• billie109210 on February 18, 2026

  I was excited for this cookbook to get some “cheffy” recipes for the slow cooker, but was disappointed by how many steps a lot of the recipes have before actually using the slow cooker. When I think slow cooker I think throw it in and sit back, and that is not the case with the majority of these recipes.

• clcorbi on January 09, 2018

  KIMCHI BRAISED CHICKEN-- Yum. I made this in my instant pot using the slow cooker setting. I found that four hours was a bit too long--the chicken was totally falling off the bone, which I wouldn't have minded had I removed the skin, but next time I'd probably check at around the 3-hour mark. I did have to reduce the liquid a fair amount (which is easy in an instant pot since you can just turn on the sautee setting, but would be more difficult in a real slow cooker). The final squeeze of lime and dash of red pepper flakes is really essential to make this dish pop. We loved the resulting moist chicken and highly flavorful broth, and I would repeat.

Notes about Recipes in this book

• Beef shin stock

  • rmardel on November 10, 2020

    I usually cook this for at least 24 hours. I often use a mix of bones, and try to throw in at least one knuckle bone for the collagen, which might also account for the longer time.

• Oatmeal with maple syrup, pear, pecans and pecan milk

  • TrishaCP on December 15, 2018

    Great flavor to this oatmeal. I went for the longer cooking time and the texture of the oats held up no problem. The pear softened and was caramelized but also held its shape. Will definitely make this again!

• White bean soup with ham hock and escarole

  • PinchOfSalt on June 25, 2022

    The escarole transforms this soup from ho hum to something different and quite good. Without the escarole this is a simple white bean and ham soup. Adding the finely chopped escarole at the very end of the cooking time lends delightful crunch, color, and a bit of astringency. I found that I needed to add a fair amount of salt to get the seasoning right. I’ll definitely be making this recipe again.

  • PinchOfSalt on October 31, 2022

    Made this again, this time substituting two medium-sized pork hocks for the ham hock. Unsurprisingly, the soup needed a fair amount of salt to get the seasoning right, but still it lacked sparkle. My first impulse was to add some vinegar from a jar of vinegar peppers, but I had none. White vinegar, when added to a serving, wasn't right. Then I tried some rice vinegar and a nice dose of Melinda's Extra Hot Sauce in another serving. Perfect! I'll be repeating this variation, for sure.

• Duck and andouille gumbo

  • TrishaCP on May 20, 2020

    It may just be personal preference, but I thought this gumbo was too fatty with the mix of duck and andouille. I was also at a disadvantage with the consistency since I didn’t have okra. I used a small eggplant instead, but this just wasn’t as thick as it would have been with the okra. The spices with the duck are wonderful, and I would use them as a rub on duck in the future, but this dish just wasn’t for me.

• Tortilla soup

  • e_ballad on December 31, 2018

    For the ingredients used, I was expecting this to be a lot more flavoursome than the resulting end product.

• Chicken soup with chiles, coconut milk and lime

  • bching on January 18, 2025

    Silly recipe. You have to cook nearly all of the ingredients, especially the chicken, in a skillet before adding to the crockpot. Then, after everything's been crocked for 2 hours, you add the coconut milk and lime juice to the crock and then cook for another 2 hours. And then, when you serve it, you and the other diners need to figure out how to eat it. Acheson's instructions say to put a chicken thigh in each bowl and pour the broth and garnishes over each thigh. Lots and spatters on the table and everyone's clothes.

• Butter-braised cabbage

  • foodgloriousfood on April 01, 2022

    I considered this done at 1 hour, and like to make this to go with corned beef. We prefer the cabbage to cook separately to the meat and this is a good basic recipe for buttered cabbage. Love the inclusion of the apple cider vinegar but we skipped the second teaspoon of salt and found it perfect with 1 tsp.

• Poached cod with leek-vermouth broth

  • sarahawker on February 17, 2025

    This is the first non-starter I've made from this book. He DOES warn you that Cod must be super super fresh so perhaps mine was not, but will not try again.

• Lima bean, sausage and calamari stew with garlic-rubbed toasts

  • foodgloriousfood on April 01, 2022

    Recipe calls for 2 Tb salt. I used 1Tb and it was about right for me and I love salt! My beans didn't need 5-7 hours. I cooked for 4 then proceeded with the recipe (adding ingredients in two stages with another 1.20hrs cooktime total)

• Chile butter-poached lobster tacos with kohlrabi-mango slaw

  • TrishaCP on November 02, 2019

    I only made the slaw. I think kohlrabi and mango are a genius combination. Served with shrimp tacos.

  • imaluckyducky on November 09, 2019

    Also only made the slaw! The combination is unique and refreshing, the kohlrabi tasting like a cross between a very mild radish and a jicama. Served with ahi tuna steak tacos.

• Chicken and dumplings

  • meggan on January 17, 2023

    Big hit - I oversalted but the recipe is worth the hours in the slow cooker. I actually cheated and used the instant pot for the first part.

• Cider-braised quails with salad of beets, charred lemon, scallions and dates

  • inareichel on February 21, 2019

    Delicious but a lot of work. Got a nasty burn in my right wrist from splattering oil. I could only fit 1/8 of an onion, not a quarter.

• Chicken stew with farro, tomatoes, olives and feta

  • sarahawker on July 30, 2018

    This was a big hit, kids loved the farro and it's going to go into regular rotation.

  • Rinshin on August 03, 2018

    I was taste testing periodically and already thought the stew/soup (to me this was closer to thicker soup) was very good before adding feta, tomatoes and kalamata which were added towards the end. Although I liked the addition of tomatoes for burst of color and kalamata for briny sour taste, I was not sure if feta added much to the total flavor overall. For the added cost I would more likely skip on feta next time or just use enough sprinkled at the table individually. Instead of kalamata, I chopped dill pickles for my husband's portion and that served the similar purpose as kalamata. Added handful of dried mixed mushrooms from the beginning and tossed in komatsuna green along with tomatoes and feta.

  • TrishaCP on September 09, 2018

    We really liked this dish, even though I blew out the faro because I didn't realize I had purchased 10 minute cooking faro. (Oops.) I liked the freshness that the tomatoes, olives, and feta brought to the table here.

• Chicken country captain

  • mreils on January 25, 2021

    This is the first recipe I have tried in this book. There was WAY too much liquid. It called for butter but this ingredient was not mentioned in the directions. Also butter really wasn't necessary to brown the skin, which I assume was why the ingredient was included. I hope other recipes in this book are better edited. The sauce probably would have better flavor if it were more concentrated (less liquid). I tried to reduce the sauce before adding the remaining ingredients but I didn't have the time to do it sufficiently. I think I'll stick with my non-slow cooker version of this dish.

• Pot roast with charred onion and chickpea salad

  • katiesue28 on December 14, 2023

    This was horrible. My pot roast had a weird bitter flavor, seemed like there was way too much wine. It was barely edible. The two stars I give this recipe is only for the accompanying salad, though that was extra spicy and pretty basic.

• Veal meatballs, Swiss chard and tomato sauce

  • foodgloriousfood on April 09, 2022

    We enjoyed the flavor but the meatballs themselves were a little soft. I think I will reduce the ricotta next time.

• Classic braised short ribs with mashed sweet potatoes and sweet potato greens

  • TrishaCP on October 02, 2018

    Wow, this was great-including all of the component recipes. I used flat ribs instead of short ribs as that was what was available through my CSA, and they worked well in this application. (I only had time to cook them for 12 hours- they were tender but not fall off the bone.) The juniper, rosemary, and port flavors worked so well together.

• Mashed sweet potatoes

  • TrishaCP on October 02, 2018

    These were easy to make and will be my go to mashed sweet potato recipe from now on. Delicious.

• Sweet potato greens with lime and ginger

  • TrishaCP on October 02, 2018

    This was my first time trying sweet potato greens and I really liked them. They are fairly tender so don't need a long cook. (Kind of like spinach.) I thought the lime and ginger additions were good matches.

• Beer-braised pork tacos

  • meggan on May 20, 2021

    I did this in the instant-pot for about 4 hours. It probably didn't even need that much time. Pretty good but nothing spectacular.

• Pseudo BBQ pork ribs

  • jayg312 on November 24, 2018

    Made this a few months ago. Followed the directions carefully, but the ribs came out overcooked and were a mush of meat and gelatinous fat. Not sure if I'm going to try again, but if I do, I'll knock at least an hour off the cooking time. 2/5

• Goat and garlic with jeweled couscous

  • fprincess on August 19, 2024

    Cooked 5 hour at low temp (73C) followed by 11 hours at medium (used the slow cooker mode of the instant pot). The meat was very tender at the end, pretty much falling apart. I let it cool and separated the meat from the sauce, removed all the bones. The next day, I reduced the sauce and added honey to it, added the meat back and served the stew on top of couscous with a generous sprinkle of fresh oregano. I found the flavors on the milder side so having the fresh oregano on top was key. I would probably use more of everything next time (more garlic, more coriander seeds, etc). https://forums.egullet.org/topic/48190-the-goat-topic-tips-techniques/?do=findComment&comment=2423273

• Mexican-style sipping chocolate

  • bching on January 05, 2025

    chocolate measured by volume rather than weight--not very useful instruction if you're using Mexican chocolate

• Kitchn

  This cookbook is an homage to all of the unexpectedly fancy and impressive things you can expertly execute in a slow cooker.

  Full review

• Simply Recipes

  I’ve mostly shied away from slow cookers in the past, instead relying on my oven for soups, braises, and the like. However, I’m interested to see what an award-winning chef can do with it.

  Full review