Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever (36 page)

This is the way to get your friends’ attention: throw an Oktoberfest party and serve them brats braised in your favorite local brew with onions and sauerkraut. The brats emerge from the slow cooker succulent and juicy. Serve them on rolls with the onions and sauerkraut from the cooker, along with an assortment of mustards, chunky applesauce, and more of your favorite brew.

2 tablespoons butter

2 large onions, cut into half rounds

2 teaspoons caraway seeds

¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup Dijon or whole-grain mustard

32 ounces or (about 4 cups) sauerkraut, rinsed and drained

10 bratwurst

Two 12-ounce bottles dark lager or your favorite beer

melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onions and caraway seeds and sauté until the onions begin to turn golden.

add the sugar and mustard and stir to blend. Tr ansfer the contents of the skillet to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Cover and cook on high for 4 hours or on low for 8 hours, until the brats are cooked through.

serve the brats and sauerkraut from the slow cooker.

serves 8

Walk along the streets of New York and you will smell grilled Italian sausages with onions and peppers being served at pushcarts on nearly every street corner. The cooked sausages are stuffed into rolls and covered with the onions and peppers, which have cooked down until they are almost melted. In the slow cooker, the sausage seasons the peppers and onions as they become sweet with the long, slow cooking.

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1½ teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon light brown sugar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 medium onions, cut into half rounds

3 medium red onions, cut into half rounds

2 medium red bell peppers, seeded and sliced

2 medium yellow bell peppers, seeded and sliced

2 medium orange bell peppers, seeded and sliced

3 pounds sweet Italian sausages

mix the oil, salt, pepper, sugar, and tomato paste in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Add the onions and bell peppers and toss to coat.

add the sausages, cover, and cook on high for 5 hours, until the sausages are cooked through. Skim off any fat from the sauce.

serve from the slow cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

In the area around Charleston, South Carolina, barbecue shacks serve a mustard-based sauce that is delicious when paired with smoked sausages or pulled pork. Serve the sausages on rolls with plenty of cooling slaw.

2 cups yellow mustard

1 cup apple cider

¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

¼ cup molasses

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

½ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ teaspoon ground white pepper

3 pounds smoked sausages, such as kielbasa, cut into 3-inch lengths

6 to 8 hot dog rolls

mix the mustard, cider, sugar, molasses, paprika, Worcestershire, cayenne, and white pepper in the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

add the sausages, pushing them into the sauce, cover, and cook on high for 4 hours, until the sausages are heated through and the sauce is thickened.

serve the sausage in hot dog rolls with some of the sauce.

serves 6–8

Known as “beanie weenies” in New England, no household would go through a weekend without this dish! The franks float in the baked beans, flavoring the sauce, and the whole deal is served with plenty of steamed brown bread on the side. The cooker does a great job with baked beans. This is the recipe from my grandmother on my Irish side, hence, no basil or Parmigiano in the recipe!

2 cups small dried white beans, soaked overnight in water to cover and drained

6 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into 2-inch pieces

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

5 cups vegetable broth

¼ cup dark molasses

¼ cup yellow mustard

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 teaspoon dried thyme

¼ teaspoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons salt

1 bay leaf

12 premium all-beef hot dogs (see savvy)

add the soaked beans to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Cook the bacon in a medium skillet over medium heat until it renders some fat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until the onion is softened.

add 1 cup of the broth to the skillet and scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow-cooker insert. Add the remaining 4 cups broth and the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 10 hours, until the beans are tender.

serve the franks and beans from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

slow-cooker savvy

For a variation, substitute two 1¼-pound ham steaks, cut into 6 serving pieces, for the hot dogs and proceed as directed.

This is a simple dish to serve as part of a brunch, and goes together in a wink. Link sausages are cooked and glazed with pineapple, and make a nice pairing with a savory strata or frittata.

3 pounds link pork sausages

2 cups pineapple juice

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 ripe large pineapple, peeled and cored, and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups)

saute the sausages in a large skillet until browned on all sides. Transfer the sausages to the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker.

mix the pineapple juice, cornstarch, and curry powder in a mixing bowl, and pour into the slow-cooker insert. Add the pineapple, cover, and cook on low for 4 to 5 hours, until the sausages are cooked through and the sauce is thickened.

serve from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

A fully cooked ham is a great way to serve a lot of people at once. Ham should be warmed before ser ving, and a glaze adds visual interest as well as a nice contrast to the smoky flavor. A large slow-cooker insert is required, and most will not hold a ham that is more than 6 inches tall.

See
Party in a Pot
for slow cooking and glazing.

One definition of “an eternity” is two people and a ham, and those words were never truer than when you are trying to find ways to recycle the leftovers. This is a very traditional recipe for scalloped ham and potatoes, but instead of cubing the ham, you cut it into matchsticks and layer it with potatoes and onions. Feel free to use your favorite cheeses in this dish. I love the nutty flavor of Gruyère, but other Swiss cheeses work well, as does Cheddar, Havarti, fontina, or provolone.

5 medium Yukon gold or red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into ¼-inch-thick slices

1 medium onion, cut into half rounds

4 tablespoons (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted

1½ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 cups leftover ham, cut into matchsticks (about 8 slices)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup whole milk

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cups finely shredded Gruyère cheese

½ cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

coat the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or line it with a slow-cooker liner according to the manufacturer’s directions.

combine the potatoes, onion, butter, salt, and pepper in a mixing bowl. Arrange a layer of the potato mixture in the bottom of the slow cooker and top with a layer of ham. Repeat the layers, ending with potatoes. (You should have 3 layers of potatoes.) Whisk the cream, milk, and mustard together and pour over the potatoes. Sprinkle evenly with the cheeses.

cover and cook on low for 5 hours, until the potatoes are tender. Remove the cover and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes.

serve the potatoes from the cooker set on warm.

serves 6–8

Ham loaf, a staple of the 1950s, makes a comeback in the slow cooker, but this time with a South Carolina mustard-based barbecue sauce that gives it a lot of personality. The smoky thyme-flavored loaf is terrific sliced and served with slaw or fruit salad. Any leftovers make terrific sandwiches for lunches later. This is a great way to use up leftover ham, and you can freeze the loaf for up to 6 weeks after it is cooked.

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Pinch of red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper

1 cup ketchup

½ cup chicken broth

½ cup whole-grain mustard

½ cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 slices sturdy white bread, such as Pepperidge Farm, torn into pieces

¼ cup milk

2 cups ground smoked ham (about 12 to 16 ounces)

12 ounces lean ground pork

¼ cup finely chopped shallots

1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

2 large eggs, beaten

¼ cup ketchup

1 tablespoon whole-grain or Creole mustard

preheat a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker, with the insert uncovered, on high for 20 minutes. Add the oil, onion, thyme, and red pepper flakes and stir until the onion is coated with the oil.

stir in the ketchup, broth, mustard, and sugar. Cover and cook on high while assembling the ham loaf.

soak the bread in the milk in a large bowl until the milk is absorbed. Add the ham, pork, shallots, thyme, eggs, ketchup, and mustard and stir until blended.

wet your hands with warm water and shape the loaf into a rectangle that is about 2½ to 3 inches tall and wide, so that it will fit into the slow cooker with space around the sides.

place the loaf on top of the sauce in the slow cooker and spoon some of the sauce over the top. Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 6 hours, until the internal temperature registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer.

transfer the loaf, using two wide spatulas, from the slow cooker to a cutting board. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Skim off any fat from the top of the sauce.

slice the loaf and serve with the sauce on the side.

serves 6

Lamb sold in the United States is either imported from New Zealand or Australia or farm raised in the States. Both types are fine, but the most widely available is the farm raised. Most markets carry “choice” grade lamb, which is well marbled and tender and the best buy pound for pound.

Slow-cooked lamb is tender and falling-apart delicious. Whether it’s a leg of lamb, lamb shanks, or lamb shoulder for stew, lamb makes a great dinner in the slow cooker. Less-expensive shoulder meat and blade chops are transformed into delicious dinners with herbs, spices, and wine added to help flavor the meat. Lamb meat loaf is also terrific slow cooked and served with a complimentary sauce. Lamb curries and tagines cook to perfection in the slow cooker; all you need to add is steamed rice or couscous.

Boneless leg of lamb becomes moist and delicious after a long braise in the slow cooker. I like to stuff a leg of lamb with savory stuffing and braise it in an aromatic liquid so the meat is flavorful all the way through. Marinating the lamb first helps ramp up the flavor as well as tenderize the meat. For slow-cooker preparations, a boneless leg of lamb is a must, since a bone-in leg of lamb will not fit into even the largest slow cooker.

Remembering my father’s fondness for leg of lamb and the goopy mint jelly he had to have with it, I thought I might honor the pairing but update the presentation. This leg of lamb is slathered inside with a garlicky mint pesto (see savvy) and then braised in a delicious wine sauce. The result is a tender roast with a surprising swirl of bright green pesto in the center.

1 cup packed fresh mint leaves

4 cloves garlic

1 tablespoon rice vinegar or white vinegar

¼ cup olive oil

6 or 7 leaves fresh oregano

1 teaspoon salt

¹
/
₈
teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 large onions, cut into half rounds

1 cup dry white wine

1 cup beef broth

One 3- to 4-pound leg of lamb, boned and butterflied

put all the pesto ingredients in a food processor or blender and process until the ingredients are a paste. Cover and refrigerate for up to 4 days.

spread the onions over the bottom of the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker. Pour in the wine and beef broth. Lay the lamb, fat-side down, boned-side up on a cutting board or flat surface and spread all the pesto over the surface of the lamb.

roll up the meat, starting from the short end, and tie with kitchen string or silicone loops. Arrange on top of the onions in the slow-cooker insert. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours, until the lamb is tender. Remove the lamb from the slow-cooker insert, cover with aluminum foil, and allow to rest for 20 minutes.

strain the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into a saucepan and remove any fat from the surface. Boil the sauce until it is reduced by about one quarter, 10 to 15 minutes.

remove the strings from the lamb, cut into ½-inch-thick slices, and serve with the sauce on the side.

serves 8

pesto savvy

Not the traditional pesto alla Genovese, with its garlic, pine nuts, and Parmesan, this pesto is made with fresh mint, oregano, and garlic. The herb paste not only flavors the meat but also seeps into the sauce.