Day to Day SlowCookery

Slow cookers are amazing, while they were popular in the 80s, perhaps not so common. However; now that they are more affordable, are an integral part of many a modern kitchen. I'm not sure why the microwaves made it but not the slow cookers... oh well I'm here to help change that.

Roasts - whether you choose to steamer or slow cook for the initial phase... no longer slaving over a hot oven, crisp for a few minutes and perfect moist and full of flavour.  If you're fan of slow cookers head to Slow Cooker Central and meet the Queen of slow cooking, Pauline. If you love your D2DC roasts but want a little more time away from the kitchen... read on.

For copyright reasons, I will not be putting in all the ingredients stated in the book. Don't own/cant find your D2DC? No worries... I will pop links to similar recipes in with my "method".

Day to Day SlowCookery

Roast loin of pork with stuffing

As always the alternative recipe is here (sans apples, if using check out the link below to encorporate them into your meal), my family are not fans of apple sauce with their roast pork so I generally make it separately for special occasions, with the recipe here.

1. Onto spinning blades drop peices of bread through the MC hole into the jar (speed 6 is good). Remove bread crumbs from jar (the rice basket is a great holder, and may be used later - so less washing up). 

2. Sauté onion by heating oil (I use rendered pork fat), then add quartered onion and roughly cut bacon through mc hole 100/S/5 mins (use speed 5 if no MyCook) and 1 tsp each of allspice, Chinese 5 spice, cinamin pepper 100/S/1 min (Use speed 1, after a speed 5 whiz if not using a MyCook).

3. Remove jar from the machine, allow to cool slightly. Pop bread crumbs on top of the mix and place rice basket (upside down) on top (to keep out flies).

4.  Prepare the pork by removing packaging and elastic. If using steaming attachment to cook do not remove rind. If cooking in slow cooker, and you love crackle - its worth the effort to remove now (and pop in the fridge, no need for a lid).

5. Check that your machine has cooled, pop eggs in and allow to mix together on speed 1.

6. Place the stuffing on the underside of the pork and fix together with string and baking paper. Put into steaming attachment, put water, a quartered onion and 2 cloves of garlic into the jar. Fix in place and set timer to 120/3/65 mins, if using a steaming attachment/thermomixer (please note that the above time is for 900g of meat, if using a larger peice try adding about 5 minutes per extra 200g, depending on your machine) or pop into slow cooker (generally) 8 hours on low or 4 on high. 

7a. Cooking the crackle if the roast has been par-cooked with skin on -  I learnt this from Skinnymixers (and Nic; the Queen of thermomachine cooking)... Remove roast and place in a roasting tray (the string is handy for helping to bring it over). Pat the skin of the pork dry. Rub the rind with a little oil, then salt the rind liberally. Pour onion and garlic water from the jar around the base of the pork. Bake in the oven at 250c for 30 minutes or until well browned.

7b. If cooking roast in a slow cooker, and skin is separate... Remove the rind from the fridge, and pat the skin of the pork dry. Rub the rind with a little oil, then salt the rind liberally. Bake in the oven at 250c for 30 minutes or until well browned. Hot tip When the crackle is cooked, pour the fat into a glass jar and store in the fridge for cooking fat.

Both Nicolene and D2DC recommend that if your oven is the kind that refuses to produce beautiful crackling, try putting it under a medium grill before serving.
 

To make the most of your cooking session, while the pork is in the oven:

• Use the steaming attachment to steam some veggies
• Use the jar to make mashed potato 
• When everything is cooked, use the juices from the pork to make gravy.

Satay Chicken

Use the recipe for chicken satay sticks or an alternative that you are happy with. The D2DC actually only has 4 ingredients; oil, crunchy peanut butter, soy sauce and cumin. 

For a cheaper meal you can make the sauce and use chicken drumbsticks cooked for 1.5 hours on high or 2.5 hours on low in the slow cooker cook a little longer if you want the meat falling off the bone. 

Alternatively line your steaming attachment with wet baking paper and cook chicken with bones about 35 minutes (which is great as the rice cooks underneath, and its perfect timing for brown rice).

If using chicken thigh fillets; slice chicken into strips/squares, prepare the sauce and cook chicken and sauce together in the jar 120/1/10 minutes.