J Baker's Slow Cooking Tips

With the Autumn chill setting in, slow cooks are back on the menu. Cuts like minced and diced beef, pork, or lamb, are perfect for producing warming dishes, will deep flavour and character. Here are my tips for getting the very best out of your slow cooks.

My Tips:

1. Prepare by removing the meat from the chiller and removing any packaging an hour or so before cooking.
2. Heat a heavy bottomed frying pan until smoking, massage a little goose or duck fat into the beef or alternatively pomace oil into pork, lamb or chicken and sear in the pan, popping in with small batches at a time if its diced to give a good colouring all over.
3. In the same pan remove the meat and sear the vegetables as required then deglaze with your chosen liquids whether it be wine, ale, cider (and so on), then boil down to syrup.
4. Add the meat back to the pan, cover with stock and bring to boil.
5. Cover with a tight fitting lid or tin foil and place in preheated oven, go nice and slow at 125 oc, remember the longer the better, if time is not on your side increase but to no more than 150oc.
6. 3 to 4 hours is a good time range but I suggest checking frequently for tenderness and moisture levels, adding a little water if it looks a little dry.
7. Test the meat using a butcher's fork, unlike a steak (where you might lose valuable juices) it's fine to do this on your slow cook.