I should have gotten the one with the timer on it. I put a roast beef in it yesterday with all the trimmings and it cooked slow for 10 hours and the meat was very over done. Anyone have any good recipes for the crock pot?

Roast beef is about the best one, we usually cook ours about 6-8 hours. None of ours has ever had a timer on it. Though it's good for cooking pork chops also, and I like making baked barbecue chicken in it, put in a chicken breast with the skin taken off of it, let it cook a few hours, cover it in barbecue sauce and let it cook 1-2 hours more to sink in.

I'll have to get back to you on that, Tony. We use it mainly for soups and stews.

Thanks SN and Alan. Problem is that I got the one without the timer so I need to cook stuff at least 8 hours before it can be shut off. All the recipes I read say 6-8 hours 8-10 hours 10-12 hours so I guess you really have to be home 2 hours before to check what you are cooking which in some cases will not work for me

Tony, you can vary the cooking time by changing the temp setting. I'm surprised your roast was over done. Oh...and let me recommend these (or something similar)!

Alan Smithee wrote:

Tony, you can vary the cooking time by changing the temp setting. I'm surprised your roast was over done. Oh...and let me recommend these (or something similar)!

It only has 3 settings, low, high and keep warm. Thats why I should have gotten the one with the timer on it. I will buy the liners next time I go shopping.

Tony Marino wrote:

It only has 3 settings, low, high and keep warm.

Same here. What I meant was if, for example, a receipe calls for cooking the dish on high for 6-8 hours, cook it longer on low or vice versa. Come to think on it, I don't recall any receipes that don't say more than cook on high or low. Maybe one day I'll treat you to our fish head soup.

You don't need a timer. You prob. cooked it on high. Did you have enough water or broth in the pot? I've never had a problem with my meat being overcooked in a crock pot. And regardless of what they recipe calls for, the vast majority don't need 10 hrs worth of cooking.

i never used a crock pot.. mainly cause i rarely cook... but i was always afraid to leave it plugged in... with my luck, the whole place would be burned down while i was at work.

I second the recommendation on the liners. I really like to do lasagna in mine, but given the fact you are Italian, you may think that is the worst idea ever!

One good hint is to take care when cooking chicken. It should be completely thawed so that it reaches a high enough temp to be safe to eat. I never cook it on low either, even though most sources say it is fine to cook on low. I always feel like it may not get hot enough on low to kill bacteria.

Alan Smithee wrote:

Same here. What I meant was if, for example, a receipe calls for cooking the dish on high for 6-8 hours, cook it longer on low or vice versa. Come to think on it, I don't recall any receipes that don't say more than cook on high or low. Maybe one day I'll treat you to our fish head soup.

RedBedroom wrote:

I second the recommendation on the liners. I really like to do lasagna in mine, but given the fact you are Italian, you may think that is the worst idea ever!

One good hint is to take care when cooking chicken. It should be completely thawed so that it reaches a high enough temp to be safe to eat. I never cook it on low either, even though most sources say it is fine to cook on low. I always feel like it may not get hot enough on low to kill bacteria.

Red I might like the lasagna in the slow cooker who knows??? Problem with me is that if I use the slow cooker I am generally out of the house for 12 hours per day so if a recipe calls for 8 hours then I can't do it. I would always have to use the low setting. Since my sister is still living with me she is able to shut it off at a shorter time so I am trying to get a feel of it while she is still there as far as cooking things and cooking time.

Tony Marino wrote:

Red I might like the lasagna in the slow cooker who knows??? Problem with me is that if I use the slow cooker I am generally out of the house for 12 hours per day so if a recipe calls for 8 hours then I can't do it. I would always have to use the low setting. Since my sister is still living with me she is able to shut it off at a shorter time so I am trying to get a feel of it while she is still there as far as cooking things and cooking time.

In my experience those times are mostly BS. If you have to be out all day just use low. Never had a problem with them. And I'm probably on my 6th crockpot by now.

Tony...

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/ge-24-hour-plug-in-basic-timer-15119.html

CeCe wrote:

In my experience those times are mostly BS. If you have to be out all day just use low. Never had a problem with them. And I'm probably on my 6th crockpot by now.

12 hours cooking that roast was way too long, I think it would have been done in like 8 hours on low.

Alan Smithee wrote:

Tony...

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/ge-24-hour-plug-in-basic-timer-15119.html

Uncle, it would be safe to use a crockpot on a timer?

Do you think maybe it dried out due to you not putting enough water in there?

Do you still have the box it came in? You could take it back and fib a little saying it was defective. Then you can get one with a timer. I think if you are regularly gone 12 hours per day, you are going to get much more use out of your crock if you have one with a timer.

RedBedroom wrote:

Do you think maybe it dried out due to you not putting enough water in there?

Do you still have the box it came in? You could take it back and fib a little saying it was defective. Then you can get one with a timer. I think if you are regularly gone 12 hours per day, you are going to get much more use out of your crock if you have one with a timer.

I actually put about 4 cups of a beef stock I made and there was a lot of juice in the pot when I shut it off. The potatoes all cooked fine but the meat was dry and just fell apart. I am thinking of getting one with the timer or as Uncle suggested get a timer from Home Depot and use that. It was not expensive, I could give it away to one of my other sisters and buy a new one with a timer, I have to decide which way to go.

Crockpots are great Tony, and once you find the right one, you're going to love the dishes you prepare from it.

Thanks Uncle.