Read The Great American Slow Cooker Book Online
Authors: Bruce Weinstein
The Great American Slow Cooker Book (8 page)
3
Add the corn muffins, bell pepper, chiles, and cheese. Toss well.
4
Whisk the eggs and milk in a large bowl until smooth, no bits of white floating in the mix. Pour into the casserole, moistening the corn muffin quarters.
5
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours, until the custard has set.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
Here’s a Southwestern breakfast casserole that sort of takes on the flavors of migas, or scrambled eggs with peppers, chiles, and cheese, often served with corn tortillas (or here, corn muffins). Dice the chorizo and bell pepper into tiny bits so you can eat the casserole with a spoon, not a knife and fork.
•
Buy corn muffins without any added sugar so that the casserole stays savory, rather than becomes too sweet.
INGREDIENTS EXPLAINED
Spanish chorizo is a dried sausage, quite red from paprika and ready to eat right out of the package. It needs to be browned for more flavor here before it’s added to this casserole. You can also use Mexican chorizo, a fresh (that is, raw) sausage that tastes much like a spicy bratwurst; however, it should be cut into thin rounds and fully cooked before adding it to the slow cooker.
A LOT
•
PREP TIME:
35 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
2 TO 2½ HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
1 HOUR
•
SERVES:
3 TO 8
FOR THE GRAVY
2- TO 3½-QUART
½ pound mild or hot breakfast sausage, any casings removed
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 tblsp all-purpose flour
¼ tsp grated nutmeg
1½ cups evaporated milk (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
4- TO 5½-QUART
1 pound mild or hot breakfast sausage, any casings removed
1 large yellow onion, chopped
6 tblsp all-purpose flour
½ tsp grated nutmeg
3 cups evaporated milk (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
6- TO 8-QUART
1½ pounds mild or hot breakfast sausage, any casings removed
2 large yellow onion, chopped
½ cup plus 1 tblsp all-purpose flour
¾ tsp grated nutmeg
4½ cups evaporated milk (regular, low-fat, or fat-free)
FOR THE BISCUITS
2- TO 3½-QUART
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2½ tblsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
6 tblsp milk
4- TO 5½-QUART
4 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
5 tblsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
¾ cup milk
6- TO 8-QUART
2 tblsp baking powder
¾ tsp salt
8 tblsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1¼ cups milk
1
Make the gravy: Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat, then crumble in the sausage. Cook, stirring often, until well browned, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onion; continue cooking until the onion softens, stirring often, about 3 minutes.
2
Sprinkle the flour and the nutmeg over the sausage mixture, then stir well just to incorporate, about 30 seconds. Pour in the evaporated milk, raise the heat to medium-high, and stir until the sauce bubbles and thickens slightly. Scrape and pour the contents of the skillet into a slow cooker.
3
Make the biscuits: Mix the flour with the baking powder and salt in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then the milk, just until all the flour has been incorporated and a soft dough has formed.
4
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface. Gently press out the dough until it’s about ½ inch thick. Cut the dough into 3-inch circles; lay these on top of the sausage mixture in the cooker.
5
Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2½ hours, or until the biscuits have set and firmed up.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
Although this is a fairly traditional casserole, keep in mind that the biscuits will not brown as they “bake” in a slow cooker. If you want pitch-perfect aesthetics, thin a little bit of Worcestershire sauce with an equal amount of water and brush the biscuits’ tops just before baking.
•
A large, round slow cooker will have less available surface area than an oval one, so you may have a little extra dough. If you’re concerned, use the dough ingredient list sized for the slow cooker
below
the one you’re actually working with and leave a few extra gaps in the biscuit topping.
Consider these brunch items—or the dishes you’ll make on the weekend when time is not so precious. Here, you’ll find many strata (
STRAH-tah
, or egg casseroles layered with bread or tortillas). You may have a favorite recipe for one of these that you bake in the oven on a holiday morning. Using a slow cooker can make that morning less busy and more celebratory. In fact, if you grate and chop things in advance, strata are great dishes for the kids to make, layering the ingredients in the slow cooker before you pour in the beaten milk mixture.
But the world doesn’t turn on egg casseroles. We’ve also got two hearty hash brown recipes. In these last, the potatoes won’t brown, but they will turn luxuriously soft. Serve these alongside fried or scrambled eggs—or even on their own if it’s a more substantial recipe.
Before we get started, let us offer one bit of advice. Most of the egg dishes here are not meant to be kept warm for very long. Eggs can
break
in the slow cooker; that is, they tighten up so much that their natural moisture slips out of the protein bonds and ends up as a watery mess. There’s no way to fix that mess if you let the dish sit too long. So once these strata are done, dig in. Or if you need time before serving, turn off the slow cooker, keep it covered, and give yourself fifteen minutes—the final dish will not be as tender, but you’ll have bought yourself a little time on a busy morning.
Most of these dishes are not overnight affairs. They’re also not as forgiving as some of the other breakfast fare. But they take only a few hours to cook—and that’s a good thing, too. Because these are the dishes that will keep your house guests and family contented for hours.
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
15 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
2 TO 2½ HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
NO
•
SERVES:
2 TO 8
2- TO 3½-QUART
4 slices of thin-cut bacon
3 ounces (about ¾ cup) Swiss cheese, grated
½ whole scallion, thinly sliced
½ tsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stem
¼ tsp ground black pepper
4 ½-inch-thick slices white bread
¾ cup milk
1 whole large egg plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
4- TO 5½-QUART
10 slices of thin-cut bacon
7 ounces (about 1¾ cups) Swiss cheese, grated
1 whole scallion, thinly sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stem
½ tsp ground black pepper
8 ½-inch-thick slices white bread
2 cups milk
3 whole large eggs plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
6- TO 8-QUART
16 slices of thin-cut bacon
12 ounces (about 3 cups) Swiss cheese, grated
3 whole scallions, thinly sliced
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, stripped from stem
¾ tsp ground black pepper
14 ½-inch-thick slices white bread
3¼ cups milk
4 whole large eggs plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
1
Slather the inside of the slow cooker with unsalted butter.
2
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Fry the bacon in batches as necessary to avoid overcrowding, turning often, about 4 minutes per batch, until crisp. Transfer the bacon to a plate lined with paper towels; blot dry. Let cool for a few minutes.
3
Crumble the bacon into a big bowl; stir in the cheese, scallions, thyme, and pepper.
4
Lay a single layer of bread slices in the cooker, then spoon a thin, even layer of the bacon mixture over the bread. Soldier on, repeating this layering as you use up the ingredients, ending with a layer of the bacon mixture on top to protect the bread as it “bakes.”
5
Whisk the milk, eggs, and egg yolks in a large bowl until smooth and velvety; pour evenly and gently over the ingredients in the cooker, pressing the bread down with the back of a wooden spoon so it’s soaked in the liquid mixture.
6
Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2½ hours, until the eggs are set enough that a flatware knife inserted into the center comes out clean and almost no liquid remains around the casserole.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
Traditional quiche Lorraine has no cheese, but many American versions do. We just couldn’t resist.
•
If possible, use nitrate-free bacon. Yes, it’s brown, not pink; but you won’t be ingesting the chemicals that keep bacon unnaturally pink.
•
How long you cook the bacon is really a matter of preference. If you like extra-crunchy bits of bacon in the strata, then fry it until it breaks into shards on the plate when cooled. If you prefer a softer finish to the dish without crunchy bits in the mix, then fry until it’s browned but still soft.
ALL-AMERICAN KNOW-HOW
For any strata, the eggs should be at room temperature prior to cooking so they cook evenly. Either leave the eggs out on the counter for 20 minutes or submerge them (in their shells) in a bowl of warm—not hot!—tap water for 5 minutes.
with sausage and beans
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
20 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
2 TO 2½ HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
NO
•
SERVES:
3 TO 10
2- TO 3½-QUART
8 ounces breakfast sausage, any casings removed
4 cups small cubes of fresh Italian bread
½ cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
¾ cup drained and rinsed canned pinto beans
3 ounces (about ¾ cup) Cheddar cheese, grated
½ tsp crumbled dried sage
1½ cups milk
2 whole large eggs plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
4- TO 5½-QUART
1 pound breakfast sausage, any casings removed
8 cups small cubes of fresh Italian bread
1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
1½ cups drained and rinsed canned pinto beans
6 ounces (about 1½ cups) Cheddar cheese, grated
1 tsp crumbled dried sage
3 cups milk
4 whole large eggs plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
6- TO 8-QUART
1¾ pounds breakfast sausage, any casings removed
14 cups small cubes of fresh Italian bread
1½ cups chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2¾ cups drained and rinsed canned pinto beans
11 ounces (about 2¾ cups) Cheddar cheese, grated
1½ tsp crumbled dried sage
5¼ cups milk
7 whole large eggs plus 3 yolks, at room temperature
1
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat for a couple of minutes, then crumble in the sausage meat. Cook, stirring often, until browned and cooked through, about 8 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the sausage meat to a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the excess fat.
2
As the sausage cooks, preheat your broiler and position the oven rack about 5 inches away. Spread the bread cubes on a rimmed baking sheet. (If you’re using a large slow cooker, you may need to toast the bread cubes in two batches.) Broil until the bread cubes are toasted on all sides, turning and stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes.
3
Mix the browned sausage, toasted bread cubes, tomatoes, pinto beans, cheese, and sage in the slow cooker.
4
Whisk the milk, eggs, and egg yolks in a large bowl until smooth and foamy. Pour the mixture over the ingredients in the cooker, pressing down gently with the back of a spoon to make sure the bread cubes are moistened throughout.
5
Cover and cook on low for 2 to 2½ hours, until the eggs are set or until a flatware knife inserted into the center of the strata comes out without any eggy milkiness.
TESTERS’ NOTES
•
Skip the sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil and look for dry-packed vibrant, pliable sun-dried tomatoes in a bin in the produce section of a larger supermarket or on the salad bar.
•
Should you take the crust off the bread cubes? We say no because the crust adds more texture.
•
Check after 2 hours and then continue cooking until the liquid has been absorbed and the strata sets in the cooker. In general, larger cookers will take longer for the eggs to set.
•
Substitute grated Swiss or even Gruyère for the Cheddar cheese.
with red peppers and sausage
A LITTLE
•
PREP TIME:
15 MINUTES
•
COOK TIME:
4 HOURS
•
KEEPS ON WARM:
NO
•
SERVES:
4 TO 12
2- TO 3½-QUART
1 pound mild Italian or turkey breakfast sausage, any casings removed
2 cups milk
4 large eggs, at room temperature
4 8-inch flour tortillas
8 ounces (2 cups) pepper jack cheese, finely grated
2 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
4- TO 5½-QUART
2 pounds mild Italian or turkey breakfast sausage, any casings removed
4 cups milk
8 large eggs, at room temperature
8 8-inch flour tortillas
1 pound (4 cups) pepper jack cheese, finely grated
4 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
6- TO 8-QUART
3 pounds mild Italian or turkey breakfast sausage, any casings removed
6 cups milk
12 large eggs, at room temperature
12 8-inch flour tortillas
1½ pounds (6 cups) pepper jack cheese, finely grated
6 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped