The posh slow cook

Slow cooking is not just for the every day – you can do posh too.

It's a friend's birthday, so four guests for a birthday dinner. As is my usual practice I wanted to cook ahead. It doesn't matter how many times you've cooked for a dinner party the more time you can buy the better.

I had already chosen the main and a dish that is meant for cooking long and slow – a boned haunch of venison - the haunch is the back leg of the animal.

You can slow cook in red wine or fruit juice – apple or orange. You can add redcurrant or rowan jelly. Sweetness works well with venison. There are heaps of recipes out there.

I prefer to let the venison do the talking and not interfere too much.

Here's my version :

Slow cooked venison

Serves 6

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2lb/900g venison haunch, cut into generous portions

salt and black pepper

a generous pinch of oregano

8 fl oz/250ml passata

4 fl oz/125ml dry red wine – I used Rioja

4 fl oz/125ml water

Heat the oil in a large frying pan to a medium heat. Brown the venison well in batches and set aside in your slow cooker. Add the salt, pepper and oregano to the residual juices in the pan and then pour in the passata, red wine and water. Bring to the boil and tip over the venison portions. Slow cook for 6 hours.

I cooked the venison several days ahead and then froze it and the gravy separately.

One bit fat tick off my dinner party “to do” list!

Coming next … the jus and a pie too.

The moral of this slow cooking lark ...

… is that it allows you to make the most of the time you've got. If you're in your kitchen anyway why not spend an extra five minutes and slow cook either the chicken fillet or pork loin steaks and stock your freezer. It may not seem like much at the time but you might change your mind in the middle of a working week when you're worn to a frazzle and can't string a sentence together, let alone split an atom and create a meal.

The sauces given with the chicken and the pork are quick, easy and tasty - both can be made ahead and fridged.

These recipes are not set in stone – they are only a guide - not a rigid set of rules. If you have your own favourite sauces then brilliant. I'm just trying to give you an idea or two that might inspire your own creation or an old favourite that you'd forgotten.

Having ready cooked protein in your ATC will enable you to pull together your own home-cooked meals quickly – what's not to love. If you think ahead and take advantage of the deals out there you'll save even more dosh.

If it moves I freeze it – an example –a I have chicken that I slow cooked and stripped. I have the liquid gold too (the stock). Last week I bought a ham hock that I didn't have time to slow cook. Gary – my lovely local butcher – confirmed I could freeze it and cook when I had more time. I have friends coming for lunch soon. Their favourite pie is chicken and ham.

I rest my case.

Stuff you might find useful

Slow cooking – hints and tips

You can slow cook all sorts apart from meat and poultry – soups, veggies, desserts, the world is your lobster!

I have three slow cookers in various sizes and use them for meat and poultry.

I've used slow cookers for years and still apply the same principles as I've always done (which does not include the whole chicken recipe – rules are meant to be broken!). I seal my meat/poultry before it goes into the slow cooker and although these days you can buy slow cookers that are suitable for hob to hotplate I use a frying pan to seal – I know it creates washing up but the method in my madness is that I can set aside the protein and then use the juices in the pan, adding stock and whatever else I feel like, de-glazing and getting the best flavour possible. I can see what I'm doing too.

Don't overfill the cooker with liquid – as a guide half to two thirds maximum

Thickening. I'm not a lover of coating meat in flour and then sealing it. As far as I'm concerned you're slow cooking the coating and not the meat. I prefer to thicken with a teaspoon or two of slaked cornflour at the end of the cooking time.

If you're thinking of investing in a slow cooker you might be tempted to buy a small version. It's my experience that you'll regret it – if you are cooking for yourself but feed family and friends too it's the perfect vehicle for saving you time, effort and of course dosh.

I find that stainless steel and a separate hotplate is most practical for me. I can decant from the slow cooker to freeze but leave enough for a meal and then transfer the cooker to my hob to re-heat later.

There are lots to choose from so take your time!

P.s. If you're new to this slow cooking malarkey invest in a slow cooking recipe book too. There are some excellent ones out there – Lakeland publish at least two.

Here's my slow cooker :

Respect

If you think that slow cooking belongs to the “bung it all in, couldn't care less brigade” then think again.

Whatever method of cooking you choose it is true what they say – if you treat your ingredients with care, attention and respect it shows in the finished dish.

I get a great sense of satisfaction in getting the absolute best out of old fashioned cuts of meat that were renowned for being as tough as old boots – it's why the slow cooking method works so well.

To prove my point, here's the steak pie filling – browned and ready to slow cook :

before,

and after,

Happy Autumn Days!

Meat for slow cooking

Cheaper cuts of meat take longer to cook to become tender and flavoursome.

For example, beef cheeks (or pigs' cheeks) are now popular, braised for 8 hours I promise you'll never look back. Cuts of meat like shin and skirt make great casseroles or pie fillings. You're using cuts that come from the hard working muscles of the animal.

Two other cuts I'd recommend :

Lamb shanks

Shanks are fashionable these days so easy to source. I slow cook 4-6 (depending on the size of the shank) at a time. You can either leave in tact or strip and then freeze. Place a defrosted whole shank in a pre-heated oven so that the outside can brown.

Pre-heat your oven 180fan/200c/Gas 6. Wrap the shank in foil and bake for 20 minutes, remove the foil and let the shank brown for a further 15 minutes.

The meat from the shank falls away and is tender and sweet. Bear in mind that when you slow cook meat containing a bone it will take longer.

Ham hock

Is another cut that is perfect for slow cooking and its uses are many and varied. If you want to be cheffy you can turn it into a terrine. Strip it and leave in sizeable chunks – perfect with your slow cooked chicken as a pie base. Pea and ham soup anyone?

Keep it simple – let the meat speak for itself!

When you have another 5 minutes spare

… try this and before we begin can I suggest that if you're cooking a roast this weekend, cook extra veggies – par boiled or part roasted parsnips, carrots and potatoes would be excellent choices.

Slow cooked pork loin steaks with

Calvados cream sauce

600g/1lb 5oz pork loin steaks – 6 steaks, trimmed

glug of rapeseed/Canola oil

salt and black pepper

generous sprinkle of dried herbs – sage or

thyme

2 tsps of garlic paste – optional

500ml/1 pint approx vegetable stock – use a stock pot if you're

not using your own stock

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until hot. Seal the loin steaks on both sides, add salt and black pepper, garlic and herbs. Set aside the steaks in the slow cooker then add your stock to the residual juices in the frying pan, bring to the boil and slow cook for 3 hours.

Before you begin to make your sauce, time for the leftover veggies – try and make sure they are of a similar size. Place in a foil tray and drizzle with rapeseed or similar oil and season with salt and black pepper. Pop into a pre-heated oven 200c/180fan/Gas 6 for 25 minutes to allow them to finish roasting and become crisp.

For the sauce, you'll need approximately 200ml of stock from the cooked pork steaks - strain, cover and fridge until cold and ready for use. Freeze the remainder of the stock.

Calvados cream sauce

15g/¾ oz unsalted butter

15g/¾ oz plain flour

1 tsp garlic paste or 1 clove, crushed

glug of Calvados

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

200ml/7 fl oz stock

300ml/½ pint/10 fl oz double cream

salt and black pepper

Melt the butter, take the pan off the heat, add the flour and whisk. Return to the heat and cook out the flour for 2/3 mins, stirring continuously – add the garlic paste and mustard and then, on a high heat, add the Calvados and cook for 1-2 mins. Add the cold stock straight into the sauce and whisk until smooth, then cook on a low heat for 10 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.

Add the cream and simmer for 5 minutes.

Serve in large bowls, veggies first then the pork and drizzle with the sauce.

It looks just like this :

Feeling peckish?

Your choice of pie lid

This is not the pastry police - you can take the easy route and use a ready-made pastry sheet, either puff or shortcrust.

If you choose this option, use square foil trays or a casserole dish – approx 24x24x6 cms – 9½x9½x2¼” Wilkos sell the foil trays.

Cut the pastry lid to size and glaze with beaten egg. Pre-heat oven to 180fan/200c/Gas 6 for 30/40 minutes depending on whether your meat is still hot from the slow cooker or has been left, say, until the next day.

Depending on the depth of your foil tray you may have enough meat left to freeze for another pie, or you could just serve the slow cooked meat, casserole style, with cheese and onion mashed potatoes for a change!

Make your own shortcrust pastry lid – with or without the cheese as mentioned in “Do you like making pastry?”

Make your own “pot” pies – you can decant the filling into your pots, cover and freeze. Make your pastry when you have time. You don't have to make lids that are an exact fit for your pots – cut out pastry circles, or hearts or whatever design your cutter collection inspires. Bake the pastry tops on a baking sheet and place on top of your pie filling. Perfect for a dinner party.

Create a dish that is designed for “feet up” in front of your favourite “guilty pleasure” viewing – three elements – mashed potato, ladle the steak filling, top with a pastry lid, serve with veggies of your choice.

No pressure – do whatever suits you!