Vocal Voices

Just having it for lunch, hence only posting feedback now.

First thing is, it's a meat that takes forever and a day to cook. When I did the pork cheeks in the slow cooker they took 8 hours and for some reason I was expecting the ox cheeks to be the same. I put them on in the morning but 8 hours later they were still quite tough. So I googled them (as you do and I should have done first) and read that for the size the ox cheeks were that I had (I had three cheeks at 400gr each - so a fair size) I needed to allow about 12 hours. I was going out that evening anyway so I just left them to do their thing and by the time I came home they'd been in the slow cooker for about 13 hours in total - but those 13 hours resulted in butter soft, fall apart meat and something I'll definitely do again. Esp now that I know they need time

I do want to work on the flavouring of my slow cooked meats a bit though. I tried to put a slight Italian twist on it this time, using a tin and a half of tomatoes, 1/2 tin red wine and 1/2 tin stock and some Italian herbs but it probably could have done with a bit of tomato purée as well and more garlic and herbs. There was also quite a bit of liquid when it was all done and I should have reduced it more than I did, but it was close to midnight and I wasn't in the mood . But thankfully by the time you shredded the meat a bit to give it it's ragu look it was OK

I also think the recipe I used for the oxtail would be perfect for the ox cheek as well (which was the leek / celery / carrot - typical stew type combo) and I may try that next.

But definitely very worth a go if you don't mind the time it takes to cook

A few things, Ria.

You have about 2lb 11oz of meat and going by old cooking methods I would have thought that seven hours would be enough, but in a slow cooker that would be on the high setting.

There is a lot of fluid in that recipe. I would drop the additional ½ tin of tomatoes and use more purée. I would also reduce the wine and stock to maybe ¼ tin and top up if required.

Unless you are using fresh I would certainly ramp up the herbs, or add them later in the cooking. Even seven hours would cook the life out of them, 12 hours would drive off nearly all of the essential oils and they are what give the flavours.

It is good to hear that they actually worked and that you were pleased with them.

Thanks Frank... would 7 hours on high come out the same as 13 on low do you think, or would the meat be tougher because it has been cooked quicker? The 13 hours on slow really did result in superbly tender meat

and agree re the liquid, it was quite a bit.

Seven hours on high in a slow cooker is more like seven hours moderate in a conventional oven - it is not high as in very hot. It would be a bit 'suck it and see' as you did with your original version. If it needs longer it needs longer.

I think using too much fluid is the big mistake people often make when using a slow cooker. I have done whole small chickens just resting on a bed of vegetables with no added fluid and it is amazing the amount that is drawn out.

Yes, the difference in the amounts of fluid required when you first switch from oven cooking to slow cooking is remarkable. You need very little xx

Thought it would taste good

It's always a bit hit and miss the first time you cook anything in the slow cooker, and too much liquid is very easily done.
Bit tired at the moment but my new s/c's booklet does have a good chart of comparative cooking times, I'll get it out one day soon and post the details.
There's also a really good beef recipe I've used lots as the flavourings are just right, I'll copy that out too x

A visit to the interweb is very confusing about slow cookers. A lot of the info concerns Crock-pots, an American invention, and they are not European type slow cookers. A lot of their recipes talk about fluid levels up to 50% of the pot volume and that low and high settings are different ways of reaching the same simmer settings. Euro SCs work differently and do cook at different temperatures on high or low settings.

Slow cooking is a bit like frying steak. There might be basics, but there is no set temp or time. Each steak is different and is cooked accordingly.

to be honest I didn't even have a recipe as such when I did these cheeks. I just adapted the one I used for the pork cheeks and replaced the wine and the herbs to make it more suitable to beef vs the pork so the liquid quantities were the same; but with the pork I had the time to follow the recipe and reduced the sauce as instructed - I didn't with the beef

If I did it again I think I'd still be tempted to go for a long slow cook because I think it will just come out a as tender as this one did... but I'll put it on overnight vs first thing in the morning. Given I usually bulk cook so I can portion it and freeze it it makes no difference really when it's cooked.

But you talking steak is making me hungry now - I love a good steak (esp with egg and chips) .... yum yum