A slow cooker is the ideal pot in which to cook your roast dinner. You can put it on in the morning and eat it at lunch time or as an evening meal, depending on which roast you are making. You can also use cheaper cuts of meat for a more economical meal. The long cooking times mean that the meat will still be tender and delicious.

Crockpot Chicken

The hardest part of this recipe is browning off the chicken in a frying pan. It is essential to do this or the chicken will cook looking pale and inedible. Keep the heat under the frying pan to a medium and use two utensils to turn the chicken regularly. Try to brown it on all sides and be careful while you do it.

Add Flavours to Your Slow Cooker Roast

Add the chicken to your pot. Add vegetables which could include onions, carrots, leeks, potatoes, smoked bacon or celery. Cook them gently to brown them before adding to the pot. You will need about a pint of chicken stock and seasoning or flavours to taste. Flavours might include either thyme or parsley and a tin of chopped tomatoes. Liquid levels do not need to cover the meat.

You will need to cook the chicken on medium for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours. If you like your chicken crispy, you might like to cook to the lower time and transfer the meat to the oven for 20 – 30 minutes. Use the liquid in the pot to make gravy.

Cook vegetables and potatoes in the usual way and time to the end of the meal.

Roast Beef

Beef is an ideal meal to slow cook as it will be very tender.

Brown your meat on all sides in a frying pan. Add it to the pot. Again, the vegetables you choose to cook with your beef will vary according to taste. You can try potatoes, onions, carrots and celery along with a pint of stock (or juice from a previous casserole) and, if you like, a glass of red wine. The liquid should be no more than about an inch up your meat.

Cook on high for about four hours or medium for 8 hours. The juices will increase and they make great gravy.

Slow Cooked Pork

Boneless loin is a good joint to use in a slow cooker. Rind will have to be roasted separately in the oven to produce crackling. Try using apple juice as stock (about a pint) or apple juice and water. You can cook with vegetables such as onions, carrots, potatoes to produce a nice gravy or cook alone. Cook for about four hours on high or eight hours on medium.

Slow Cooked Lamb

Choose a leg of lamb for a pot roast. You can choose to leave the bone in to add flavour to the meat, or you can take the bone out and stuff the cavity with stuffing instead. Add vegetables such as potatoes, carrots, onion or shallots and season the stock with herbs. Rosemary, thyme and mint all go well with lamb.

Slow cook the lamb for about 6-8 hours on medium. Use the meat juices and vegetables for gravy. The blender is your best friend!

Some Final Tips

Do balance your cooking time with the size of joint. Larger or tougher joints of meat will benefit from longer cooking times. Similarly tender meat like chicken can be too well cooked to go in the oven for crisping. Some experimentation may be necessary with these recipes in order to get them working correctly with the particular slow cooker you have.

Learn more about making and earning from hubs!

Check out this hub:

http://hubpages.com/_16v4y9y4t7nrg/hub/5-Money-Making-Tips-Most-Hubbers-Forget-To-Use

and follow his advice to improve how you hub!