July 23, 2009

  • ADVENTURES IN SLOW COOKER-ING

    There were two experiments going on in my slow cooker yesterday.

    One, I was taking the Reynolds Slow Cooker Liners for a spin. The last time I used to cooker (to make spaghetti sauce) the crock sat for nearly a week before my live-in dishwasher got around to washing it. And I stumbled upon the liners on my visit to Arky-mart looking for steamer bags (of which they had none). I thought the liners were a genius idea and only set me back about 3 bucks for 4 liners, so why not?!

    Two, I was looking for a "basic" method of cooking up pork tenderloin. It's such a lean cut of meat that I was paranoid to cook it alone, but I didn't want it to be all saucy. Most of the recipes I stumbled upon cooked the meat in barbeque sauce or dried onion soup & a can of cream of mushroom soup. I like my pork both of these ways, but I was seeking something more versatile, so that we’re not eating the same thing in the way of leftovers.

    One suggestion I got was a recipe to cooker it in ZIN. Yum! But it's torture enough to be a wino working in the wine industry whilst pregnant, let alone open a whole bottle of wine in my own wino home whilst pregnant.  I'm not opposed to a glass here or a glass there, but I save those opportunities for the weekends. And having an open bottle just sitting there…might push me over the edge right now!

    So I made a little compromise and popped open a bottle of Winterfest Dark Double Bock Lager from the depths of the fridge and dumped it over my loins.  Here are the details:

    Two pork tenderloin roasts (not sure the total weight)
    McCormick® Grill Mates® Montreal Chicken® Seasoning
    Freshly ground pepper
    2 tsp Best Foods® Dijonnaise™ mustard
    1 bottle (12 oz.) JosephsBrau Brewing Co. Winterfest Dark Double Bock Lager

    Season the meat with grill seasoning and pepper. Slather on the mustard. Pour in the beer. I was short on time, so I cooked on High for 3 hours; many recipes suggested Low for 6 hours. Pick your poison.

    Next Time I Would:

    Season the meat more and perhaps let the seasoning sit for 15-30 minutes.
    Use a stronger mustard. My fave being Colman’s.
    And more of it. I only slathered the tops, I’d totally go 360 next time.
    With my machine--All Clad--I think it could have cooked a little less. I’d reduce by 30 minutes.

     

    As for the former experiment, the jury’s still out on the liners.  My impressions thus far are as follows:

    Even though it says it fits round and oval crocks, it didn’t so much fit my oval crock well & I had to improvise a little. But I worked it, no big whoop.
    It didn’t keep things completely clean, but it’s MUCH cleaner than it would have been without.
    I’m definitely curious to see how it’ll withstand a pot of spaghetti sauce or chili.

    There you have it. Happy crocking!