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7
COOKING GUIDELINES
Vegetables
Slow cooking is ideal for vegetables. There’s little evaporation, so all the juices and flavours are retained.
Root vegetables like potato, carrot, turnip, and swede, need more slow cooking than meat. Cut them into
5mm (¼”) slices, sticks or dice, and immerse in the cooking liquid. Cooking times vary with the type and
age of the vegetables. Experience will soon show the best times for your own taste. Quickly cooked
vegetables, like frozen peas and sweetcorn, must be thawed, then added half an hour before the end of
cooking. Don’t slow cook baked potatoes in their jackets.
Pulses (Beans, Peas and Lentils)
WARNING boil dried beans (e.g. red kidney beans) for at least 10 minutes before adding to the slow cooker.
They’re poisonous if eaten raw or undercooked.
Don’t soak lentils. Soak dried peas or beans overnight. Drain and rinse, then boil for 10 minutes, in the
cooking liquid, before adding to the cooking pot. Season at the end of cooking. For canned beans or peas,
simply drain and add them 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time.
Fish
Cooking fish in the cooking pot develops delicate flavours slowly, retains the flavour and nutritive value,
and holds the fish together. Don’t cook fish for long periods.
1. Grease the base of the cooking pot with butter or margarine.
2. Clean, trim and wash the fish (rolled fillets and steaks are most suitable). Frozen fish should be
completely thawed before slow cooking. Dry and place in the cooking pot.
3. Season well, sprinkle with lemon juice, then add hot stock, water or wine
4. Dot some butter over the fish, and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
Meat
Slow cooking tenderises cheaper cuts, and reduces shrinkage and evaporation, retaining flavour and
nutritive value. The size and shape of the joint, its quality, and the proportion of lean, fat and bone, all
affect cooking times. When testing a dish to see if it’s cooked, don’t forget that root vegetables usually
take longer to cook. Thaw frozen meat completely before cooking. Recipe times are given only as a guide.
Where a different cut of meat is used cooking times may need to be adjusted. Avoid meat with a high
proportion of fat, or trim the excess fat. Small joints, up to 800g (1½lb), can be cooked, depending on
shape and fit. The meat mustn’t force the lid up.
1. Season the meat, then brown on all sides in the cook pot.
2. Transfer the cook pot to the slow cooker and cook at high for the time shown.
3. Pork joints with rind may be grilled for 10 minutes to crisp.
4. If possible, turn joints once during cooking, to ensure even tenderness.
Joint Weight Setting Time
Beef, lamb, pork 500-800g (1-1½lb) high 5-7 hours
Poultry
Cook poultry up to 750g (1½lb). The lid mustn’t be raised by the meat. Thaw frozen poultry before cooking.
Cook whole poultry unstuffed, at high.
1. Wash and dry the poultry and season inside and out.
2. Brown the skin in its own fat or a little cooking oil, in the cooking pot on a hob.
3. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook at high for the time shown.
Poultry Weight Setting Time
Chicken/poussin 750g (1½lb) high 3½-4 hours
Pheasant small high 3-4 hours
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