Post by eyeofthestorm on Feb 15, 2024 7:33:39 GMT -6
So I tried these yesterday. I took some pics:
Before:
After:
Before I share results/my thinking, a few disclaimers:
1. I didn't use a Crockpot, but a Ninja Possible Cooker Pro. I used the slowcook setting, but the "high" setting on this machine is known to be much hotter than a typical slow cooker high setting. (It will boil on "high" slow cooker. In case you're curious, the "Braise" setting on this machine is more like a traditional slow cooker high temp.) Because I used this "high" temp, I cut back dramatically on cooking time.
2. These inserts are for a 7 to 8 quart machine. There are inserts for smaller machines. There are also inserts that divide the cooking space into two instead of three.
So, what I did was:
Everything cooked perfectly. The pork loin came out just right. I took it out to slice and put the slices right back in there for people to serve themselves.
The only weird thing was the dressing. I used Trader Joe's gluten free dressing mix because DH likes it. In fact, I stock up on it since they only carry it at the holidays. The texture was right, but it tasted... weird. it wasn't just me; DH agreed. I checked the box but it hadn't expired. I wondered if it somehow picked up flavor from the silicone (that's not supposed to happen, but...?). But that weird flavor wasn't in the meat or vegetables. I'm going to make some something else starchy (potatoes, rice) in the future to see if the flavor thing is an issue with that.
In the future, I will remove the inserts before serving or letting people serve themselves. The pot was perfectly clean (not my goal but a nice bonus) UNTIL I dripped between the inserts while getting food. Rats. The silicone actually was not hot to the touch (kind oflike parchment paper, I guess), so it will be easy to lift them out.
One last thing. I find washing shaped silicone a pain in the neck... same here. Food wants to stay in the crease at teh bottom. Oh, I got it out, but it wasn't so easy as they like to make it sound. Also, it takes things forever to dry here, so they're still on my dryaing rack. Next time, I will try them in the top rack of the dishwasher. I think they'll still need to be prewashed to ensure no food is stuck in the creases, but at least they can finish drying inside the dishwasher.
Before:
After:
Before I share results/my thinking, a few disclaimers:
1. I didn't use a Crockpot, but a Ninja Possible Cooker Pro. I used the slowcook setting, but the "high" setting on this machine is known to be much hotter than a typical slow cooker high setting. (It will boil on "high" slow cooker. In case you're curious, the "Braise" setting on this machine is more like a traditional slow cooker high temp.) Because I used this "high" temp, I cut back dramatically on cooking time.
2. These inserts are for a 7 to 8 quart machine. There are inserts for smaller machines. There are also inserts that divide the cooking space into two instead of three.
So, what I did was:
- dressing mix in one. I put in the courton part, mixed the seasonings with boiling water, poured that over, and stirred
- brussells sprouts (dumped them in frozen, sprinkled with spices)
- pork loin (thawed). I had to cut it in half to fit in that space, but then the two pieces fit perfectly.
- Cooked on "high" for 2 hours (I checked the pork with a meat thermometer to be certain, but it was done. I figured this is the amount of time it would take based on past experience with this machine).
Everything cooked perfectly. The pork loin came out just right. I took it out to slice and put the slices right back in there for people to serve themselves.
The only weird thing was the dressing. I used Trader Joe's gluten free dressing mix because DH likes it. In fact, I stock up on it since they only carry it at the holidays. The texture was right, but it tasted... weird. it wasn't just me; DH agreed. I checked the box but it hadn't expired. I wondered if it somehow picked up flavor from the silicone (that's not supposed to happen, but...?). But that weird flavor wasn't in the meat or vegetables. I'm going to make some something else starchy (potatoes, rice) in the future to see if the flavor thing is an issue with that.
In the future, I will remove the inserts before serving or letting people serve themselves. The pot was perfectly clean (not my goal but a nice bonus) UNTIL I dripped between the inserts while getting food. Rats. The silicone actually was not hot to the touch (kind oflike parchment paper, I guess), so it will be easy to lift them out.
One last thing. I find washing shaped silicone a pain in the neck... same here. Food wants to stay in the crease at teh bottom. Oh, I got it out, but it wasn't so easy as they like to make it sound. Also, it takes things forever to dry here, so they're still on my dryaing rack. Next time, I will try them in the top rack of the dishwasher. I think they'll still need to be prewashed to ensure no food is stuck in the creases, but at least they can finish drying inside the dishwasher.