Crock pot problem

On Mon, 29 Dec 2003 15:12:01 GMT, " rosie" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

don't use EXPENSIVE cuts of meat. not enough fat..................

be sure your cooking on the LOW temp.

i DON'T use water of any kind, just an envelope of onion soup.

Do you get a lot of liquid in the crockpot later when everything is cooked?

In article <[email hidden]>,

The Ranger said:

Jim Kroger <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]... [snip]

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Also, I'll cook on low, I used high.

/blink

"10 hours on high?" Wow! /That's/ your problem! You've boiled the meat into leather, soft leather,
but leather none the same.

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But how can I tell if it's cooked enough....that is, how will I know if cooking more will make
it more or less tender? The veggies will be cooked by 10 hrs. for sure.

The low setting is designed to cook meats at a safe temperature over an extended time frame,
without boiling it into leather. The way to make /sure/ is to fork the meat and potatoes.

The Ranger

Agreed... On the rare occasions I use crock pots, I start out on high just until it starts to
bubble, then turn it to low for the long term cooking of 8 to 10 hours.

Oh. Crock pots also work better if "stacked" properly. The things that take the longest to cook
should go on the bottom, and the meat should go on the very top!

This is how I layer it. First, I put one cup of pearl barley on the bottom. Next, diced carrots,
then sliced/diced onions, then potatoes and shallots, then I put the meat on the very top and I do
NOT cut roasts up in pieces to crock pot them! I usually use boneless chuck and keep them whole. I
add a bit of garlic and any other herbs and flavoring to the top, then I add my stock and wine mix
and add enough water if necessary to just come to the top of the roast.

Start the crock pot on high until it is bubbling, then turn it down to low for 8 to 10 hours.

The meat then breaks up with a fork and you can mix everything together when it is done for serving.

Works for me anyway......

I rarely use a crock pot anymore now that I've re-discovered the pressure cooker for pot roast. -)
Faster and more consistant results.

K.

--
^ ^ Cat's Haven Hobby Farm ^ ^ [email hidden] ^ ^

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In article <[email hidden]>,

Wayne Boatwright said:

"jmcquown" <[email hidden]> wrote in :"]news:[email hidden]:

<snipped>

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No no, I didn't say cook the roast, I said brown the roast in a skillet - sear it. Then put it
in the crock pot. I didn't say to use soup. Beef stock and red wine (if one wants to add it,
although a nice beer also works perfectly well).

Jill

Jill, all good points and ideas, but I think one of us is missing the point...maybe me. I thought
the OP wanted to make soup, using a roast cut up in cubes. I didn't get the impression he was
trying to end up with a cooked roast. I totally agree that any beef going into the crockpot should
be thoroughly browned first, either a whole piece or cubes. Beef stock and red wine or beer would
also be great additions to either a roast, stew, or soup.

Wayne

Thing is, even if you are making soup in the crock pot, cooking the roast whole keeps it more tender
and if you do it right, you can literally shred it with a fork when you are done prior to mixing it
into the soup, or you can let it cool a bit and cut it up after it's cooked into your choice of
chunk sizes.

Shredded, to me, works well for soup.

K.

--
^ ^ Cat's Haven Hobby Farm ^ ^ [email hidden] ^ ^

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jim, just remember CROCK POT=SLOW COOKING. i (almost) ALWAYS cook on LOW.

--
read and post daily, it works! rosie

as I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
.............................andrew carnegie

"Jim Kroger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
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"Dimitri" <[email hidden]> wrote in message

news:<[email hidden]>...

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"Jim Kroger" <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:jim-
[email hidden]...

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Hi all. I am trying to make beef soup. I've tried to use

several kinds

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of roast, up to the most expensive I could find.

You know how a really well-cooked roast has parts the just

fall apart in

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your mouth they are so tender? I would expect roast cooked in

soup in a

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crock pot for 10 hours to be like that or even more tender.

But every time, my roast meat is not soft, but it's kind of

tough. Not

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like an overcooked dried out roast kind of touch, but sort of

chewy.

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Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

Jim

Thanks. I am browning the meat. But I will cut it up, I didn't.

Also,

Quoted message said:

I'll cook on low, I used high.

But how can I tell if it's cooked enough....that is, how will I

know

Quoted message said:

if cooking more will make it more or less tender? The veggies will

be

Quoted message said:

cooked by 10 hrs. for sure.

Thanks very much, Jim

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There are several points here:

1. What cut of beef are you using? Something like chuck or

meat will

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some fat running through the muscle will help.
2. Are you browning the beef first or just dumping the mess

into cold

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water. (the browning helps the flavor but not the texture)
3. How big are the chunks of beef you are cutting? I would

think for

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soup no more than 1/2 inch square.
4. You don't mention if you are cooking on High or Low.
5. If you are starting with very cold ingredients then

cooking on low for

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10 hours this just may not be enough time.

Dimitri

i sure do....................i even have to pour the juices to another pan, in order to reduce the
volume and make sour cream "gravy"

--
read and post daily, it works! rosie

as I grow older, I pay less attention to what men say. I just watch what they do.
.............................andrew carnegie

"Taffy Stoker" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
"]news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

rosie said:

don't use EXPENSIVE cuts of meat. not enough fat..................

be sure your cooking on the LOW temp.

i DON'T use water of any kind, just an envelope of onion soup.

Do you get a lot of liquid in the crockpot later when everything

is

Quoted message said:

cooked?

Jim Kroger <[email hidden]> wrote in message news:<[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

Hi all. I am trying to make beef soup. I've tried to use several kinds of roast, up to the most
expensive I could find.

You know how a really well-cooked roast has parts the just fall apart in your mouth they are so
tender? I would expect roast cooked in soup in a crock pot for 10 hours to be like that or even
more tender.

But every time, my roast meat is not soft, but it's kind of tough. Not like an overcooked dried
out roast kind of touch, but sort of chewy.

Anybody know what I'm doing wrong?

Thanks!

Jim

Use ox tails.....you'll have the most 'melt-in-your-mouth' meat you can ever imagine for soup....you
won't be sorry.

As far as using regular beef....we saw a TV episode of America's Test Kitchen and they explained the
chemistry of over and/or under cooking of meat and the way the colagen affects the
dryness...blah,blah,blah.....too much for my ind to retain.

We always use ox tails for soup ....coo it 10 hours and you'll see what I mean.

Good luck
M: