Slow cooking
Nothing really new with slow cooking and slow cooker. The first slow cookers were made in the US in the 50's, initially to cook beans. It wen't on large scale production in the 70's and became an all dish cooker for the family. It became very popular as slow cooking does not require to be attended to, meaning you can leave the slow cooker cooking for you for the day while you are at work and come back in the evening with the meal ready. You cannot overburn the dish in a slow cooker. Besides, vegetables cooked in a slow cooker keep their crisp, which is very pleasant.
Slow cooking on board
With limited gaz for cooking and small ovens, cooking on board is usually rather simple and done "on demand". Slow cooking allows to prepare delicious stews, much appreciated after a tough day at sea.
Pro
- Slow cooking is very simple, and well adapted to a boat kitchen.
- All ingredients are cooking together at once.
- It does not need to be attended.
- It cannot overburn.
Cons
- Requires power, therefore its use is limited to marinas.
- It takes a bit of room in the kitchen.
- It cooks only vegetables and stew type of food, even though some models do fry and steam food.
Operation
Slow cookers usually are offering two level of heat for slow cooking, 65°C and 95°C. The lower the temperature, the longer the cooking. At 65°, you can easily cook for 8 to 10 hours without denaturing the food, meaning you can cook overnight, or during the day while enjoying a day at the beach! At 95°C, 4 hours will do the job.
Preservation
Once cooked, you can either serve immediately, but ou can as well put the food in a vacuumed bag and keep in the fridge for a couple of days. It is a garanteed pleasure to be able to serve to the crew a good blanquette de veau in minutes after a tought day at sea.
Example: préparation of a boeuf boletus in the slow cooker
Ingredients
- Beef cut in small dices.
- Onion, garlic, salt and pepper, parsley.
- Dry boletus (see the muchroom page).
- Optionnally, some cooking white wine.
Searing of the meat is essential to preserve the taste and nutrients in the meat. It can be done in the slow cooker it the option exists, or in a frying pan prior to slow cooking. Add the onions a bit after the meat.
Once the meat is nicely coloured and the onions are transparent, switch the slo cooker to slow for 8 to 10 hours on low (65°C) or 4 hours to high (95°C).
Note that it is important to select appropriate meat for stew, as "too good" meat will tend to get dry on long slow cooking.
