When the cooler, darker nights arrive earlier in the day, it’s time to bring the Slow Cooker (Crock Pot) out from its summer hiding place and make life easy.

Beef, lamb pork and pulses are my favourites to cook in the Slow Cooker. I can leave them all day and on returning home, everything is tender and delicious.

Here’s a few cool tips for cooking up sensational dishes in the Slow Cooker

• Use tougher cuts of meat – they’re also cheaper too.
• Cook on low to achieve good flavour and tender meat.
• Browning meat will add flavour and enhance the colour, but it’s not an absolute essential of you’re busy.
• If cooking larger cuts, like corned beef, allow resting time before carving.
• Trim fat off meat when slow cooking as the fat does not ‘cook-off’ as it would in the oven and may add a greasy taste to your casserole or dish.
• Cook well-soaked pulses without tomatoes as the acid in the tomatoes will prevent the pulses from becoming tender.
• Old pulses will never soften. Never add salt as it also prevents the pulses from softening.
• Pulses need plenty of water, at least three times the amount.
• Onions will cook better if they have been very finely chopped. Large pieces need to be browned for best results, lest they take forever to cook.
• Root vegetables, like potatoes and carrots will cook better if underneath the liquid otherwise they will take some time to cook.

Try these this week…..

http://allysongofton.co.nz/recipe/braised-oxtail?r=2387

http://allyson.co.nz/recipe/mulligatawny?r=2853