Review: Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker (plus a pulled pork recipe!)

This post is in collaboration with Crock-Pot

So, I have a confession to make. I am a slow cooker virgin. Yep, that’s right! I know there are whole Facebook groups dedicated to slow cooking and the devotees of the slow cooker, but I’ve never, ever tried them. I don't even cook quick, let alone slowly. So, when Crock-Pot invited me to try their brand-new Crock-Pot Express Multi-Cooker, I was hesitantly interested. I mean, what do these things actually do?

Crock-Pot’s Express Crock Multi-Cooker

To start with, the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker is a 12 in 1 multi-cooker that can Pressure Cook, Slow Cook, Steam, Sauté and more. Now, I need to know the difference between a slow cooker and a pressure cooker. If you have no idea either, here’s the difference:

Slow Cooker

A slow cooker cooks food on a low heat, for a really long time. A slow cooker meal can take upwards of 8 hours to cook and it’s a great way to break down tougher, cheaper cuts of meat. A lot of people use them to put dinner on when they leave in the morning and then it’s ready when they get home. Or you can cook your food overnight.

Pressure Cooker

A pressure cooker works the opposite way. It uses steam and a higher temp than normal to cook faster. So, a pulled pork in the slow cooker takes around 8 hours, and in the pressure cooker, it takes around 2 hours. It’s a newer technology than the slow cooker and the lid seals while you are cooking until the pressure reduces naturally.

Testing the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker

So, my first test for the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker was pulled pork. I love pulled pork, but I’ve never made it before. I’m not much of a cook and I never try anything that looks complicated. To add into my testing, the week I was trying this out I was really unwell, and my husband was away at a conference, leaving me with zero motivation and three children to feed.

Pulled Pork

So, let’s talk the pulled pork. I went for a pressure cooker version rather than the slow cooker as I was short on time. I bought the pork and combined it with the tomatoes and the spices and put it all in the in Crock-Pot. Two hours later it was ready to go. I can honestly say that I’ve never cooked anything easier in my life. I didn’t need to check it, pay attention to it or add anything in. It was set and forget while I went back to bed. Once it was cooked, I broke the meat up to serve it and we were ready to go. You can’t get more convenient than that!

Chicken Soup

Next up I made a chicken soup. I used the slow cooker function to cook a really strong stock. I used a chicken carcass and some vegetables and water and cooked it all together overnight. Confession: I was really nervous about running an appliance overnight. But nothing caught fire and it was delicious!

I’m loving the new kitchen addition so much that I’m looking forward to trying a whole bunch of new recipes and giving my husband a bit of a break from the kitchen lol! I’m also just about to start a new, full-time job and with two of us working full time there is going to be a lot less time for meal prep. It’s going to have to be squeezed in between pick up and homework and readers and then bath and bedtime.

I also like that it’s a one-pot meal. That’s a whole lot fewer dishes and washing up than normal and it makes kitchen clean up so much faster (for my husband lol!). I’m pretty excited because it’s my 40^th birthday party in a few weeks and I’m going to cook a whole pile of pulled pork to serve with rolls for dinner. So easy and no one will need to spend time in the kitchen during the party because I've invited them over to get some time together, not cook (but they are all welcome to come and clean up the next day!). Plus, it will ruin my reputation if they see me cooking lol!

Where can I get the Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker?

The Crock-Pot Express Crock Multi-Cooker sells for $149.00 and is available at Harvey Norman, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi, Myer, David Jones, Betta Home Living, Bing Lee, Domayne and Joyce Mayne. For more information visit www.crockpot.com.au

Mexican Pulled Pork Recipe

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Course Dinner

Cuisine Mexican

Servings 6

Ingredients

  

• 2 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon salt flakes
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ½ teaspoon cayenne
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• ½ teaspoon oregano
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 leek sliced
• 2 kg boneless pork shoulder rind and fat removed
• 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• salt and pepper to taste
• soft tacos, guacamole, sour cream to serve

Instructions

 

• Mix all the ingredients except the pork, oil, tomatoes, water, and cider, together in a bowl. Rub the pork with the spice mix, making sure you cover it all.
• Pour the oil into the Cooking Pot. Press BROWN/SAUTE, set temp to HIGH and then press START/STOP. Once preheated, place the pork into the cooking potand brown all sides. Press START/STOP. Add the leek to the cooking pot and continue to brown for 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, water and cider to the pork. Secure the lid. Press MEAT/STEW, set pressure to HIGH, and adjust time to 2 hours. Make sure the steam release valve is in the 'seal' (closed) position. Press START/STOP.
• Once the cooking has completed, allow the pressure to release naturally. Remove lid and shred pork with two forks. Season to tasye with salt and pepper. Stir to combine. Serve in soft tacos with guacamole, sour cream and salad.
• TIP: If the sauce is too thin, thicken with 2 tbs cornflour. Bring to a simmer until thickened.