Cooking by Microwave?

T

Trooper

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Joined
11 Nov 2022
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11:26 AM
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3
Location
South Oxfordshire England
In these troubled times I'm Looking for economy so I would like to try cooking a Ham weight 1.2 kg in a microwave oven but have no idea how long it would take so I need some advice please.
While I’m online is it possible to cook a casserole of about four-pint size by Microwave oven and if so how?
 
Trooper said:
In these troubled times I'm Looking for economy so I would like to try cooking a Ham weight 1.2 kg in a microwave oven but have no idea how long it would take so I need some advice please.
While I’m online is it possible to cook a casserole of about four-pint size by Microwave oven and if so how?
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Welcome Trooper. To be honest I really don't think cooking a ham in the microwave would work. A ham needs fairly slow cooking (or pressure cooking) or else it will become tough. I'm a great fan of microwave cooking so this isn't my 'biased' opinion!

For our American friens, a casserole in the UK is a type of stew - not a baked dish.

I'm sure you could cook a casserole in the microwave but not if it contains chunks of meat. Again, they are likely to become tough. A better bet is to use a slow cooker, for an economical solution.
 
Is there...is there something wrong with the oven or stovetop? Do you not have access to these things? Why would you want to cook a ham in a microwave?
 
I agree with MG. Although, if the ham is cured and smoked, it is basically cooked, so you could heat it up in the microwave. Just be careful not to dry it out. A cured and smoked ham will dry out easily no matter how you heat it, if you are not careful.

As for a casserole/stew, I also agree with MG. The meats used for stewing are usually in need of some low and slow cooking to be tender.

CD
 
All righty. As said, if it's a cooked ham, you are basically just heating it up. Not sure how evenly a ham would heat up in the microwave. Might cut it into portions first.
 
I wonder if a Sous Vide would work best in your instance. I couldn’t imagine the energy consumption being worse than a microwave.
 
AgileMJOLNIR said:
I wonder if a Sous Vide would work best in your instance. I couldn’t imagine the energy consumption being worse than a microwave.
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I agree. If Trooper comes back, I'd recommend sous vide, if he/she has the gear to do it. That's what I would do, especially for the ham. The casserole should work fine in the microwave.

CD
 
Having discovered that cooking a ham or casserole is a dead duck by Microwave oven at least I discovered what "Sous Vide" is. The only problem is its running cost.
 
Another suggestion is that you look for other ways to save energy, so you can use your oven and stovetop to cook.

Energy prices here in Texas are much lower than what they are in the UK, but I still watch my usage. All of my lights are LED, I wait until I have multiple errands to run before I get in the car and drive, and I adjust my thermostats as needed -- such as being at home vs being away from home.

Using an oven in the winter, the cost is partially mitigated by the fact that the oven helps heat the house, making the furnace work less.

As for the running cost of sous vide, I have never done the math, but I would think it would be less than running an oven for the same amount of time. Plus, in summer months, it doesn't change the temperature in the house, which matters a lot when you live in Texas where it can be over 100F/38C for weeks/months at a time.

CD
 
MaximumSam said:
Is there...is there something wrong with the oven or stovetop? Do you not have access to these things? Why would you want to cook a ham in a microwave?
Click to expand...

The first place that I'd think about cooking it in is the oven. I only use the microwave for warming up things. :whistling:
 
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