The Great American Slow Cooker Book (73 page)
Read The Great American Slow Cooker Book Online
Authors: Bruce Weinstein
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You can lift this meatloaf out of the cooker before slicing it; but you’ll need exceptionally large spatulas and good shoulder strength to do it, particularly if you’re working in a large slow cooker.
Serve It Up!
Try
Smoky Brussels Sprouts
on the side: For four servings, fry 2 pieces of bacon in a large skillet until very crisp. Remove them, then add ½ cup chicken broth, 1 tablespoon dark brown sugar, and 1 teaspoon salt. Stir until it comes to a boil, then dump in about 1¼ pounds trimmed and halved small Brussels sprouts. Cover and cook until tender, about 4 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the Brussels sprouts to a serving bowl and crumble the bacon on top.
NOT MUCH
•
PREP TIME:
15 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
5 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
NO
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SERVES:
3 TO 10
2- TO 3½-QUART
2¼ cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
1¾ cups crumbled day-old cornbread
1¾ cups small cubes of day-old baguette
½ cup chopped yellow onion
2 medium celery ribs, chopped
4 tblsp (½ stick) unsalted butter, melted
1¼ tsp dried sage
½ tsp dried thyme
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1¾ cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 large eggs
4- TO 5½-QUART
4 cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
3 cups crumbled day-old cornbread
3 cups small cubes of day-old baguette
¾ cup (about 1 small) chopped yellow onion
3 medium celery ribs, chopped
6 tblsp (¾ stick) unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
3 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 large eggs
6- TO 8-QUART
5½ cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
4¼ cups crumbled day-old cornbread
4¼ cups small cubes of day-old baguette
1 cup chopped yellow onion
4 medium celery ribs, chopped
9 tblsp unsalted butter, melted
3½ tsp dried sage
½ tblsp dried thyme
½ tblsp salt
¾ tsp ground black pepper
4¼ cups low-sodium chicken broth
4 whole plus 1 yolk large eggs
1
Mix the turkey, cornbread, baguette, onion, celery, butter, sage, thyme, salt, and pepper in the slow cooker until the vegetables and meat are evenly distributed throughout.
2
Whisk the broth and eggs in a large bowl until smooth; pour over the ingredients in the cooker, pressing down to make sure everything gets soaked.
3
Cover and cook on low for 5 hours, or just until the cornbread mixture is set without being wet or jiggly. Serve by spooning up portions onto the plates.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
Here’s a whole Thanksgiving dinner from the slow cooker! Just add steamed broccoli and roasted sweet potatoes on the side.
•
You don’t have to wait until you have leftover turkey to make this meal. Look for house-roasted whole turkey or turkey breast in the deli case of your supermarket.
NOT MUCH
•
PREP TIME:
10 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
3 HOURS/5 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
3 HOURS
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SERVES:
2 TO 6
2- TO 3½-QUART
2 cups no-salt-added canned crushed tomatoes
1¾ cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
⅓ cup chopped yellow onion
⅓ cup shredded carrots
⅓ cup minced celery
2½ tblsp minced fresh basil leaves
2 tsp minced fresh oregano leaves
½ tblsp minced garlic
½ tsp fennel seeds
¼ tsp red pepper flakes
¼ tsp salt
4- TO 5½-QUART
3½ cups no-salt-added canned crushed tomatoes
3 cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
½ cup chopped yellow onion
½ cup shredded carrots
½ cup minced celery
¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves
1 tblsp minced fresh oregano leaves
2 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp fennel seeds
½ tsp red pepper flakes
½ tsp salt
6- TO 8-QUART
5¾ cups no-salt-added canned crushed tomatoes
5 cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
1 cup (about 1 medium) chopped yellow onion
1 cup (about 5 ounces) shredded carrots
1 cup minced celery
⅓ cup minced fresh basil leaves
5 tsp minced fresh oregano leaves
3½ tsp minced garlic
½ tblsp fennel seeds
¾ tsp red pepper flakes
¾ tsp salt
1
Stir the tomatoes, turkey, onion, carrots, celery, basil, oregano, garlic, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, and salt in the slow cooker.
2
Cover and cook on high for 3 hours or on low for 5 hours, or until the sauce has thickened a bit and is bubbling hot.
TESTERS’ NOTES
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This easy slow cooker ragù is perfect for the night after a holiday meal when you have lots of leftover turkey on hand.
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The sauce is a bit thinner than a traditional ragù: we left out the tomato paste for a cleaner, brighter flavor, more in keeping with an easy dinner after a big meal.
Serve It Up!
Serve the sauce over cooked ziti or farfalle rather than spaghetti.
A LITTLE
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PREP TIME:
25 MINUTES
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COOK TIME:
6 HOURS
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KEEPS ON WARM:
3 HOURS
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SERVES:
3 TO 8
2- TO 3½-QUART
3 cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
½ cup green peas, thawed frozen, or shelled fresh
¼ cup chopped yellow onion
5 tsp all-purpose flour
1½ tblsp unsalted butter, melted
1¼ tsp
poultry seasoning
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1½ cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
¼ pound sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
2 ounces (about ½ cup) Cheddar cheese (regular or low-fat), shredded
4- TO 5½-QUART
4½ cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
¾ cup green peas, thawed frozen, or shelled fresh
6 tblsp chopped yellow onion
2½ tblsp all-purpose flour
2 tblsp unsalted butter, melted
2 tsp
poultry seasoning
½ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
2½ cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
2 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
½ pound sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
4 ounces (about 1 cup) Cheddar cheese (regular or low-fat), shredded
6- TO 8-QUART
7 cups chopped skinless and boneless cooked turkey
1¼ cups green peas, thawed frozen, or shelled fresh
⅔ cup (about 1 small) chopped yellow onion
¼ cup all-purpose flour
3 tblsp unsalted butter, melted
1 tblsp
poultry seasoning
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3½ cups low-sodium fat-free chicken broth
3 tblsp Worcestershire sauce
¾ pound sweet potatoes, peeled and shredded
6 ounces (about 1½ cups) Cheddar cheese (regular or low-fat), shredded
1
Mix the turkey, peas, onion, flour, butter, poultry seasoning, salt, and pepper in the slow cooker until the flour coats everything in a uniform mix.
2
Stir the broth and Worcestershire sauce in a large bowl; pour over the turkey mixture.
3
Toss the sweet potatoes and Cheddar in the same bowl; sprinkle evenly over the casserole.
4
Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or until the cheese has melted into a topping and the filling is bubbling hot.
TESTERS’ NOTES
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This is our take on shepherd’s pie, usually made with ground lamb or beef and mashed potatoes. We’ve mixed it up a bit with turkey and sweet potatoes, but kept it a one-pot meal.
•
If you’re making this with purchased turkey from the deli counter, ask for the thighs and legs from the in-house roasted turkey. Because the meat is not encased in a sauce or stuffing, it can dry out as it cooks. dark meat will solve the problem, and yield a better dinner.
•
A casserole like this one is a fine time to pull out the frozen, chopped onions. Just defrost them first so their chill doesn’t alter the cooking time.
Serve It Up!
Have a tangy
Mustard Slaw
on the side: Mix bagged shredded cabbage with thinly sliced red onion and shredded carrots, then make a dressing with two parts white wine vinegar, one part mayonnaise, one part mustard, and one part sugar, seasoned with salt and ground black pepper. Toss it and sprinkle with mild paprika or a smidgen of cayenne.
A LITTLE
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PREP TIME:
30 MINUTES
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COOK TIME:
5 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
3 HOURS
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SERVES:
10 TO 12
6- TO 8-QUART
8 to 9 pounds whole bone-in skin-on turkey, giblets removed and the
bird trussed
1 Tart medium green apple (such as Granny Smith), quartered
1 medium yellow onion, quartered
¼ cup olive oil
1 tsp salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
½ tsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp mild paprika
1
Stuff the large cavity with the apple and onion. Rub the outside of the bird with the olive oil.
2
Mix the salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika in a small bowl; massage this mixture over the outside of the bird.
3
Set the bird breast side up in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 5 hours, or until an instant-read meat thermometer inserted into both the breast and the thigh (without touching bone) registers 165°F.
4
Lift the bird out of the slow cooker using a couple of large spatulas—and indeed maybe an extra pair of hands equipped with some kitchen tongs for balance and support. Transfer to a carving board, scoop out the apple and onion (these can be discarded), and let stand for 10 minutes before carving.
TESTERS’ NOTES
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If you roast a whole turkey in a slow cooker, you will free up your oven on a holiday for everything else! However, we’ve got one warning: the bird won’t get a crunchy skin. If that matters, set the cooked turkey in a heavy-duty roasting pan, then broil it six to eight inches from the heated element to crisp the skin, turning the whole bird to get each side browned, about 15 minutes in all.
•
You don’t need to peel or even core the apple since it’s in the bird for flavor, not for eating.
•
Note that the cooking temperature here is
high
, not low. You need that higher temperature to get such a huge bird done expeditiously for safety’s sake.
•
Don’t be tempted to cook a bird larger than 9 pounds. The larger birds will not get out of the danger zone for bacterial growth quickly enough. However, you can certainly use a smaller one, down to about 7 pounds—although the timing will be shortened by as much as an hour.
•
Check the internal temperature after 3 hours to see where you are, then continue cooking to the proper internal temperature for safety and tenderness.
There’s something almost iconic about eating birds, about bringing food down from the heavens. Sure, almost all the birds in our supermarket were raised on farms; very few migrated south, paddled around ponds, or even scratched in the dirt. But that doesn’t mean it’s not woven into the fabric of our souls that dinner can indeed fall from the sky, a bountiful gift. No wonder birds make it to our sacred meals: Sunday lunch, Shabbat dinner, and all sorts of festivity.
Yet despite their status as culinary icons, birds on the table can bring on lots of boredom. We’ve seen them so often; we’ve made so many. If you still want to connect with your roots, you might consider one of these—not only because they’re rarities for most of us but also because they bring back the excitement of
the bird,
that elemental, slightly oily deliciousness that made us first look to the heavens for dinner.
You’ll notice that there are no duck
breast
recipes here. First, there’s no way to keep them rare or medium-rare; cooked-through duck breasts are tough. Second, you’d have to remove the skin and fat, thus leaving the more delicate meat too exposed to the heat. And finally, duck breasts are like beef tenderloin: a quick cooker that’s far better on the grill than in the slow cooker.
Maybe we originally brought dinner down from the sky partly because we ourselves are so landlocked, because we envied the birds their ability to fly, to take off into the blue in ways we never could. Once we got them back on land, we turned them into some of the best meals for our tables. Flightless, we soar.
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
20 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
3 HOURS/5 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
1 HOUR
•
SERVES:
2 TO 4