Breakfast/lunch/Dinner, what are you having?

DT said:
Rub the turkey thigh down with some olive oil, salt, pepper and then put into a slow cooker (skin side up). It's spectacular, let it go for 2-3 hours and wow, it comes out moist, perfectly cooked through, slice it parallel to the bone, it's like duck. For folks who use a slow cooker, it probably seems a little weird, not having any extra fluid, but the ambient and direct heat works amazingly well.

And super cheap, we pick up a couple of turkey thighs for < $5.
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Sounds delicious.

And thanks (much appreciated) for the recipe.

A slow cooker is not a classic oven, I gather?
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Sounds delicious.

A slow cooker is not a classic oven, I gather?
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If I’m not mistaken, frequently described as a crock pot. I just made a delicious stew in one set for 6 hour cook time. We tend to eat those more in the Winter, we got 4 portions out of it, and I plan on making another tomorrow.
 
Huntn said:
If I’m not mistaken, frequently described as a crock pot. I just made a delicious stew in one set for 6 hour cook time. We tend to eat those more in the Winter, we got 4 portions out of it, and I plan on making another tomorrow.
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Ah, yeah. The classic green Crock Pot. I'm sure just about every family in the south had one at one point or another. I still see them on occasion to this day.

CrockPot.jpg
 
Much appreciated, @DT, @Renzatic & @Huntn:

I suppose that I can assume - or, can I assume? - that a "slow oven" - i.e. an oven set to a very low setting, or temperature, - will (more or less) replicate the functions of this "slow cooker"?
 
Hrafn said:
Yes, although from what I’ve read, having a Dutch oven or heavy covered pot helps.
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Again, (despite the name) the culinary concept of a "Dutch oven" is alien to us on Our Side of The Pond.

However, I daresay that the requirement for a "heavy covered pot" - I have Le Creuset casseroles, and a copper Le Mauviel casserole - can be met by those?
 
Scepticalscribe said:
Again, (despite the name) the culinary concept of a "Dutch oven" is alien to us on Our Side of The Pond.

However, I daresay that the requirement for a "heavy covered pot" - I have Le Creuset casseroles, and a copper Le Mauviel casserole - can be met by those?
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Yeah. On your side of the pond, they're called casserole pots, or something like. You could use that as a crock pot, but I think a large stainless steel pot set on a stove eye would be the closer match.

When all is said and done, crock pots are just a way to slow simmer food. Anything that can heat a large amount of liquid will work.
 
Renzatic said:
Ah, yeah. The classic green Crock Pot. I'm sure just about every family in the south had one at one point or another. I still see them on occasion to this day.

View attachment 10576
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I just looked at ours, it’s a Rival Crockpot too, so that “crockpot” is likely a brand name. Ours is shorter and wider with a stainless wrap. :)

C541E046-F02D-409D-89DE-F960291BBFE5.jpeg​
Scepticalscribe said:
Much appreciated, @DT, @Renzatic & @Huntn:

I suppose that I can assume - or, can I assume? - that a "slow oven" - i.e. an oven set to a very low setting, or temperature, - will (more or less) replicate the functions of this "slow cooker"?
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That’s hard for me to ascertain, my understanding is that a crockpot/slow cooker always relies on a heavy ceramic pot, that heats up slowly and relies on a long cooking time. Mine has settings for 4,6,8 hours. My understanding is also that the final temp it reaches, whatever that is, is just a matter of how fast it gets to that temp and I’m not sure what that final cooking temp is.

However, this maybe incorrect now that I’ve read this article that mentions 190-300F and it could be at the longer cooking times, a lower final temp is achieved.

www.forkandspoonkitchen.org

Crockpot Temperature Guide How Hot Does a Slow Cooker Get - Fork & Spoon Kitchen

How hot does a slow cooker get? Is it safe to cook food in a Crock-Pot at high temperatures? A crockpot is a great kitchen tool for cooking delicious meals without having to stand over the stove or oven. They come in various sizes and shapes, from large pots to mini ones. The main difference ...
www.forkandspoonkitchen.org

If I am cooking a roast, in a crockpot, it’s got to be 6-8 hours and invariable they come out as tender as can be. According to this article it refers to dry slow cooking in an oven, but my impression is the advantage of a slow cooker is the moisture for the most part is retained and the meat stays very moist.

home.howstuffworks.com

How Slow Cookers Work

If you crave a warm, home-cooked meal, but don't have time to spend hours in the kitchen, a slow cooker may be just what you need. But how do slow cookers work?
home.howstuffworks.com home.howstuffworks.com

But, It would most definitely have to be covered. If I was making a stew and did not have a slow cooker, I’d make it on the stove in a covered pot at low heat.
 
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Ah: I usually prepare stews in the oven, but on a very slow heat setting for hours and hours.

Over the years, I have learned to reduce the heat and extend the time when preparing stews or casseroles.
 
Since both @Renzatic and myself produced images of Rival Crock pots :D, If anyone is interested in what happened to the brand name, according to this the name Rival Crockpot was used until 2005, until it was spun off into just Crockpot, but the Rival brand name still exists, licensed to Walmart.

en.wikipedia.org

Rival (consumer products company) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
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One of my students (well, former students, he is now an academic himself) married an accomplished Italian lady, and she tells me that her father often cooks ragu (a meat based Italian stew, one of the original sources of the classic spaghetti bolognese) for between eight to ten hours in an oven on an exceptionally low heat, and that it is absolutely delicious.
 
Scepticalscribe said:
One of my students (well, former students, he is now an academic himself) married an accomplished Italian lady, and she tells me that her father often cooks ragu (a meat based Italian stew, one of the original sources of the classic spaghetti bolognese) for between eight to ten hours in an oven on an exceptionally low heat, and that it is absolutely delicious.
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I can remember eating dinner as a child at some friends who were first generation Italian who had pots on the stove all day long, and I remember thinking that’s a long time. So as I know now, there was a good reason. ;) They also sprung the concept of meal courses on us to my dismay with no warning, lol. :D
 
Huntn said:
I can remember eating dinner as a child at some friends who were first generation Italian who had pots on the stove all day long, and I remember thinking that’s a long time. So as I know now, there was a good reason. ;) They also sprung the concept of meal courses on us to my dismay with no warning, lol. :D
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Not just several meal courses, but meals that take hours and hours to eat (two hours is nothing) - often with ages between the actual courses - as well as hours and hours and hours to cook and prepare.

You will find those traditions right across Europe (especially in the cuisines and cultures of France, Italy and Spain).
 
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Scepticalscribe said:
Not just several meal courses, but meals that take hours and hours to eat (two hours is nothing) - often with ages between the actual courses - as well as hours and hours and hours to cook and prepare.

You will find those traditions right across Europe (especially in the cuisies and cultures of France, Italy and Spain).
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And then there is making an evening (relatively) of eating your dinner out at a restaurant across Europe? This struck me first in Germany when we were out on the town visiting my wife’s Sister and husband stationed in Rammstein, but would you say this is a European tradition?

It’s been a while now due to COVID, but when we eat out, I would not describe it as rushing, but the idea is not to take hours to accomplish the task.
 
Huntn said:
And then there is making an evening (relatively) of eating your dinner out at a restaurant across Europe? This struck me first in Germany when we were out on the town visiting my wife’s Sister and husband stationed in Rammstein, but would you say this is a European tradition?

It’s been a while now due to COVID, but when we eat out, I would not describe it as rushing, but the idea is not to take hours to accomplish the task.
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Yes, I would say that it is a European tradition (not, mind you, one that hails from the British Isles; those of us who admire this and (sometimes) adhere to this, basically copied it from them).
 
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