Cuban picadillo inspires recipe for slow cooker pork chops

I've heard picadillo referred to as Cuban sloppy Joes, but that doesn't begin to do the dish justice. It's a delicious sweet-sour-spicy-savory ground meat mixture, sweetened slightly with raisins and studded with green olives, traditionally served over white rice.

I was trying to decide how to cook a couple of pounds of bone-in pork chops when picadillo popped into my mind. I borrowed many of picadillo's classic ingredients, combined them  in a slow cooker, and came up with this this simple recipe that's a riff on a Cuban classic.

PICADILLO-INSPIRED PORK CHOPS

Yield: about 8 servings

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon olive oil, divided
2 pounds 3/4-inch thick pork chops (about 8; see note)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
1 large bay leaf
1 tablespoon tomato paste 
1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken stock
2 tablespoons raisins
1/4 cup pimento-stuffed whole green olives, drained
1 to 2 teaspoons red wine vinegar 
Salt, optional
Hot cooked rice, for serving

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in the in slow-cooker insert (if it's safe on the stove) or in a large nonstick skillet. Pat chops dry with paper towels. Working in batches, brown the chops on each side. Remove to a plate; set aside.

Add the remaining 1 teaspoon oil to the hot insert or skillet. Add onion; cook, stirring, until soft and starting to brown. Stir in bell pepper; sprinkle with paprika. Add bay leaf, tomato paste, tomatoes and their juice, chicken stock and raisins. Stir well. If using a skillet, transfer to the slow cooker. Add pork and any juices, nestling the pork into the liquid and spooning some of the vegetables over the top. Cover and cook until tender, about 4 to 5 hours on high or 6 to 8 hours on low.

Just before serving, stir in olives and vinegar and salt to taste. Serve over hot cooked rice.

Note: You can use thicker chops; increase cooking time if necessary.

Onion soup from the slow cooker

This isn't a fix-it-and-forget-it recipe, at least not in the beginning, but it's an easier way to make a big pot of onion soup.

You'll need to soften the onions on the stove, then cook them for a couple of hours on high in the slow cooker. I stirred in a little bit of tomato paste to promote caramelization and add flavor, a technique I borrowed from a brisket recipe in America's Test Kitchen's wonderful "Slow Cooker Revolution."

Once you stir in the stock, you can cook the soup on high heat for 3 to 4 hours or on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Be sure to buy yellow onions, not sweet onions, which can be watery. You can use chicken stock or beef stock or combine the two, as I did.

By the way, this recipe was inspired by a St. Louis favorite, Famous-Barr French Onion Soup. I got the recipe (and bought the trademark crocks, pictured above) when I worked there as a teenager. I'm providing that vintage recipe at the bottom of this post, complete with my notations for cutting the recipe in half, although I soon learned that leftover soup was something to be welcomed, not avoided.


SLOW-COOKER ONION SOUP

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

2 tablespoons butter or ghee
3 pounds yellow onions, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 bay leaf
1 quart beef stock
1 quart chicken stock
Salt, optional
1 loaf French bread
Grated Swiss and/or Gruyere cheese

If your slow cooker has a nonstick insert that can be placed directly on the stove, set over medium-high heat. Otherwise, use a large nonstick pot. Melt the butter, then add the onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onions soften, about 8 minutes. Add tomato paste and black pepper and stir until well combined.

Place the insert in the slow cooker or transfer the onions from the pot to the slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for about 2 hours or until the onions are golden.

Sprinkle with 1 tablespoon flour; stir until no lumps remain. Repeat with remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Add bay leaf; stir in stock. Cover and cook for 3 to 4 hours on high or 6 to 8 hours on low. Taste; add salt if desired.

To serve, slice the bread about 1/2-inch thick. Arrange on a cookie sheet; sprinkle with cheese. Place under a hot broiler until the cheese melts and starts to brown. Ladle soup into bowls. Top each serving with a slice or two of cheese-topped bread. (Alternately, ladle soup into bowls that can withstand the heat of a broiler. Arrange on a cookie sheet. Top each bowl with bread and cheese. Place under a hot broiler until the cheese melts and starts to brown, about 1 to 2 minutes.)

Turkey breast in a slow cooker

You don't have to wait for the holidays to enjoy roast turkey. If you have a slow cooker, you don't even have to wait for the weekend.

I happened upon frozen turkey breasts for 49 cents a pound recently and couldn't resist picking up one. This recipe is so good, and so easy, that I regret not buying more than one.

You'll notice that I didn't add any liquid to the slow cooker. The resulting drippings were deeply flavored and made great gravy. In keeping with the easy-does-it theme of this recipe, I used cornstarch to thicken the gravy.

I rubbed poultry seasoning into the turkey, but you can use your choice of herbs and spices. Most supermarket turkeys have been injected with saline, so I advise skipping the salt.

You can also substitute your favorite vegetables and fruits or add them to what I used. Use lemon instead of apple, for instance, or add carrots or even parsnips.

SLOW-COOKED TURKEY BREAST
Yield: About 8 servings

1 turkey breast (about 7 pounds), thawed if frozen
Poultry seasoning 
Vegetable oil, optional
1 large onion, cut into large chunks
2 ribs celery, cut into large chunks
1 small apple, cut into quarters
About 2 tablespoons cornstarch

Cut any large pieces of fat off the turkey and discard. Rub seasoning under the skin and in the turkey cavity. If desired, brown the turkey skin in a small amount of hot oil. (My slow cooker's insert goes directly on the stove, so I used that.)

Place onion, celery and apple in an oval 6-quart slow cooker. Place turkey into the cooker, positioning it upright or on one side. Cover and cook on low until done, about 5 to 7 hours.

Transfer turkey to a cutting board. Cover loosely with foil and let sit for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, pour cooking liquid through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Discard the solids left in the strainer. Let liquid sit until the fat rises to the top, then skim off the fat and discard it.

Taste the cooking liquid. If the flavor is too concentrated, stir in a bit of water or chicken stock. Measure the liquid. You will need 1 tablespoon cornstarch for each cup of cooking liquid. In a small cup, stir together equal amounts of cornstarch and cooking liquid. Pour the rest of the cooking liquid into a saucepan; bring to a simmer. Slowly stir in the cornstarch mixture; cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid returns to a simmer, thickens and becomes glossy. Keep gravy warm while you slice the turkey.

Use a slow cooker for almost-effortless barbecue beef

This is perhaps the best beef I've ever made in a slow cooker -- and it's definitely the easiest.

I came up with the recipe at the butcher counter when I spotted boneless arm roast on sale for $3.99 a pound. I'd never cooked that cut of meat before, so I asked the butcher what would happen if I rubbed the roast with spices and slow-cooked it on a bed of onions. His eyes lit up: "I think it would taste really, really good." His opinion was enough for me to give it a go.

I was planning to stir together my own seasoning rub, but when I got to the spice aisle I saw that the commercial rubs were on sale for $1 each. I picked up a slightly spicy, slightly smoky rub, but you can use whatever you prefer. Even a simple combination of salt and pepper would be tasty. You also can substitute wine or broth for the beer.

After the roast had slowly cooked to a perfect tenderness, I pulled it into strands and added a dollop of barbecue sauce. You can omit the barbecue sauce and use the plain defatted cooking liquid, or you can thicken the liquid and make gravy. You also can slice the roast or cut it into chunks instead of pulling the meat apart. The recipe is that simple, that versatile, and that good.

SLOW-COOKER BARBECUE BEEF SANDWICHES
Yield: About 8 sandwiches

2 large onions, sliced
3/4 cup beer 
About 1 tablespoon mesquite barbecue spice rub
1 (2 1/2-pound) boneless beef arm roast
Barbecue sauce
Pretzel buns or other sandwich rolls

Place onions in the bottom of a 6-quart slow cooker. Add beer. Rub spices into beef roast. Place in the slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat until tender, about 8 to 10 hours.

Remove beef from slow cooker. When cool enough to handle, use two forks to shred meat. If making ahead, cover and refrigerate.

Strain liquid; set onions aside. Let cooking liquid sit until the fat rises to the top, then skim off fat and discard. If making ahead, refrigerate onions and liquid separately. Discard fat from liquid after it rises to the top and hardens.

Return just enough liquid to moisten the beef to the slow cooker or place in a saucepan. When liquid is hot, add beef; heat gently. Stir in barbecue sauce to taste. Meanwhile, reheat onions in another pan.

Spoon beef onto buns, topping with onions if desired.

Note: I froze the leftover beef in a single layer in a plastic bag, which makes it easy to take out just what we need. I froze the leftover cooking liquid in 1/3-cup portions in a muffin tin, then popped out the frozen pucks and stored them in another freezer bag.

Story, recipe and photo copyright Judith Evans 2013. All rights reserved.

Beef stew from the slow cooker

As much as I'd prefer to throw the ingredients into the slow cooker and walk away, the end result always tastes much better with a little stove-top cooking on the front end.

This stew is a good example. Sautéing the vegetables and browning the beef deepens the flavors and colors. You'll end up spending a few extra minutes cooking and have a skillet to wash, but the additional work is worthwhile.

When you're using a slow cooker, remember that you'll need less liquid than when cooking on the stove or in the oven, because you'll lose almost nothing to evaporation. In addition, you'll need more herbs, because the seasonings fade during the long cooking time. When your dish is done, taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

And finally, resist the urge to open the cooker and check on the stew's progress. Heat dissipates so quickly each time you lift the lid that a quick peek could add an hour to the cooking time.

SLOW-COOKER BEEF STEW
Yield: 6 servings

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into bite-size pieces
2 large cloves garlic, minced
8 ounces baby bello mushrooms, sliced
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
Salt
Ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds round steak, trimmed of fat and cut into bite-size pieces
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

Heat 1/2 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet. Add onion, celery, carrots, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables soften and start to brown. Transfer to a slow cooker.

Combine flour and salt and pepper to taste in a plastic food storage bag. Add steak. Close bag; toss to coat steak with flour.

Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon oil in the skillet. Add steak; cook until browned on all sides, stirring as necessary. Add steak to the slow cooker along with tomatoes, broth and thyme.

Cook until tender, about 6 hours on high or 10 hours on low heat. Taste and adjust seasonings. If desired, serve over cooked noodles or mashed potatoes.

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