# Crock Pot Risotto



## jpmcgrew (Jun 14, 2005)

Hey guys!

Has any one ever made risotto in a slow cooker or other method that eliminates the standing and stirring forever. If so how did it turn out?


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## GB (Jun 14, 2005)

I make a Baked Chicken and Leek risotto that is delicious, but it is not like your typical risotto. The end product is not creamy at all. A real chef would never even call it risotto. I do not think you will get that creaminess without all the stirring.


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## Andy M. (Jun 14, 2005)

...maybe if you used one of those automatic electric stirring machines on your crock pot.


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## GB (Jun 14, 2005)

Andy, I am assuming the lid would need to be off in order to use the automatic stirring thing .Do you think the Crockpot would get hot enough with the lid off?


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## ironchef (Jun 14, 2005)

The amount of stirring you have to do for risotto is overrated anyway. It's more about controlling the heat and liquid. The only way to get it down is to practice. You may get a few batches that aren't exactly right, but as long as you learn from your mistakes you'll be fine.


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## Michael in FtW (Jun 14, 2005)

I don't remember if I read this somewhere or saw it explained on TV - but here was the explanation, and it makes sense to me. 

Risotto is a method as much as the name of a dish - like a bowl of stew could be any number of recipes but the key is the method, stewing. The key to risotto is how the liquid is added (a little at a time) and all the stirring.

As you add a little liquid and stir, the liquid is absorbed and softens the starch coating on the rice. As you stir, the grains of rice are rubbed together which rubs the softened starch off. The idea of adding a little liquid at a time (a) prevents you from adding too much liquid resulting in a rice soup, and (b) the rice mixture stays thick enough that the rice grains can be rubbed against each other instead of just being swirled around in a pot of liquid. The result is that you are actually creating a starch thickened sauce as the rice cooks.

Without "risottoing" (okay - I made that name up) the rice - you just have a pot of rice.


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## jennyema (Jun 15, 2005)

I agree with Michael.  Real risotto requires near-constant stirring.  Massaging the grains of rice is essential to releasing the starch.

You could for sure just cook up some arborio rice just like you make jasmine, basmati or other rice but it wouldn't be anything like real risotto.


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## college_cook (Jun 15, 2005)

i tried making risotto last week... and i didn't really like how it turned out.  I didn't really like the flavor.


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## jennyema (Jun 15, 2005)

risotto is flavored by the broth and the other ingrdients you use.  how did you make it?


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## ironchef (Jun 15, 2005)

I'm surprised the the Alton Brown die-hards haven't come out on this one. Has anyone seen his show on rice? Even he said you don't need to constantly stir it. In professional kitchens, you don't have time to constantly stir it, especially when you have all of your other orders. The only time you need to constantly stir it is when you're finishing the dish and you're in danger of burning the risotto. What's important is that you cook the rice for a couple of minutes in the pan BEFORE you actually add any liquid. Once you start adding the liquid, it's more about how you control the heat. You can stir the risotto periodically but you don't have to hawk over it and constantly stir it.

JP and CC, keep in mind, like any other dish, there are several different ways to make Risotto. Just use whatever works best for you. But if you can, watch a cooking show (usually Molto Mario) that demonstrates risotto. It's one of those dishes that you really need to see being made in order to know how to do it.


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## GB (Jun 15, 2005)

I almost never constantly stir mine, but I do stir it a lot. I will walk away from the stove for a few minutes at a time and come back and stir it a bunch. I think it does need stirring, but your risotto is not doomed if you stop for a half of a second.


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## Michael in FtW (Jun 15, 2005)

ironchef said:
			
		

> I'm surprised the the Alton Brown die-hards haven't come out on this one. Has anyone seen his show on rice? Even he said you don't need to constantly stir it.


 
I can't believe I didn't mention that, ironchef!  

I've seen so many great Italian TV cooks/chefs (Lidia Bastianich, Nick Stelino, Bibi Caggiano, Carlo Middione, and the Food Network Italian cooks) prepare risotto - and they all seem to agree ... the "traditional" way is to stir constantly, but you really don't have to for every stage - just "nearly" constantly for the first and final stages, and "very frequently" in between.

For example, in Biba Caggiano's book _Trattoria Cooking_ she "says" to stir constantly - that's the "traditional" or "classic" method. On TV she said when her husband is in the kitchen helping her cook the risotto that is what he does because that is the way his grandmother taught him. But, she mentioned you don't have to stir constantly - they don't in the restaurant, as you noted. But, then again, in a restaurant you're not preparing risotto from scratch one order at a time ... see Harold MeGee's _On Food and Cooking_ - revised edition - bottom of page 475 - "Risotto: Turning Rice into Its Own Sauce". 

It appears, and makes sense to me, that you want to stir nearly constantly (every 5-15 seconds) during the early stages - when you first add the rice to the oil to evenly coat and toast (fry) it, when you add the wine as it reduces, and after the first addition of the stock. After that, you can settle back and just stir frequently (every 1-3 minutes) until the final stage (last one or two additions of stock) when the rice is nearly done and the "sauce" is nice and thick (as you noted to prevent burning and sticking).

To paraphrase Biba - you don't need to be intimidated by risotto - but you do need to make it a couple of times to get the hang of it. To quote Biba, "It is only through trial and error that we become accomplished cooks." My first risotto was nothing like it is today. Okay, make that the first "few" ...


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## jennyema (Jun 16, 2005)

I agree with Michael again on this one. I should not have said "near constant" in my other post because you really only have to, like he says, devote your total attention to it at the beginning and end. You can definitely multitask in between.

But I will continue to be in the "defense of stirring" camp.

It's crucial to good risotto, IMO.

I did watch (and read) AB on risotto, and I have followed his recommendations, but definitely do not care for the end result of risotto his way over risotto the (i spose) more traditional way you learn from Marcella, Lydia or even Jamie Oliver (he has some fantastic risotto recipes). The texture is just not the same.

I love AB but disagree with him on certain things, like this and the wisdom of aging beef in your home fridge, for example. 

Bottom line, though, I still dont think you can put rice ina crock pot and call it risotto.


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