CROCK POTS AND SLOW COOKERS...
(... I think I know a couple of those...!)
I hadn't used one of these since they were popular in the 1970s,
and then it
was more of a weekend novelty than a full-time cooking "tool".
I figured
that, with or without the pot, I was going to have to fix dinner
on one end
of the day or the other, and since I already got up at 5 to get
to work -
besides not wanting to look at chicken thighs or stew meat that
early - the
latter part of the day was better for me. But, the "coming-back-in-style"
of
crock cooking does have advantages for the RVer - one can prepare
the food
for the pot, put the lid on, select the setting, and be off without
worrying
that the food will need tending, that the oven will use all the
propane, or
that the rig will burn down. The cooker does require a power source,
of
course, but for non-driving days with hook-ups, the crock pot
may be a very
good option. Because this method of food preparation is becoming
popular
again, re-issues of "old" cook books and "updated"
versions are appearing in
book stores; I saw 6 or 7 titles in Barnes and Noble the other
day.
A few slow cooker "tips".....
Do read the "use and care" information (and follow the
instructions) that
came/come with the crock pot; cookers differ in size/capacity,
materials/linings (non-stick, ceramic, etc.), ability to brown
food before
cooking it, small (usually about 10 degrees) variances in heat/temperature
settings, whether it can be immersed in water for washing, etc.
( Always
wash the pot's interior with hot, soapy water before using, and
rinse well;
interiors are often coated with stuff you don't want in your food.)
This may
be a bit harder if your crock pot is about the same age as one
of your
children and you have no idea where the instructions are because
it's been in
a cupboard for about 30 years! ( The pot, not the child.)
Know that uncooked meat and vegetable combinations usually require
7-8 hours
on "low" (about 200 degrees), and about 4 or more hours
on "high" (about 300
degrees). Remember to add time for "high-altitude" cooking!
(Cooking
times/temperatures are roughly equivalent to oven baking in a
covered
casserole/pot at 350 degrees for 1 hour.)
Keep the lid on! You lose heat equal to about a half-hour of cooking
time
each time you open the lid, so save the "kettle peeking"
until it's time for
a "doneness check" - near the end of the cooking time.
Don't add dairy products (sour cream, milk, etc.) or thawed vegetables
- thaw
frozen vegetables before adding to the cooker - until about the
last
half-hour of cooking time. Add cooked pasta - cooked a little
under "al
dente" - about 15-20 minutes before the dish is done.
Experiment - every slow cooker (and cook!) is a bit different;
see what works
for you.
ZINFANDEL BEEF SHANKS (serves 4)
(NOTE: You can also bake this dish in a heavy oven-proof casserole
with a
well-fitting lid; I use a 5 quart enameled cast iron "Dutch
oven" from Le
Creuset; see the next part of this column that deals with cast
iron for
information on these. After browning the meat/vegetables, place
vegetables
on the bottom of the casserole, arrange the shanks on top of this,
and pour
liquid over all. bake, covered, about 1 hour at 350 degrees.)
4 beef shanks, each about 2" (or a little less) thick
(Beef shanks are usually very "meaty" and lean, but
trim any "excess"
fat before browning; leave the marrow in the bone.)
2 medium onions, red preferred, but yellow is OK
1 red, green or yellow pepper (optional, but flavor is better
with it)
3 cloves garlic
1 can (14.5/15 oz.) diced or "Ready-Cut" tomatoes with
juice (S&W, if your
store has this brand; get the "plain" kind)
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar or cider vinegar
3 tablespoons packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons worcestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins)
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard (French's is better than Grey
Poupon, IMO)
1 cup zinfandel or other decent red wine - if you wouldn't drink
it, don't
cook with it.
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon thyme
one-half teaspoon each salt, pepper (add additional salt at the
end of
cooking time, if necessary)
2 tablespoons olive oil or unflavored vegetable oil
(A flour/water "slurry", if necessary - see recipe directions.)
Rinse and pat shanks dry with a paper towel. Combine tomatoes,
vinegar,
sugar, wine, worcestershire, mustard, thyme, salt/pepper in a
small bowl - I
use a 4-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Taste a little of the mixture
and adjust
ingredient amounts - except salt - if necessary. Peel onions and
"rough
chop". Scrub pepper and cut into pieces about 1" square
or a little smaller.
Peel garlic and chop finely. Heat oil in skillet (or follow manufacturer's
directions for browning if your unit has that capability) over
medium-high
heat, and brown shanks. Remove shanks, add pepper, onion, garlic
and saute
until it starts to "color" a little. Put the onion/pepper/garlic
in the
bottom of the cooker, arrange the shanks over this, and pour well-combined
-
make sure the mustard is stirred in well - liquid over all. Throw
in the bay
leaves, making sure they're immersed. Cook on "low"/200
degrees for 6-7
hours or until beef is tender - check at the end of the lesser
time. When
done, remove shanks to a plate. If a thicker gravy* is desired,
make a
"slurry" from 1 tablespoon flour/3 tablespoons water,
turn cooker heat to
"high", and slowly pour slurry into the hot liquid,
stirring/whisking all the
while so it won't "lump". Cook just until gravy thickens.
Add salt if
necessary. Serve with mashed potatoes or noodles and zucchini,
sliced and
steamed or microwaved for about 2-3 minutes. (A salad with a light
"vinaigrette" dressing is always a good accompaniment,
too.)
*A slow cooker or covered oven cooking produces more "juice"
than
top-of-the-stove cooking -even covered - because there is minimal
evaporation.
SELECTION AND CARE OF CAST IRON ...
A (very) little history of cast iron ...
The cast iron utensil has a long history of use in Europe and
North America;
the skillets, spiders, kettles, Dutch ovens, spits, pot hooks,
and other
cooking utensils were considered so vital to food preparation
(and survival)
that 17th century settlers disregarded the weight and bulk of
their
"collection" and brought along whatever they could carry
and fit into the
very small ships. Many of the descendants of these early colonists
took some
of the same utensils with them on subsequent migrations to the
"west"; a
kettle used in the early settlement of Massachusetts or Virginia
might have
passed through Pennsylvania or Ohio or Kentucky or a lot of other
places and
ended up in California or the Oregon Territory 200 years or so
later.
Exploration for iron ore was encouraged by the British "crown",
and the
Saugus Iron Works in Massachusetts (after the closure of the original
"works"
in Braintree) produced large quantities of "pig iron"
- so named because the
lumps of crude iron resembled a sow nursing piglets - until 1675.
Despite
trade "restrictions" imposed by the British - these
were colonies, after all
- iron works did cast thousands of illegal items for various household
uses.
Other small iron works continued to produce "raw" iron
for export and for
local consumption in defiance of the crown until after the Revolution,
then
expanded their operations. Some of these very old cast iron pieces,
some by
Griswold Mfg. in Pennsylvania and others, are now collectors'
items Cast
iron utensils are still made in essentially the same way today
- by pouring
molten iron into a mold.
Selection and "curing" that cast iron skillet, Dutch
oven, whatever...
1. Select an American-made * product; Lodge (my choice) or Wagner
produce
some good utensils. The skillet's (or kettle's or Dutch oven's)
sides should
be of equal thickness without flaws or nicks, and the interior
"machined";
interiors which look the same as the exteriors, i.e., "unpolished"
usually
don't cure well. Avoid buying cast iron pans or skillets (or any
utensil)
with wooden handles; these are useless for oven cooking and most
camp
cooking. If the utensil comes with a cast iron lid, e.g, a Dutch
oven, cure
the lid's inside the same as the pot. Otherwise, use a glass lid
or whatever
you have.
* Imported cast iron (usually from Asia) is often inferior in
quality to many
U.S.- made products. There are often "air pockets" and/or
impurities in the
iron which can contribute to pitting. Since many "U.S."
campanies' products
are now produced in a lot of places besides the U.S., it's a good
idea to
look at the box or otherwise verify the product's country of manufacture.
An
exception to this is the enameled cast iron from France produced
by Le
Creuset.
2. Ignore the instructions for "seasoning" that come
with most products -
you'll usually end up with a sticky, gunky mess and end up throwing
the
skillet (or whatever) out.
3. Try this method...it does take some time and diligence, but
if the
utensil is high quality in the first place and well-cared for
afterwards, it
will outlast you and a few generations of progeny.
Scrub the utensil thoroughly, inside and out, with hot water,
a steel
wool pad (or the "rough" plastic substitute) and just
enough
dishwashing detergent to get a few bubbles; a soap-impregnated
pad produces
too much soap, and can be harder to rinse completely. Scrub until
all
traces of the "goop" (that usually covers a utensil
to keep it from rusting)
is gone. Rinse well with hot water and dry with paper towels or
better,
an old dishtowel that's expendable; you won't want it after the
"curing"/"seasoning" process is done!
Coat the INTERIOR* of the utensil thoroughly with corn, soybean,
or
other flavorless cooking oil; no peanut oil, olive oil, butter,
margarine, etc; these will all turn rancid. Rub this oil in with
a
corner of that dishtowel or a paper towel; I like the dishtowel
because
it leaves fewer little "fibers" and "lint".
* The exterior of the pan doesn't need to be coated with oil,
but ONE very light, rubbed-in coat at the end of the process
won't hurt it. Just be sure to get ALL the excess oil off, or
the oil will burn and you'll never get the gunk off.
Put the well-oiled utensil into a 200-degree oven for about a
half-hour. Remove, wipe out the hot pan with the towel/paper towel,
re-oil generously - just the inside, remember - and put back in
the oven
for another half-hour. Repeat this process until no more "grey
stuff" -
just the surface iron residue - comes off on the towel; usually
about four
oiling/baking trips will do the job. (This is not for the impatient!)
Be
sure the pan is wiped clean of all excess oil after the last go-round;
otherwise, the oil will stick and burn.
When you cook in the utensil for the first time, pre-heat the
utensil
(always do this anyway), pour a little oil in, wipe out well,
re-oil
if necessary and fry/saute as usual. I scrub the pan after cooking
with a red and yellow plastic "ball" called a "Tuffy";
they're in any
grocery store. Use as little soap as possible and rinse well.
Then dry the
pan, oil lightly, wiping out any excess, and store. Do this process
for a few times until the pan is "seasoned"; after that,
an occasional
wiping the interior with a little oil will keep the utensil working
well.
NEVER put the utensil in the dishwasher or store it away
without
drying it thoroughly; rust spots will require scrubbing off and,
if on the
inside, re-seasoning.
Cast-iron skillets, Dutch ovens, etc. work best for frying/sauteeing
and
baking; even the most well-seasoned pan will sometimes react with
some
acid-based foods, e.g., anything with tomatoes or tomato products,
wine, etc.
the result may be a slight discoloration of the food, and with
tomatoes,
sometimes a slight "tinny" taste. This isn't harmful,
and diminishes with
the use of the utensil; my pans are so old and/or well-cured that
this isn't
a problem. If it bothers you, however, the enameled cast iron
products from
Le Creuset are an excellent choice; these don't fry/saute quite
as well as
the plain cast iron pans, in my opinion, but they're great for
soups, stews,
stock-making, oven baking, etc. Their only real "drawback"
is their cost - a
5 quart Dutch oven runs about $100.00 or so; there are Le Creuset
"outlet"
stores, however, so check for one of those around you or on your
travels.
Fans of Dutch oven cooking might want to check out the International
Dutch
Oven Society's site www.idos.com for information, resources, and
links to
other "Dutch oven sites".
Next time: more "tips and oddments" and more
recipes. Until then .....hope
all your "road food" is larrupin' good!