The best invention ever

[Gottatri2lift]

I intend this thread to be used for crockpot recipes. swapping and tweaking and talking about everything that is amazing about a slow cooker.

70sbig.com has a good chili recipe for a crockpot that you can make in your sleep. I won't cut and paste b/c you should check out the website and support Justin and everyone else that is putting out good info.

[scotty022]

Here's (http://70sbig.com/?p=1052) the link to the 70's big recipe.

Also, remember that when you're using a crockpot, you're usually just braising meat. There are thousands of recipes out there for braised meat, but it's also nice to have a good general idea of how to braise things for when you just want to cook with what you have lying around the apartment instead of going to the store:

1. Season your meat on both sides with salt and papper, then sear it in a pan.
2. Toss in some vegetables. The classic ones are onions, celery and carrots. They're sometimes called mirepoix. But anything aromatic that you like can be used: garlic, cilantro stems, peppers, leeks, etc. It's good to have a combination of savory-bitter-sweet in your veggies when braising. Cut the veggies into about 1-inch pieces.
3. Put the veggies on the bottom of the pot. Vegetables cook more slowly than meat.
4. Pour in enough liquid to mostly cover the meat. Ideally you want a combination of stock (broth) and some wine, but pretty much any liquid can be used in a pinch. Except hard alcohol. If you do decide to play with bourbon (I can't imagine other alcohols being a good idea), be sure to boil out the alcohol in a pan first.
5. When the meat is done, reduce down the braising liquid to make a sauce.
6. Optional steps to make things tastier: marinate your meat overnight in the braising liquid, sear the vegetables before braising, reduce the alcohol out of the braising liquid before cooking, wrap your meat in caul fat, add some herbs to the braising liquid.

Speaking of caul fat, I'm a big fan of this in general. Caul fat is a thin fatty membrane that surrounds the internal organs of many animals. When chefs talk about it, they're usually referring to the fat around a pig's stomach. The great thing about caul fat is that you can wrap it around something lean like tenderloin or short ribs, and it will melt into the meat, thereby infusing it with moist bacony goodness. Caul fat is still kind of hard to find, but is becoming more and more popular. Ask your butcher, then Google "using caul fat" if you want to try it.