Slow cooker dinner tonight

[perc-o-prince]

So, Brian (BrianL) and I were talking after the wash-in breakfast, and he said he didn't use his slow cooker much. I promised I'd post next time I used it. It was going to be either beef roast, country-style spare ribs, or a corned beef. I opted for the beef roast where it's supposed to be so cold these next few days and gravy always warms the soul!

First, Brian, I put the frozen roast on the grill on high to get some good color on it. The carmelization helps with the flavor as well. Then I get the slow cooker ready by putting down a rack for the roast to sit on. Just trimmed celery stalks! They add flavor to the broth and Rich is partial to eating them as a veg afterwards. I put about 1c of low sodium beef broth in and switch the cooker to high to let it warm up.[this post was last edited: 1/18/2013-09:14]

 

[perc-o-prince]

While the other side of the roast browns, I traipse out to see what I can find. Alas! Just what I was looking for out by the big wood piano in the back yard. I snipped some rosemary, thyme and savory. No sage. I'll save that for the pork and chicken.[this post was last edited: 1/18/2013-09:15]

 

[perc-o-prince]

Once you have good color on the roast, pop it on the rack.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Pop in your flavoring veggies. I used two medium onions, peeled and quartered, about 5 large cloves of garlic, smashed and peeled, a few baby carrots and half a large carrot I had in the fridge. I'll add carrots later for a veg, but these will break down and flavor the broth. If I had some baby bella or button mushrooms, I'd add about 4oz of those, quartered. Maybe I'll grab some this afternoon!

 

[perc-o-prince]

Now the herbs...

 

[perc-o-prince]

Finally, pour the rest of the can of broth over the roast, then about a cup of red wine (whatever you usually drink). The liquid should come a bit more than 1/2 way up the roast. Add more broth or other liquid if necessary. If you're using dried herbs instead of fresh, now would be a good time to sprinkle them on the roast and onions, etc. I slathered this one with what we call 'base' or 'melt.' It's used to make the tulta (kind of a potato/cheese pie) but I start spaghetti sauce with it, put it on roasts, etc. Cousin Carol likes to oven fry potatoes in it! It's the fat from salt pork ground with onions, garlic, black pepper and parsley. Only about a heaping teaspoon here. Then a little sprinkle with granulated garlic and black pepper.

You could lay a couple of pieces of bacon over the roast for added flavor, or do nothing! Sometimes I dump a 14oz can of petite diced tomatoes on top.

Cover it, put it on low, and let it sit all day! Since I start with a frozen roast and I'm able to stop home for lunch, I leave it on high for a few hours then switch to low. You could also prep this the night before in a cold slow cooker liner, refrigerate it overnight, then just pop it in the slow cooker when you leave in the morning. Just be sure to take it out of the fridge long enough for it to lose the big chill before turning the cooker on. Some say there's a problem par-cooking the meat, then chilling it, then cooking it, but it's in the slow cooker all day so I don't worry about it.

 

[perc-o-prince]

After about 7 hours (mushrooms in)...

 

[perc-o-prince]

Carrots and taters in. Lid on and about an hour to go.

 

[jaxsunst]

Being a "single dad" I'm all about the slow cooker. Bought a programable one, it's been a life saver.

 

[perc-o-prince]

They are great, especially on those cold winter days. So nice to walk in the house and smell what's for dinner!

BTW, here's what we picked from last night, all done. Now,the leftovers!!!!!

 

[super32]

That looks soooo good!

 

[danemodsandy]

Low Sodium & Celery:

Just a word of caution for anyone who is going low-sodium for serious health reasons:

Celery is naturally relatively high in sodium - about 35 mg. per stalk. Whether someone should avoid it depends on their medical condition, but it can be a "hidden" sodium source for people who need to stay away from salt.

My late partner was told to avoid sodium to the maximum extent possible. There was a great deal of grumbling about it, but he was pretty good about not using the salt shaker and looking at labels of prepared foods. Except that he acquired a serious craving for celery. Fortunately, I knew about the sodium content, and was able to let his doctor know about the intake, so that the doctor could introduce the subject (I would just get cussed out; my partner was not a "good patient").

Again, it's all in one's medical condition; most people would not have a need to avoid the stuff.

 

[rp2813]

And a delicious dinner goes

. . . thud

 

[danemodsandy]

Sorry:

It wasn't my intention to ruin anyone's day or dinner or enjoyment.

The combination of celery and low-sodium broth in the first post was what made me a bit concerned.

Again, apologies if I introduced a downer. Didn't mean to. And I did say that it was a non-issue for most people.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Well thank goodness I saw this information before we heated up leftovers last night (I take meds for hypertension). The Dispose-All saw the rest of that dinner.

NOT!

Didn't ruin a thing for me, Sandy, so don't worry.

Yeah, I had stumbled onto the surprizingly high (for a vegetable) sodium content of celery several years back, and almost mentioned it in the first post of this thread. But, since the can of low sodium broth had 440mg of sodium, PER SERVING (2 servings in a can), I hardly thought the 35mg per rib was worth mentioning. There was enough liquid (broth, wine, accumulated meat/veg liquids) at the end of cooking to make about 2 cups of gravy. Sure, some of the sodium surely leeched into the meat and veggies, and some stayed in the gravy juice. But I'll bet that when all was said and done, out of the 880mg sodium I added to the pot (+140 for the celery and maybe another 180 for the tbsp of Worcestershire I used for a total of 1200mg for the whole pot), I probably ingested about 150-200 mg total for the dinner. That's about 10-13% of my daily sodium (1500mg for persons with high blood pressure). Not only pretty good, but probably the meal with the lowest sodium content I had all day considering I just checked the whole grain bread I used for toast this morning and it's 105mg of sodium per slice (I had 2, with margerine- more sodium)!

Chuck

 

[58limited]

That looks really good, basically the same way I make mine but I have never used the herbs - I'll have to give that a try.

 

Also, I use beer instead of wine, but the wine would compliment the herbs better.

 

[lordkenmore]

It's not a relevant issue for me, but I was interested to learn that celery is high sodium. And--who knows? Someone here may be on a severely restricted diet who should know the fact, but doesn't.

"But, since the can of low sodium broth had 440mg of sodium, PER SERVING (2 servings in a can), I hardly thought the 35mg per rib was worth mentioning."

This was my original reaction. I can see celery being a possible problem, but it's been my observation that "low sodium" prepared products (like canned soups/broths) really aren't as "low sodium" as one might want. In fact, I see some "low" or "reduced" products that still seem to have too much salt, even for a person with no sodium issues.

 

[perc-o-prince]

"low sodium" prepared products (like canned soups/br

Actually, I should have said "reduced sodium" for the broth which would have indicated less sodium than the "regular" version. Technically, "low sodium" foods must contain less than 140mg of sodium per the amount customarily consumed. In this case, that would be about a cup, the suggested serving size, which has 440mg. Definitely not the FDA's idea of a low sodium food. It does, however, qualify for "reduced" status as the sodium content is at least 25% less than the regular version.

Chuck

 

[sudsmaster]

Questions

What cut of beef was that? It sort of looks like a boneless chuck roast, or maybe a boneless rib roast.

What was the weight of the meat (prior to roasting)?

Do you routinely slow cook frozen meat? I thought that was a no-no, as it could cause the crock to crack. Maybe the celery rack and the veggies around the perimeter protect the crock? I've always thawed the meat (usually pork shoulder) before trying to slow cook it. Partly because of the instructions, but also because my HB slow cooker has a thermometer probe that makes final roast temp easier to determine. And unless I were to get out the power drill, it would be difficult to insert the temp probe in a frozen chunk of meat.

Come to think of it, a power drill for the temp probe might be a very good idea, lol.

I like the celery rack. I've been using onions under the pork, but I think celery would work better from a physical point of view. I've also avoided adding any liquid, since the pork tends to release a lot of juice and fat, eventually (depending on the cut). But perhaps some liquid would help the veggies during the initial cooking phase.

 

[perc-o-prince]

Hey Rich,

It was a boneless chuck roast- about 3#.

As far as it being frozen, remember that I carmelize the roast on the grill first, so there's a layer of cooked meat on the top and bottom. Nothing frozen to touch the pot. When I do corned beef in there, it's frozen as well, but in water so it doesn't matter. Nothing else I put in there is frozen unless it's going into liquid that's already hot (i.e.- vac-sealed frozen meatballs going into a pot of spaghetti sauce, etc.).

For the liquid, I don't hesitate at some point to leave the cooker on hi with the top off (or at least cocked to the side) to evaporate some of the liquid, if there's a bit much. I do it with sauce too, if it feels a little too loose.

Hope that helps,
Chuck