Slow Cooking poultry

[whiffey]

I have just become captivated by slow cooking. I've done beef and gammon joints, the gammon in particular was so tender. However, I am slightly bothered about those meats which can be dodgy if not cooked properly.

Lidl sell large slabs of turkey meat and I'd really love to cook one. I am worried that if I just stick it in the slow cooker, cover with water, and switch on medium, that the meat will spend too long at bug-friendly temperatures while it is heating up.

I don't want to pan fry it first, which defeats a major objective of slow-cooking - washing up.

Can I just put it in, cover with cold water, and switch on ?

[shaneystar2]

You don't need any water to cook a joint of meat in a slow cooker .
Mind you with it being just a slab of white meat it may end up on the dry side . I would dice it up and make casserole with it .
I often cook a chicken in the slow cooker and it is lovely .It cooks in it's own juices . I just stick a lemon up it's bottom with some garlic ,shove it in and leave it for about five hours on medium .The only downside no crispy skin .
Other meat like beef and lamb has fat in it to make it tender.
I suppose you could put some water in the bottom and cook veg in with it for flavour or add some wine etc. You can cook it all day,even on low ....you won't get salmonella poisoning !
I have been using a slow cooker for over thirty years and haven't killed anyone yet.

[shaneystar2]

PS
Treat yourself to this book ..in spite of using a slow cooker for years I found it very inspirational and even ventured into making a cake in the cooker which turned out a treat..
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/product.aspx/kitchen ideas/cookbooks!10667

[devil99]

hi, i love using my slow cooker, try this website it'll give you loads of ideas of what to cook!! http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread .html?p=490232

[whiffey]

Thank you all. Today I am doing a half-leg of lamb, with loads of chopped turnip, swede, cabbage, carrots, but even after 8 hours on medium it is clearly not done. I wonder if my slow cooker is not reaching the necessary temperature. Anyway the solution is simple, just whirl it up to High for another hour, and it smells really good !

[Bugs]

The best thing I've had is a digital thermometer from Lakeland. It takes all the guesswork from cooking meat perfectly. Every time I've used it, the meat has been perfectly cooked. Not overdone & dry, but just cooked perfectly.