Crock Pot Risotto

[jpmcgrew]

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?

[GB]

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.

[Andy M.]

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

[GB]

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?

[ironchef]

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.

[Michael in FtW]

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.

[jennyema]

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.

[college_cook]

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

[jennyema]

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

[ironchef]

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.