Shuttle Chef 4.5 l
My new shuttle chef arrived last week - so now I have a 2 litre and a 4.5 litre thermal cooker.
I made lamb shanks in the 4.5 litre shuttle chef yesterday, and was really pleased with it. It was still steaming hot (yes, you could see the steam escaping from it when you opened the lid) 9 hours later! I was amazed!
I have to say that the shuttle chef is extremely well made, and quite sturdy and heavy. I imagine that this baby is going to last for years.
The thing that I am finding I need to adjust to with the thermal cooker is that you need to (or are supposed to - haven't tested it) have the pot really full (to minimize the amount of air in the pot, and thus - heat loss). I also read that liquids hold heat better than solids (and viscous liquids hold heat better than thinner liquids) - so with those thoughts in mind, I really had a *lot* of sauce with my lamb shanks. Will have to remember to buy more meat next time to even up the ratio.
One big plus is that with browning the lamb etc, I only need to dirty the one pot, since you can't brown things in the crock pot. The inner pot also fits in the fridge better, and is easier to wash up.
But the taste verdict - we loved it. My conventional (powered) slow cooker runs a bit hot and while the lamb is fall-off-the-bone, the bits that aren't submerged in the sauce can dry out, and also the meat can lose its moisture (I don't know how to put it - it's kind of dry in your mouth after a few chews). The thermal cooker lamb in comparison was fall-off-the-bone and tender, and also lovely and moist. My sweetie said that it's more tender than when done in the crock pot.
I'm finding that food cooked in the thermal cooker has a slightly different flavour. It's a gentler cooking method and this is reflected in the taste somehow. Maybe a lot of my crockpot efforts were actually overcooked?
Anyway, let me know if you'd like me to post the lamb shanks recipe!
I made lamb shanks in the 4.5 litre shuttle chef yesterday, and was really pleased with it. It was still steaming hot (yes, you could see the steam escaping from it when you opened the lid) 9 hours later! I was amazed!
I have to say that the shuttle chef is extremely well made, and quite sturdy and heavy. I imagine that this baby is going to last for years.
The thing that I am finding I need to adjust to with the thermal cooker is that you need to (or are supposed to - haven't tested it) have the pot really full (to minimize the amount of air in the pot, and thus - heat loss). I also read that liquids hold heat better than solids (and viscous liquids hold heat better than thinner liquids) - so with those thoughts in mind, I really had a *lot* of sauce with my lamb shanks. Will have to remember to buy more meat next time to even up the ratio.
One big plus is that with browning the lamb etc, I only need to dirty the one pot, since you can't brown things in the crock pot. The inner pot also fits in the fridge better, and is easier to wash up.
But the taste verdict - we loved it. My conventional (powered) slow cooker runs a bit hot and while the lamb is fall-off-the-bone, the bits that aren't submerged in the sauce can dry out, and also the meat can lose its moisture (I don't know how to put it - it's kind of dry in your mouth after a few chews). The thermal cooker lamb in comparison was fall-off-the-bone and tender, and also lovely and moist. My sweetie said that it's more tender than when done in the crock pot.
I'm finding that food cooked in the thermal cooker has a slightly different flavour. It's a gentler cooking method and this is reflected in the taste somehow. Maybe a lot of my crockpot efforts were actually overcooked?
Anyway, let me know if you'd like me to post the lamb shanks recipe!