Cooking a boneless leg of lamb in slow cooker?!
Answers: I've heard that boneless meat can go rather dry in the slow cooker, and am new to slow-cooking - I have a 1kg boneless leg of lamb and want to roast it in the slow cooker, any advice on browning first, or cooking times? Ideally, I'd like to just chuck it in and leave it on low all day (at least 10 hours), and possibly just from frozen, but will it do better if I brown it first? Also, would the potatoes be OK if I put them in at the same time - figure I could just mash them if they're very mushy.
For one,you are not roasting in a slow cooker ...more braising if you are doing it for that long...or stewing;yes.
All meats will taste better if you brown first...and they will look a heck of a lot more appetizing than the gray brown color you get from long stewing....though there are ways to deal with that after...as in techniques for BBQ where you "stew" first To make a cheap but flavorful meat tender...and then cook over high heat with a sauce to give it both an appetizing appearance and a tasty coating...Obviously there are too many variations to note.
The lamb sold inthe US is generally older than the what is considered lamb in the rest of the world...It is really just young mutton...which actually benefits from long cooking methods...BTW...you can tell if it is "real lamb" by its color- if it is pink it is lamb- if it red it is mutton (same as veal and beef)
So go ahead, chuck it in...I recommend from experience throwing in some carrots(pieces),onions (quarters) a couple garlic cloves (don't bother peeling) and celery....underneath for flavor (you are going to chuck the whole lot out after so it is more than OK to use those celery and onion and carrot ends that you will not actually be serving...Fresh or whole black pepper salt your meat well (rub it in)
Yeah, go ahead and throw your washed but large or whole potatoes on top...(they will steam) When you come home, take the meat and potatoes out ---put the the rest in a colander or strainer and push through to get the most juices you get out !!! This is your "gold" for slow cooking!!!
Use the juice for the basis for a sauce/gravy which can be simple or ethnic (I tend toward Greek-lemon & garlic but sometimes just reducing the sauce with wine-French is what I want....Up to you ...
I just wanted to give you some info & hints here since you didn't ask for a particular style or "recipe"...which is generally unnecessary anyway for delicious without a name food.
Browning it first would probably be best. If you want more cooking tips, try visiting http://CookbookDownloads.info
They have over 100 free cookbook downloads after you register. It's time to make some killer recipces!