What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
wrong? Thanks.

On Sep 21, 10:14*am, wrote:
> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
> recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
> pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
> couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
> come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
> cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
> to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
> thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
> trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
> wrong? Thanks.

Did you brown the meat beforehand?

On 9/21/2012 7:16 AM, merryb wrote:
> On Sep 21, 10:14 am, wrote:
>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
>> recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
>> pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
>> couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
>> come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
>> cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
>> to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
>> thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
>> trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
>> wrong? Thanks.
>
> Did you brown the meat beforehand?
>

Mostly, the OP should learn how to use seasonings - any experienced cook
could taste a problem recipe and fix it easily but it's tough going for
an inexperienced one.

I made some chili last night using the method that I saw on TV. I just
dumped the hamburger with a bunch of other stuff in a pot, mixed it up,
and simmered it for a couple of hours. No browning at all. Towards the
end, a can of beans was tossed in. It's easy and tasty chili. Easy and
tasty is good. Very good.

On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:16:16 -0700 (PDT), merryb > wrote:

>On Sep 21, 10:14*am, wrote:
>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
>> recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
>> pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
>> couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
>> come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
>> cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
>> to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
>> thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
>> trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
>> wrong? Thanks.
>
>Did you brown the meat beforehand?

For the stew, no I didn't brown it. The recipe called for dusting it in flour
and putting it in the crock pot with the veggies. No mention of browning it. I
do brown the chuck roast for the pot roast and the spare ribs. The recipe calls
for it. This is my first ever crock pot and I'm new to it, so I'm following the
recipes as I read them.

wrote:
>
> For the stew, no I didn't brown it. The recipe called for dusting it in flour
> and putting it in the crock pot with the veggies. No mention of browning it. I
> do brown the chuck roast for the pot roast and the spare ribs. The recipe calls
> for it. This is my first ever crock pot and I'm new to it, so I'm following the
> recipes as I read them.

I made beef stew in a crock pot years ago. It was ok but not all that. then
I heard of searing the meat in a frying pan first. What a nice difference!


G.

On Sep 21, 1:54*pm, Gary > wrote:
> wrote:
>
> > For the stew, no I didn't brown it. The recipe called for dusting it in flour
> > and putting it in the crock pot with the veggies. No mention of browning it. I
> > do brown the chuck roast for the pot roast and the spare ribs. The recipe calls
> > for it. This is my first ever crock pot and I'm new to it, so I'm following the
> > recipes as I read them.
>
> I made beef stew in a crock pot years ago. It was ok but not all that. *then
> I heard of searing the meat in a frying pan first. *What a nice difference!
>
>
> G.

You got it!

Gary wrote:
> wrote:
>
>> For the stew, no I didn't brown it. The recipe called for dusting it in flour
>> and putting it in the crock pot with the veggies. No mention of browning it. I
>> do brown the chuck roast for the pot roast and the spare ribs. The recipe calls
>> for it. This is my first ever crock pot and I'm new to it, so I'm following the
>> recipes as I read them.
>
> I made beef stew in a crock pot years ago. It was ok but not all that. then
> I heard of searing the meat in a frying pan first. What a nice difference!
>

Browning red meat before does make a huge difference in the flavor.

I have not bothered when I've cooked fowl in a crockpot though. I tried
it once and it was more work for less gain. With fowl I decided the
goal was reducing liquid in the end. I will thaw and dry the chicken as
much as I can before putting it in the slow cooker and not add any
watery veggie until the very end. I run it with the liquid a little bit
open so some of the steam escapes to help dry it out. I do like
cooking a chicken with a can of condensed mushroom soup but that does
come out as a stew with more liquid than I want. Only add non-root
veggies near the end.

I've read in cookbooks that a slow cooker brings out more flavor from
dried herbs. Not to me. Add more. But fresh herbs are fragile so only
in the last hour or less.

Beans I'll bring to a boil in a regular pot, drain and then transfer to
the slow cooker. I cook them more than a day to give them time to meld.
Get the starch or fiber out of the center of the beans into the maxtrix
of the liquid to act as a binder.

On 9/21/2012 4:12 PM, wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:16:16 -0700 (PDT), merryb > wrote:
>
>> On Sep 21, 10:14 am, wrote:
>>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
>>> recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
>>> pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
>>> couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
>>> come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
>>> cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
>>> to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
>>> thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
>>> trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
>>> wrong? Thanks.
>>
>> Did you brown the meat beforehand?
>
> For the stew, no I didn't brown it. The recipe called for dusting it in flour
> and putting it in the crock pot with the veggies. No mention of browning it. I
> do brown the chuck roast for the pot roast and the spare ribs. The recipe calls
> for it. This is my first ever crock pot and I'm new to it, so I'm following the
> recipes as I read them.
>


The dishes you mentioned will come out fine in a crockpot.

Long cooking tends to really flatten flavors and you definitely need to
adjust seasonings towards the end. Don't just use an exact recipe and
hope for the best.

wrote in message ...

On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 10:16:16 -0700 (PDT), merryb > wrote:

>On Sep 21, 10:14 am, wrote:
>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried
>> several
>> recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and
>> they are
>> pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've
>> tried a
>> couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and
>> they
>> come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are
>> chicken
>> cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was
>> able
>> to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it,
>> which
>> thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up
>> on
>> trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be
>> doing
>> wrong? Thanks.
>
>Did you brown the meat beforehand?

For the stew, no I didn't brown it. The recipe called for dusting it in
flour
and putting it in the crock pot with the veggies. No mention of browning it.
I
do brown the chuck roast for the pot roast and the spare ribs. The recipe
calls
for it. This is my first ever crock pot and I'm new to it, so I'm following
the
recipes as I read them.
***********************

I believe the little recipe booklets that come with a crock pot are
intentionally bland. You've got to break out of that mold. If you knew to
brown the chuck roast, why not also brown the stew meat? Anyone who knows
anything about cooking knows you don't dust meat with flour then just plop
it in a crock pot with some liquid. (Also, don't use water, use some beef
broth or stock.) The food is only as good as what you put into the pot.

Having said that, I make a very tasty chicken stew in the crock pot. I
remove the skin and boil the chicken first. Debone, then add the meat to
the crock pot along with carrots, celery, potatoes, and chicken broth or
stock. *Definitely* add poultry seasoning - salt, pepper, sage, marjoram,
onion powder (if you're not adding actual onions) to the stew. I also throw
in a bay leaf. Cover and you can let this cook on LOW about 8 hours. I
always add some drop dumplings at the end of cooking. 10 minutes uncovered
in the bubbling hot stew, 10 minutes covered. Dumplings thicken the stew
and besides, I just love chicken stew with dumplings

Jill

merryb wrote:
>
> On Sep 21, 10:14 am, wrote:
> > What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
> > recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
> > pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
> > couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
> > come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
> > cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
> > to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
> > thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
> > trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
> > wrong? Thanks.
>
> Did you brown the meat beforehand?

That and find a decent recipe. I've never cooked a bad meal in a crockpot.

G.

> wrote in message
...
> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried
> several
> recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and
> they are
> pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've
> tried a
> couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and
> they
> come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are
> chicken
> cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was
> able
> to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
> thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
> trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be
> doing
> wrong? Thanks.

A Crock-Pot will cook the seasoning out of the food. You need to add more
seasoning towards the end of the cooking time.

Julie Bove wrote:
>
> A Crock-Pot will cook the seasoning out of the food. You need to add more
> seasoning towards the end of the cooking time.

LOL!

G.

On Sep 21, 2:21*pm, Gary > wrote:
> Julie Bove wrote:
>
> > A Crock-Pot will cook the seasoning out of the food. *You need to add more
> > seasoning towards the end of the cooking time.
>
> LOL! *
>
> G.

No. ROTFLMAO!!!!!

Chemo wrote:
> On Sep 21, 2:21 pm, Gary > wrote:
>> Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>>> A Crock-Pot will cook the seasoning out of the food. You need to
>>> add more seasoning towards the end of the cooking time.
>>
>> LOL!
>>
>> G.
>
> No. ROTFLMAO!!!!!

Why is this funny to you? All of my Crock-Pot cookbooks say that the long
cooking will dilute the seasonings and you need to taste and reseason
towards the end.

On Sep 21, 2:46*pm, "Julie Bove" > wrote:
> Chemo wrote:
> > On Sep 21, 2:21 pm, Gary > wrote:
> >> Julie Bove wrote:
>
> >>> A Crock-Pot will cook the seasoning out of the food. You need to
> >>> add more seasoning towards the end of the cooking time.
>
> >> LOL!
>
> >> G.
>
> > No. ROTFLMAO!!!!!
>
> Why is this funny to you? *All of my Crock-Pot cookbooks say that the long
> cooking will dilute the seasonings and you need to taste and reseason
> towards the end.

Gotcha!!

On Sep 21, 5:46*pm, "Julie Bove" > wrote:

> Why is this funny to you? *All of my Crock-Pot cookbooks say that the long
> cooking will dilute the seasonings and you need to taste and reseason
> towards the end.


I do not call myself a cook although surely I suppose I am to some
degree as I have made my own food on occasion. I am coming more and
more to believe that simple is better. I have tried many recipes to
the letter and they never come out good. Some are really bad, some
ok, but none outstanding. Yet when I am in a pinch and forced to
create simple dishes on my own (dishes without names, just food), they
turn out good almost every time. I am becoming a believer in
blandness. Cook everything as is then add the spices and later. Not
always necessarily, but I think a lot of elaborate recipes are
elaborate simply to grab attention. Some recipes are made to impress
by number of ingredients and time of cooking, such as, "My mom made
the best spaghetti sauce, she cooked it for 9 hours", when I have come
to find the best cooking of a homemade spaghetti sauce takes place
after the sauce has been placed in the refrigerator and the stuff in
it learns to live together.

TJ

"Gary" > wrote in message ...
> Julie Bove wrote:
>>
>> A Crock-Pot will cook the seasoning out of the food. You need to add
>> more
>> seasoning towards the end of the cooking time.
>
> LOL!

No, it's true!

On Sep 21, 2:45*pm, "Julie Bove" > wrote:
> "Gary" > wrote in ....
> > Julie Bove wrote:
>
> >> A Crock-Pot will cook the seasoning out of the food. *You need to add
> >> more
> >> seasoning towards the end of the cooking time.
>
> > LOL! *
>
> No, it's true!

This will be one of the times I agree with you- I also think you need
to add the minimum amount of water.

On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:

>What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
>recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
>pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
>couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
>come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
>cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
>to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
>thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
>trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
>wrong? Thanks.

get a pork Boston Butt roast, through it in your slow cooker fat side
down, cook on low for 8 hours...use fork to swish it around...voila,
you have created pulled pork you will not throw out! Spoon it on to
hamburger buns and top it with your favorite sauce and cole slaw.

William

On Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:07:48 -0400, William > wrote:

>On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:
>
>>What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
>>recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
>>pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
>>couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
>>come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
>>cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
>>to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
>>thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
>>trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
>>wrong? Thanks.
>
>get a pork Boston Butt roast, through it in your slow cooker fat side
>down, cook on low for 8 hours...use fork to swish it around...voila,
>you have created pulled pork you will not throw out! Spoon it on to
>hamburger buns and top it with your favorite sauce and cole slaw.
>
>William

That's it? Just the pork butt fat side down and absolutely nothing else?

On Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:59:48 -0400, wrote:

>On Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:07:48 -0400, William > wrote:
>
>>On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:
>>
>>>What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and have tried several
>>>recipes. Only two have ever come out decent, rather good actually, and they are
>>>pot roast and spare ribs. So I keep doing them over and over. But I've tried a
>>>couple of other recipes, following the recipe exactly as I read it, and they
>>>come out a total waste of time and money. Two that come to mind are chicken
>>>cacciatore and beef stew. Just bland and watery. No taste, The stew I was able
>>>to salvage to come degree by dumping two jars of beef gravy into it, which
>>>thickened it a little and gave it some flavor. But I'm about to give up on
>>>trying anything else because I end up throwing food out. What can I be doing
>>>wrong? Thanks.
>>
>>get a pork Boston Butt roast, through it in your slow cooker fat side
>>down, cook on low for 8 hours...use fork to swish it around...voila,
>>you have created pulled pork you will not throw out! Spoon it on to
>>hamburger buns and top it with your favorite sauce and cole slaw.
>>
>>William
>
>That's it? Just the pork butt fat side down and absolutely nothing else?

that's right, no water just put it in a dry Crock-Pot with the lid on.
Makes wonderful barbequed pork and there will be a half inch of
drippings in the bottom of the pot when you get through.

William

On Sep 22, 12:30*pm, William > wrote:
>
> On Sat, 22 Sep 2012 12:59:48 -0400, wrote:
>
> >On Sat, 22 Sep 2012 08:07:48 -0400, William > wrote:
>
> >>get a pork Boston Butt roast, through it in your slow cooker fat side
> >>down, cook on low for 8 hours...use fork to swish it around...voila,
> >>you have created pulled pork you will not throw out! Spoon it on to
> >>hamburger buns and top it with your favorite sauce and cole slaw.
>
> >>William
>
> >That's it? Just the pork butt fat side down and absolutely nothing else?
>
> that's right, no water just put it in a dry Crock-Pot with the lid on.
> Makes wonderful barbequed pork and there will be a half inch of
> drippings in the bottom of the pot when you get through.
>
> William
>
>
It may be moist, but it's going to be a bland slab of pork and that's
not barbecued pork, not even close.

On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:

> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and
> have tried several recipes.

What you're doing wrong is using a crock pot.


Steve

On 9/22/2012 7:51 AM, Steve Pope wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:
>
>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and
>> have tried several recipes.
>
> What you're doing wrong is using a crock pot.
>
>
> Steve
>

This is correct, what he should have been using is an automatic rice
pot. I made chicken curry rice in my rice cooker last night and it was
ridiculously easy and tasty. The last few minutes, I added a layer of
broccoli on top of the rice to cook.

I'll be relying more on cooking in this style in the future. My total
time spent on making dinner last night was less than 10 minutes. It's
like magic, it puzzles my wife when I hand her the food seemingly out of
nowhere. It's a neat trick.

"dsi1" wrote in message ...

On 9/22/2012 7:51 AM, Steve Pope wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:
>
>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and
>> have tried several recipes.
>
> What you're doing wrong is using a crock pot.
>
>
> Steve
>

This is correct, what he should have been using is an automatic rice
pot. I made chicken curry rice in my rice cooker last night and it was
ridiculously easy and tasty. The last few minutes, I added a layer of
broccoli on top of the rice to cook.
(snip)
******************

So happy you like your rice cooker! Rice with vegetables is easy enough to
cook without a special electric cooker. I do it all the time using a pot on
the stove

Jill

On 9/22/2012 9:04 AM, jmcquown wrote:
> "dsi1" wrote in message ...
>
> On 9/22/2012 7:51 AM, Steve Pope wrote:
>> On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:
>>
>>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and
>>> have tried several recipes.
>>
>> What you're doing wrong is using a crock pot.
>>
>>
>> Steve
>>
>
> This is correct, what he should have been using is an automatic rice
> pot. I made chicken curry rice in my rice cooker last night and it was
> ridiculously easy and tasty. The last few minutes, I added a layer of
> broccoli on top of the rice to cook.
> (snip)
> ******************
>
> So happy you like your rice cooker! Rice with vegetables is easy enough
> to cook without a special electric cooker. I do it all the time using a
> pot on the stove
>
> Jill

I cut up a chicken breast and add it to the mix. It doesn't come out all
dried out. I could probably cook an entire chicken breast in a pot of
rice and it'll be cooked perfectly. Well, that's my guess anyway. I will
try that. Maybe I can even stick it in frozen with no problem.

On 9/22/2012 1:51 PM, Steve Pope wrote:
> On Fri, 21 Sep 2012 13:13:50 -0400, wrote:
>
>> What am I doing wrong? I bought a crock pot a while back and
>> have tried several recipes.
>
> What you're doing wrong is using a crock pot.
>
>
> Steve
>

Why? The dishes he named are perfect for a crockpot. I make fantastic
pork, sauerkraut and potatoes, or split pea soup with ham or beef barley
soup as an example and they all come out well

Now if the recipe went something like "add an envelope of onion soup
mix" I would agree with you.

I love crockpot cooking. Last yr at Thanksgiving Mom wouldn't give up
oven space and I wanted to add duck to the menu. I used a large crockpot
that barely held the duck-the natural oil in the duck came pouring out
in the process and essentially it was deep fat boiled in oil. The meat
was so soft tender moist and flavorful. If I get the oven space next
time, I am going to try briefly crisping it in a high degree oven at the
end since the crockpot doesnt give you the browned skin.

With all the great commercial blended spices these days, I think it
would be fun to give each guest a seasoning shaker/bowl at their place
setting. In fact, making a seasonless meal and offering a choice of
seasonings on the table would be adventurous for guests.