Since I was very young, I’ve been something of a collector. I figured that if having one of something was good, then having three or four was even better. As a kid, this meant that I had more pens and pencils in my school bag than necessary and felt most comfortable when I had a back-up security blanket.
In my adulthood, this propensity towards duplication has most actively manifested itself in the kitchen. I have at least two dozen wooden spoons and spatulas (when just a handful would really do), three vintage waffle irons (because you never know when one might break) and five slow cookers.
There’s no really good defense for the wooden implements or the waffle irons, but I do have a rationale for the slow cookers. My slow cooker needs often vary and so having different shapes, sizes and eras to choose from give me options.
Dips go in the mini-cooker. When I make overnight oatmeal, the 2 1/2 quart pot is best. If I’m doing a batch of blueberry butter and want really low, slow heat, nothing works better than my vintage, 4 quart, avocado green cooker. I also have kept a basic 6 quart cooker in the rotation for a while for stocks and soups, though I must confess, it has never been my favorite.
Then there’s slow cooker number five. It joined the line-up recently and rocketed to the top of my slow cooker hit parade. It’s the Hamilton Beach Set ‘n Forget model, with a lid that can be locked into a place and a thermometer probe that you can use to test internal temperatures without lifting the lid and releasing the heat. It allows you to set the cook time and temperature (when the time is up, it shifts to a keep warm setting).
This time of year, my slow cookers are in regular rotation for the production of apple and pear butters. I typically go with my vintage cooker, because I know that I can trust it not to burn (older slow cookers have lower set temperatures than the newer models). However, because of its capacity, it ends up yielding just a couple of pints. As you know, most of the time I like a small batch just a little more than the next girl. During the holiday season that changes and I appreciate the option of larger yields for gift giving.
I realize now that I’ve avoided the newer cookers and their higher temperatures because I’ve never worked with one that had an auto shut-off before. I tend to let my fruit butters cook overnight. That was too much time for my brute force, either-on-or-off cooker. But having the option to set it to cook for 5 or 6 hours and then shift to warm has changed everything. I know this technology has been around for a while (my mom had a slow cooker when I was little that did something along these lines), but I’d never before experienced it. I am in love.
My fruit butter yields are higher because the new Hamilton Beach machine has a larger capacity and I’m not running the risk of burning the butter because it shuts off when I ask. I am a happy canner.
Before we get to the apple butter recipe I’ve made three times in the last month in machine, I have to tell you one more reason why I really like it. It’s that “Stay or Go” feature. This slow cooker has a lid fitted with a silicone seal that can be locked into place. That makes it an able traveler, which is terrific for a regular potluck-attender like me.
I used it to transport and serve mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving (sadly, they were the worst mashed potatoes I’ve ever made; both lumpy and gummy at the same time. But the quality of the potatoes wasn’t the cooker’s fault) and it will be pressed into travel service again soon.
The formal recipe I’ve been using for this slow cooker apple butter is after the jump, but here’s the narrative version. You begin by filling your slow cooker to the top with sliced apples (I got about eight pounds into my cooker, but there’s some natural variation here). You add a little water (maybe 1/2 a cup) to help things along and then you let the cooker for for four to six hours on low, until you can mash the apples into sauce.
Then you puree the heck out of the applesauce, until the skins disappear. It works best in my Vitamix, but I’ve also achieved this same effect with an immersion blender and persistence. Then you return the puree to the slow cooker (it will only fill it 2/3 of the way up at this point) and cook on low for another six or so hours with the lid slightly askew for venting purposes, until the sauce has reduced into butter. Stir in sugar, spices, and lemon zest/juice for balance. That’s it! Easy and makes such good holiday presents!
Finally, the giveaway. Hamilton Beach has generously given me eight (yes, that’s eight) of these Set ‘n Forget Slow Cookers to give away to my readers. Here’s how to enter.
- Leave a comment on this post and share your favorite slow cooker use.
- Comments will close at 11:59 pm on Saturday, December 22, 2012. Winners will be chosen at random and will be posted to the blog on Sunday.
- Giveaway open US residents only.
- One comment per person, please. Entries must be left via the comment form on the blog at the bottom of this post.
Disclosure: Hamilton Beach gave me one Set ‘n Forget Slow Cooker for review and photography purposes and they’re providing eight additional units for this giveaway. They did not pay for inclusion on the blog and my opinions remain entirely my own.
Ingredients
- 7-8 pounds apples (any varieties you like)
- 1/2 to 1 cup dark brown sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- zest and juice of one lemon
Instructions
- Slice apples and heap them into a six quart slow cooker.
- Add 1/2 cup water and set to low.
- Cook until apples are tender and can be easily pressed into sauce. On low, this will take 4-6 hours. On high, it should only take 2-3 hours.
- Puree softened apples into a smooth puree (it shouldn't be necessary to peel).
- Return to puree to slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours with the lid set slightly ajar so that it can vent.
- Add 1/2 cup sugar, spices and lemon zest/juice. Taste and add more spices and sugar, if necessary.
- Funnel hot apple butter into prepared jars.
- Apply lids and rings and process in a boiling water bath canner for 15 minutes.
- When time is up, remove jars from canner and let cool on a folded kitchen towel.
Notes
My batch yielded just over 3 pints, but with all things that depend on reduction, yields will vary. I can see this batch ranging from 2 to 4 pints, depending on the water content of the apples and the length that you cook them.
This recipe can be canned in pints, half pints, quarter pints or any other small jar designed for boiling water bath canning. All jars pints or smaller are processed for 15 minutes. Should you want to can it in quarts, increase processing time to 20 minutes.
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Roasts are my absolute favorite things to make in a slow cooker, but I’ve been thinking of branching out a bit.
Big fan of pulled pork in the crock pot. Or curries.
Our family loves stew….
I like using a crock pot for pot roast (chuck roast, pork shoulder, brisket, …)
Oh, man, favorite slow cooker use… That one’s way too hard! I can’t just pick one!!! My slow cooker is the most often used kitchen appliance I have! From apple or pear butter (thanks for posting about this by the way) to roast to soup or stew to cakes, cobblers, and casseroles, I am constantly using my slow cooker. It has a permanent place on the kitchen counter. Narrowing it down to 1 slow cooker recipe, I’d have to say my favorite use for it is ribs. As an apartment dweller and a renter of “bbq free” places, a slow cooker is a god-send for making ribs. Ribs cooked in the slow cooker are tender and fall off the bone moist. A little sauce and a few minutes in the oven to glaze it and you have yourself some awesome ribs!
Love mine for doing huge batches of black beans which I then divide into 2c portions and freeze – a can of beans as easy as 2 minutes in the microwave! Also super great for roast chicken. Nothing beats coming home to a hot meal – especially when I comine it with my programmable bread maker!
I love using the crockpot to have effortless lunch done when I come back home from college. A little prep at night and, voilá! Teh magic is done!
Baked beans with lots of brown sugar!
My favorite use is for chili and hot cornbread!
I use my slow mostly for dips. But that is because only my little one works. I keep meaning to get a new one, but I always seem to forget.
I do not yet own a slow-cooker, but I hear all kinds of marvelous things about them! I think I’d be most excited for soups/stews, but fruit butter sounds really awesome, too!
MMM-m-m-m………..I love to slow cook the basic pot roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots.
Have Crockpot will Travel! We love going to potlucks, and bringing goodies in to work to share in the crockpot, and I think this set up would be the best for travel! Thanks!
I love my slow cooker for making soup, stewed chicken, stuffed peppers and pot roast.
My favorite thing to make is Char Siu Pork from Cooking Light. I just made apple butter though and that turned out great!
Ham and beans! I also love it for taking foods into work. We have done everything from chili to brats. I have even used it to keep jalapeno poppers hot at work!
Since reading your book making butters has shot to the top of the list! But besides something that will live in a can, definitely anything chicken related.
i use my slow cooker for applesauce but my slow cookers lid is cracked and no longer seals in the juices so i ahve to keep an eye on anything it.
love to slow cook a large pork butt for many uses. soup tamales barbecue casseroles
love to slow cook pumpkin butter and keep my glog warm.
I love to do up a big batch of chili in my crockpot!
My slow cooker is a God send since I work fulltime. Without it our week night meals consist oh things like hotdogs.
pumpkin butter
I’ve never used a slow cooker but I would really, really like one so I won’t need to stay up until the wee hours of the morning slowly cooking my fruit butters on the stove top.
Cooking my ham or doing stuffed peppers. Actually, I use my crock pot for all sorts of things: potatoes, chili, stews, beans, roasts, bread pudding, etc.
Cooking down apple butter and spaghetti sauce for canning, but not together! Yuck!
I love using the slow cooker for making slow-cooked fall apart meat dishes like pot roast and pulled pork.
My favorite use at this time of year is to have two soups: veggie and meat-based, a loaf of fresh baked bread, salad and a houseful of friends. In summertime, it would be to cook down my tomato sauce.
It’s hard to choose just one favorite use for a crock pot, but it would have to be for making apple butter. No stirring, no burning, just good eating.
The thing I use my slow cooker for most often is reducing stock to near demi glace. But since returning to work full-time, my husband and I have been checking out some of these new models for making week night dinners a little easier.
Still kind of new to slow cooking, but have made several batches of butters this year – apple and peach were both delicious!
I love my slow cooker and use it a lot. Favorites are soups, stews and roasts, whole chicken or turkey breast.
my favorite slow cooker use is still the classic oatmeal application–I love waking up to warm oatmeal!
Pot roasts! Or lentil stew. Or chicken broth (from the bones of a rotisserie chicken and some vegetables).
Like you I have multiple slow cookers, including an older avocado one I got at an estate sale, and I use them for different items. But my big one (not a nice Hamilton one like yours) cooks too hot and I have to watch it carefully.
This being said, my absolute favorite recipes for it are split pea soup (with an Otto’s ham hock, of course
) and chicken cacciatore, which I happen to be making tomorrow.
I had to chuckle about how many crock pots you have. I only have 3 but my husband just doesn’t understand why I need so many. Fortunately I have plenty of storage space. One of my go to recipes for a pot luck is crock pot creamy hashbrowns. I use the biggest crockpot that I have and I always go home with no leftovers.
I like making pulled pork in mine, but I have to admit I’m a fan of chicken breasts cooked in it as as well. You just dump them in, frozen and all. I wish I could remember which blog I got it from, because it makes the best cooked chicken for enchiladas, etc.
I am obsessed with pot roast made in the slow cooker! Best dinner ever!
My favorite use is to trek goodies to work for my co-workers to enjoy. Tomorrow for lunch…sausage, peppers and onions.
Cooking beans is my favorite for a slow cooker. I have to admit, a lot of slow cooker recipes almost seem like more work (timing) that they are supposed to. But bean—oo and shredded pork!—are both awesome. “Set it and forget it”-style.
i love slow cookers i use my little round one all the time. this size would be nice when the kids come with the 8 grand kids ty for this give away what a great item
I enjoy using my slow cookers for making soups I can start and forget. Of course they make keeping food warm at parties easy as well.
Cholent cooked Friday night through Saturday afternoon…
Use slow cooker to make beans.
Soup soup soup! I love to throw in the ingredients in the morning, and come home from work to find a hot flavorful meal ready to eat.
My favorite thing to make in my slow cooker is bread pudding with challah bread, lots of cream and fruit jam mixed in. Super yummy!
Smothered steak (round steak in mushroom soup). Man, that gravy is good!
Bone broth!
I make refried beans in my slow cooker every Thursday, more or less religiously. And I could really use a new slow cooker as my crock is cracked, and that’s not a euphemism!
I mostly use my slow cooker for roasting whole chickens. I always have a freezer full of home raised chickens but never room in the fridge to thaw one. So they go in the slow cooker right from the freezer and they’re fully cooked in about 6 hours. Mine’s pretty basic, just high and low temp settings so I won’t try any apple butter until I win! or buy an upgrade.
Hands down, steel cut oatmeal! I set everything up before I go to bed and there’s a delicious hot breakfast waiting when my hubby gets up EARLY in the morning. Then he flips our current 4 qt to “warm” and it’s at perfect temp for the kids and I to eat a couple hours later.