We're thinking of getting a crock pot to slow-cook roasts but wonder whether it would have a noticeable effect on our electric bill. Does anyone out there have any experience with them?

Faith

-- Faith Battels (hray@kansas.net), April 15, 2000

Answers

Crock pots are very efficient -- one of the least expensive ways to use electricity for cooking. Also, you can cook a lot more than roasts in them, and almost everything they cook is better than when cooked any other way! Having said all that, you'd think I used mine all the time, but I don't use it nearly as often as I should -- forget to start it up in the morning so the food is ready by suppertime! I must start doing better!!

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 15, 2000.

I have a couple of suggestions. I love cooking with a crock pot. If you do decide on purchasing one, try to get at least a four quart size. Five is even better. It is easier to fit larger cuts of meat in them that way. I also really like having one where the crock is removable for cleaning. Just be careful for rapid severe temp changes because I had one crack in half on me! ( I should have known better) I also use a super cookbook called "The Best Slow Cooker Cookbook Ever" by Natalie Haughton. I think it is a great way to make tough meat much more enjoyable.

-- Jennifer (jkmills@freewwweb.com), April 15, 2000.

I'll jump in on the positive side. We use ours a lot, and even tougher cuts turn out well. I think they're more efficient than most other (not wood stove) cooking methods. But then, I was wrong once before, but I disremember when or how! GL!

-- Brad (homefixer@mix-net.net), April 15, 2000.

Huh, I'd picked up somewhere that the things were actually pretty hard on electricity and the economy actually came from other things. You've got a meal to come home to-no fast food or pricey near-ready-to-eat stuff from the grocery. In the winter they do dump a very noticeable amount of heat into your house, certainly will warm the kitchen up nicely. You can use cheap tough cuts of meat. But electric heat is never economical, unless you're generating excess capacity for free and would have installed generating capacity anyway.

Our latest one came with a plastic lid, we weren't impressed but we'd saved most of the old one (imagine that!) and the glass lid from it pretty much fits.

Lots of cookbooks have slow-cooker recipes, plus your library should have at least one cookbook devoted to slow-cooking. There are, however, some pretty silly recipes out there. I wouldn't bother to bake a cake in one unless I had no other options. Macaroni and cheese that calls for the macaroni to be boiled and then the whole thing assembled and slow-cooked for 8 or more hours seems foolish.

But roasts, turkey breasts, lots of big chunks of meat cook up very nicely with little or no attention. A big plus for us. If you're buying your meat, late spring and summer is grilling season, there are some good buys therefore on roasts.

They're also good as deep dish hot plates when you're serving a lot of people. You can either fix things like sloppy joes and hot dips in them or fix them conventionally and reheat/keep warm in the crock pot.

Don't know where I picked this recipe up, we assumed it would be too salty for us, but it wasn't.

French Dip Roast 1/3c soy sauce

1 packet onion soup mix (or make your own)

beef roast, a nicely marbled arm if you can find one

Mix soy sauce & soup mix in the crock pot. Add the roast and cover with water. Cook on low for 24 hours. Make French Dip sandwiches. We cooked on high 1 hour and low for between 4-7 hours (can't remember) and had a very nice roast. Gerbil

-- Gerbil (ima_gerbil@hotmail.com), April 15, 2000.

Gerbil (Mama!)so good to have you back with us! Hope you are feeling better! There is a great site on crockpot cooking with recipies at:http://pages.ivillage.com/misc/momof3add/crockpot.html. You may have to go to main page at ivillage to log in first, I'm not sure. Crockpots are great, safe and reasonable to use, and you can pick them up at thrift shops and garage sales for a song. Jan

-- Jan B (Janice12@aol.com), April 15, 2000.

that one is pretty easy to figure out, yet the answer is flexible depending on each individuals situation. look at the rating on the unit. it will be on the box, instruction book, or or underneath the unit. if it is, say for example, 500 watts on high, and your electric rate is 8 cents per kilowatt/hour, it will cost 4 cents an hour to operate it. if you use it for 5 hours a day, that would cost you 20 cents to cook that meal ( assuming my rusty old brain is functioning today ) to me, i judge that to be pretty economical. take care, gene

-- gene ward (gward34847@aol.com), April 15, 2000.

They are great. They do warm up the kitchen a bit but not as much as the oven. My wife slow cooks apple butter in hers (without the lid)to get it thick for canning. Much better than having the oven on for several hours during the summer. Best thing in the world for having Sunday dinner ready when you get home.

-- Vaughn (vdcjm5@juno.com), April 15, 2000.

Mine has two settings. One I believe to be 40 watts. which means it will cook food for twelve and a half hours for about three cents (at our 5.5 cents per kwh rate)

Look at the rating, as said above.

joj

-- jumpoff joe (jumpoff@echoweb.net), April 16, 2000.

I LOVE mine! Of course, you have to understand that my hubby works 50+ hrs a week and I work part time plus go to college plus we both do the "homesteading" chores on our 1 1/2 acres. I got my pot from an elderly friend as a wedding present. She told me that it would the best time saver and most useful item in working lady's kitchen and she knew what she was talking about! I can plunk a whole chicken or roast in it, go to school & work (a 12 hr day) and still have a nice, hot, home cooked meal for my hubby when we get home! For us this is way more efficient than buying a microwave dinner or Fast Food.

-- Elle (hotging@aol.com), April 16, 2000.

A crock pot full of large dry lima beans and a couple of ham hocks is simmering in my ktchen right now! I can't wait til supper!

-- Mark (deadgoatman@webtv.net), April 16, 2000.

Another good site for the crockpot recipes is kitchenlinks.com, just plug in crock pot in the search. I even found slow cooked apple butter that tastes just like cooked, just finish with a hot water bath and it is excellent!! Mary

-- Mary (mlogan298@yahoo.com), April 17, 2000.

Crock pot recipe:

Swiss Steak: put flat (arm/chuck) roast in crock pot with 2- 3 cups broth or water. Add one can tomato soup (and 1/2 small sliced onion if you like them) Simmer for 4 hours. Add 2 cans stewed tomatoes with green peppers and celery. Simmer 2 or more hours.

Basic beef recipe: Place beef (or, around here - deer) roast in crock pot. Add one or more quarts water and a package of onion soup mix. Turn crock pot on and go to bed (or work). Shred meat, save broth.

For Italian beef: add a tablespoon of dried oregano or Italian seasoning, and 1/2 to 1 jar of hot pickled pepper rings (home canned or vlasic). Let simmer a few hours to blend flavors.

For beef and noodles: Mix together 3/4 c. flour and 1/4 tsp salt. With fork, stir in one whole egg and one 1/2 egg shell milk. May need an extra splash of milk. Roll dough in flour to coat, roll out to 1/4 inch thick on well floured board. Cut in quarters, stack on top of one another and roll into log. Cut into thin slices and toss with flour, leave to dry for a short while. Put 1/2 of the broth in a pan (5 qt) and add an equal amount of water and bring to a boil. DO NOT salt broth - will toughen noodles. Drop noodles in boiling broth a few at a time, stirring to separate. Cook about 10 minutes - ENJOY!

Beef Vegetable Soup: Put broth back in crock pot, along with the liquid from a jar or two of tomatoes. Chunk (peel if you want) a couple or three potatoes and some carrots and simmer on high for an hour or so. Add any canned or frozen or leftover vegetables (no butter or sauces) that you like. Add cabbage last and do not stir in. May need to add extra liquid - tomato juice, broth, water from canned vegetables. Cool overnight on low, or for at least 4 or so hours.

Beef BBQ: Place shredded beef in crock pot with 1 cup broth, 1 cup catsup, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 tsp each chili powder and garlic salt, 1 tbs. worchestershire sauce. Cook for 2-4 hours, may need more liquid (broth or water) if begins to stick.

Just a few basic beef/deer ideas. I also use mine with chicken, dry and fresh beans, cooking down apple butter and catsup, etc...

-- Polly (tigger@moultrie.com), April 17, 2000.

Crock Pots ... Hogs?

How about some BBQ PORK A 2 day affair

CROCKPOT BBQ PULLED PORK

DAY 1

Barbecue Sauce: 1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, chopped, with their juices 1/4 cup worcestershire sauce 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses 1/2 cup honey 1/4 cup dried onion 2 tablespoons tomato Paste 2 tablespoon dried diced sweet peppers (optional) 1 tablespoon garlic 1 bay leaf 1 tablespoon ground cumin 1/2 teaspoon cracked black pepper 1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) crushed red-pepper flakes 3 cups water 1 1/3 cups cider vinegar 1/2 cup brown sugar Salt, to taste

1. Prepare the Barbecue Sauce at 1east a day before you plan to cook the meat. Place the tomatoes, molasses, honey, worcestershire sauce, onions, peppers, tomato paste, garlic, bay leaf, cumin, black pepper and red-pepper flakes in a large, heavy pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer gently, uncovered, until the mixture is very thick, stirring occasionally.

2. Add the water, vinegar and brown sugar, then return the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce gently, uncovered, over medium-low heat for 11/2 hours more. Remove and discard the bay leaf, season with salt and set the sauce aside to cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight. NOTE: The sauce will be too tangy if you do not wait at least overnight.

CROCKPOT BBQ PULLED PORK DAY 2

1 pork butt (4 pounds), at room temperature Soft rolls, for serving Coleslaw, for serving Bread and butter pickles, for serving

1. Bring the sauce to room temperature before adding to the Crock-Pot.

2. Place the pork in the Crock-Pot. Pour 2 cups of the sauce over the pork and turn the meat to coat all over with the sauce. Cover the pot and cook on high heat for 5 1/2 hours.

3. Remove the meat from the sauce and set aside to cool. When the meat is cool enough to handle, trim off and discard the fat. Chop the meat coarsely with two knives, or pull it with two forks. Place the shredded meat in a large bowl. Pour the sauce through a gravy separator, discarding the fat. Warm the defatted sauce and toss with the shredded meat. Serve on rolls with coleslaw on top and pickles alongside.

-- Rich (pntbeldyk@wirefire.com), April 18, 2000.