Using Coke, Dr Pepper & Root beer in crock pot ?

GordonThree wrote:
I've done ribs with coke, and another batch with root beer. Never tried the Doctor. Not a huge taste gain from either soda, it's mostly using the sugar and acid to work it's tenderizing magic.

The sugar and acid, are not needed for "tenderizing" when slow cooking.

It is TIME AND LOW TEMPERATURE that does the "tenderizing".

Sodas or even Beer is more about adding a layer of flavor.

I would rather not add sugary sweet or fermented flavors to my meats and slow cooking really brings out the natural flavor (sort of amplifies the roasted meat flavor) of the meat AND tenderizes it at the same time.

Additionally, folks are talking about "throwing away" the BEST gravy starter you can ever get, the broth..

We only add perhaps a cup of water or a bit less in the crock depending on size of crock pot and size of meat, 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of salt (depends on the size of roast or the amount of meat to cook), dash to pinch of black pepper, pinch of Garlic powder (measurements are mainly eyeballed).

Set crock to High for 4 hrs or use low setting for 6-8 hrs, the result will be fall apart tender that a knife is not needed.

Drain most of the liquid into a sauce pan then add a Roux (pronounced "roo") See HERE for Roux info..

Depending on strength of the broth and how much gravy you want, we add extra water to the broth when making the gravy, you can usually thin out the broth without affecting the finished gravy flavor, once again we just eyeball it.

Add salt to taste, pepper, Garlic powder and allow to simmer until is starts to thicken.

Alternate way to make gravy is to make a slurry, often flour (or corn starch and perhaps other starches) which is what my Mom did (Flour).

Generally frowned on by chiefs since it does affect the taste and you have to cook it for a while to cook off some of the raw flour taste..

I kind of like the flour slurry flavor so that is what I use to thicken.. Basically take 1/4 cup of flour, mix in 1/2 cup of COLD water (important to use cold not hot at this point of time) and mix well until lumps are gone (Tupperware container with good sealing lids works great)..

Heat the broth until boiling then slowly pour slurry into the broth, mix with a wisk well until no lumps are left.. This is kind of a eyeball thing, don't want to add too much slurry, just enough the broth stiffens slightly. Sometimes depending on the amount of broth you may need to make a little more slurry.

Allow the gravy to simmer until it starts thickening then remove from heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes or so(it WILL continue to thicken as it cools down!).

If over thickened, add a little bit of water or broth.

Have made many different beef roasts, stuffed pork chops, stuffed chicken breasts this way with great results.