Slow Cooker Roast Recipes

Slow-cooked Leg of Lamb with Garlic, Lemon and Herbs

Lamb is very much a spring dish, and very common on an Easter table. Leg of lamb is a classic cut, with bone or without, with the shank end or trimmed. The thing about leg of lamb, regardless of the cut, is that it has a lot of tough connective tissues which need long, slow cooking in order to break them down. You can do this in the oven, and a slow cooker works very well. Cooking an entire leg of lamb, can be a hassle, mostly due to its shape – thick on one end, tapered on the other, it’s difficult to cook evenly without one end being overcooked or the other not cooked enough. Deboned legs of lamb are good alternatives – without bones it’s a more uniform cut of meat – but in general meat roasted on the bone has more flavor. Either way, a slow cooker will ensure it’s cooked through without being overcooked, undercooked, or dry. Lamb takes on all kinds of different flavors well – you’ll find it in cuisines around the world. You don’t really need to rub it down with anything, but I love to make a paste out of squished garlic, chopped rosemary, lemon juice or zest and olive oil and smear it all over the meat first. At this point you could leave it to sit for a bit, or refrigerate it overnight to let it marinate.

If you like roast potatoes with your lamb, tuck them around the leg in the slow cooker or roasting pan, or roast them separately, on a rimmed baking sheet in the oven (on the lower rack, or as the lamb cooks in the CrockPot).

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

some wine, chicken or beef stock, tomato juice or water

On a chopping board, pat your lamb dry with paper towels. Finely grate about half the zest off the lemon and grind into a paste with the garlic, rosemary, thyme, oil, salt and pepper using a mortar and pestle. Rub the paste all over the lamb. If you like, refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.

Put it into the slow cooker, or into a large baking dish. Add about a cup of liquid. Squeeze the juice of the lemon overtop too. In a slow cooker, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours. In the oven, roast at 450F for 20 minutes to get a nice golden crust, then cover tightly with foil or a lid and cook at 300F for 2 1/2 – 3 hours. Serves 6-8.

Laura Levy is from a small coastal town in the Northern California wine country where culinary excellence and seasonal freshness are a way of life.

Slow Cooker Cranberry-Apricot Pork Roast – Guest Recipe

Slow Cooker Cranberry-Apricot Pork Roast Ingredients Approx. 2.5 lb. lean Pork Roast 5 small potatoes, cubed 1 small onion, diced 1 can, whole-berry cranberry sauce 1 can apricot halves, in juice, drained 1/2 cup chopped dried apricots 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 1 tsp. dry ground mustard 2 tsp. turbinado (or regular) sugar Directions Lightly brown the pork roast on the stove top, just a minute or so on each side. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with non-stick spray. Place the cubed potatoes in the bottom. Place the browned roast in the slow cooker, on top of the cubed potatoes. Put the cranberry sauce, the canned & dried apricots, & the diced onion in a large bowl, & use a potato masher to blend them together into what will end up looking sort-of like a “relish”. In a small bowl to the side, combine the sugar & other seasonings. I like to do this separately, because the ground mustard has a tendency to clump. Once these are mixed thoroughly, sprinkle them over your mashed-up “relish”, & use the potato masher again to make sure it’s well distributed. Pour the mixture over the roast & potatoes, & cover. Cook on “low” setting for 5-6 hours, or until the roast has cooked through. Cooking time may vary, depending on your slow cooker.

My name is Sweet T, of Sweet T Studio , & I love to make things. What kind of things? Well, whatever looks beautiful, tastes good, or puts smiles on faces. I’m an interior designer by day & a blogger by night. Usually I write about Design, Travel, & Crafts – but since I love to eat, dislike spending money, & have a skinny husband who eats whatever he wants, my other hobby is trying new frugal & non-fattening recipes. Please come visit me at Sweet T Studio for more recipes like this, & loads of other great information!