a combination of meat, poultry and/or sausage.  The meats can be grilled ahead of time, left-overs, or not cooked at all.  Note:  You can use spicy sausages (e.g., hotlinks or spicy Italian sausage) to add a nice bite.  Don’t use ground beef.    Note:  grilling or browning the meats ahead of time, gives it a nice caramelized nutty taste.  Simply grill the meats in a hot oven (400 degrees) for about ½ hour or until nicely browned.   You’ll also need a large 16-oz can of chopped tomatoes, or you can use fresh tomatoes, again depends on your time availability.  Also, you’ll need chopped garlic, about a teaspoon; an 8-oz can of chicken stock, bread crumbs and some cheese.  Add about 2-heaping tablespoons of herb de province (typically equal parts of dried basil, fennel seeds, lavender, marjoram, rosemary, sage and thyme) and salt and pepper.

  In a large Dutch oven, clay pots (e.g., schlemmertopf or romertopf) or a large deep pan that you can over with aluminum foil,  layer the pan alternating with beans the meats, tomatoes, garlic, salt/pepper and herb de province.  When you finish layering, add the liquids.  Using the can of chicken stock, add 1 can of water or your choice of white wine.  Note:  you can adjust the liquid.  If you like your cassoulet more “wet” than add more liquid.  If you like your cassoulet dry, reduce the liquid.  Then top off with about a cup of bread crumbs and cheese (parmesan or other hard cheeses), cover and bake.

  Bake in slow oven at 200-degrees for 8-hours, or 250-degrees for 6-hours.  Depends on how long you plan on skiing and how hungry you get when you return home. 

  Note:  Some people are uncomfortable leaving their stove on for long periods unattended.  If you are one of them, use a crock-pot, but make sure it’s large enough to accommodate this recipe, or reduce the recipe by half.

  The trick is, you can prepare this way in advance and just stick it in the oven before you go skiing.  Serve with nice crusty bread, a nice salad and a hearty red wine.  Note:  Left-overs freeze really well.

Happy Cooking

Randy Diaz