Slow Cooker Hot Mulled Cider Food

HOT MULLED CIDER

Steps:

• Simmer the apple cider with orange and spices: Pour the apple cider into a 3-quart saucepan, cover, turn the heat on medium-high. While the cider is heating up, take a vegetable peeler and peel away a couple thick strips of peel from the orange. Press about half of the cloves into the peeled part of the orange. (You can also just quarter the orange and add the slices and cloves separately. I just like seeing the orange bob up and down.) Place orange, orange peel strips, the remaining cloves, and the rest of the ingredients into the sauce pan with the cider. Keep covered and heat the mulled cider mixture to a simmer and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 minutes on low heat.
• Strain out the orange and spices: Use a fine mesh sieve to strain the hot mulled cider away from the orange, cloves, and other spices. If you want, you can add a touch of bourbon, brandy, or rum to spike it up a bit. Serve hot. Add a cinnamon stick to each cup if desired.

SLOW-COOKER CIDER

Steps:

• Place cinnamon, cloves and allspice on a double thickness of cheesecloth; bring up corners of cloth and tie with a string to form a bag. , Place cider and brown sugar in a 3-qt. slow cooker; stir until sugar dissolves. Add spice bag. Place orange slices on top. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours or until heated through. Discard spice bag.

SLOW COOKER HOT SPICED APPLE CIDER (WASSAIL)

Steps:

• Pour apple cider into a 2.5-quart or larger Crock Pot or other slow cooker. Add cinnamon sticks.
• With a toothpick, poke holes all around the orange, about 1/2 inch to 1 inch apart. Carefully poke the cloves into the toothpick holes in the orange.
• Place orange into the cider in the slow cooker.
• Cook on low until hot and spiced through, about 4 hours. Ladle into mugs along with an ounce or so of rum if using. Place a cinnamon stick in each glass if desired and serve.

SLOW-COOKER MULLED CIDER

Steps:

• Put the cardamom pods on a cutting board. Lay the flat of a chef's knife over them and gently smack the flat of the knife to lightly crush and crack the pods. Add the cardamom pods, peppercorns, cinnamon sticks and allspice berries to a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Toast the spices, shaking the pan often, until very fragrant, about 3 minutes.
• Transfer the cinnamon sticks into a 6- to 8-quart slow cooker. Tie up the remaining spices into a cheesecloth bundle, and add that to the slow cooker as well. (If you don't have cheesecloth, you can use tea infusers or loose tea bags. You could also put the spices directly into the slow cooker, then strain the mixture as you serve.)
• Cut the piece of peeled ginger in half lengthwise and smash each piece by laying the flat of the knife over it and smacking with the heel of your hand. (At this point, put the slow cooker in the spot where you'd like to serve it, because it will become difficult to move once you've added all of the liquid.) Add the ginger, lemon, orange, salt and apple cider to the slow cooker. Cover, and cook on high for 3 hours.
• Reduce the heat to warm. Add the rye whiskey and vanilla and stir to combine. You can leave the cider on warm for several hours, allowing guests to serve themselves, adding additional citrus slices and cinnamon sticks to their mugs, as desired.

HOW TO MAKE MULLED CIDER IN THE SLOW COOKER

Steps:

• Fill the slow cooker. Pour the cider or juice into a 5-quart or larger slow cooker.
• Add the fresh ingredients. Cut the orange into 1/4-inch-thick rounds. Cut the ginger into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Add both to the slow cooker.
• Add the spices. Add the cinnamon sticks. Add the cloves and optional spices. To make it easier to serve, place the cloves and spices in a tea ball first, or place in a double layer of cheesecloth or paper coffee filter, gather it up into a sachet, and tie closed with kitchen twine.
• Slow cook the cider for 4 hours. Cover the slow cooker and cook until the flavors meld, 4 hours on LOW. (If there are clumps of spices floating at the top that you wish to remove, strain the cider through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth into a large pot.) Keep warm and serve in mugs garnished with additional orange slices if desired.

SLOW COOKER MULLED CIDER

Steps:

• Put all the ingredients except the calvados in a slow cooker and cook for 1 hr on high or up to 4 hrs on low.
• Just before serving, stir in the calvados. Ladle into heatproof glasses or cups to serve.

HOT MULLED CIDER

Steps:

• Special equipment: a 6- to 7-quart slow cooker and a cheesecloth square
• Combine the apple cider, hard cider, calvados, lemon juice and honey in a 6- to 7-quart slow cooker. Place the cinnamon, cloves and star anise in a square of cheesecloth, tie the ends together to close and toss in the slow cooker. Heat on high to bring to a simmer. Then turn to the warm/hold setting. Serve the cider in a mug with a cinnamon stick.

MOM'S MULLED CIDER FOR THE CROCK POT

Steps:

• Set a medium or large crock pot to HIGH heat.
• Fill crock pot with cider- leaving room for the apple and orange to float around (we'll get to them in a minute).
• You will have extra cider at this point- use this for replenishing later.
• Wash the orange and apple and dry off.
• Poke cloves into the flesh of the orange and the apple- as many as you like.
• Set the cloves studded fruit into the crock pot.
• Add cinnamon sticks and some brown sugar to taste.
• Using a vegetable peeler, cut off two long strips of lemon rind from one of the lemons, being careful not to get any of the white pith.
• Drop these into the cider pot and save the rest of the partially zested lemon for another use.
• Slice the remaining lemon into thin slices and drop 4-5 slices into the cider pot.
• Save the remaining slices for later or another use (I set them in a dish for guests to use as garnish).
• Cover crock pot and let mixture come to almost a boil (this may take up to an hour- this will vary greatly depending upon the size of your crock pot).
• Once it is almost boiling,sprinkle with a very light dash of each ground spice to taste (don't add too much or it will be gritty).
• Turn the heat down to LOW and allow cider to cook at least another hour before serving.
• Leave the crock pot on LOW and allow guests to ladle out mugfuls.
• Keep replenishing more cider as the crockpot empties.
• You will NOT need to add more spices, etc, as long as you still have 1/4 of the original mulled cider left in the crock.
• No need to return to a boil, just pour in the new cider and continue to heat on LOW.
• The last dregs of cider will be very heavily spiced- I usually discard the remaining 1/4 of liquid after I am finished replenishing the cider for the day.