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Braising, Roasing, slow cooking for 12-36 hours in a slow cooker... divine oh yes.. but paleo? Primal? Did our hunter/gatherer ancestors regularly practice extracting flavor and nutrition via long slow cooking?

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it is the only way to cut cheaper and tougher cuts of meat. cooking on coals under leaves has been going on since man started cooking. – pjnoir Oct 16 at 16:51

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I think of Hawaii and the various polynesian cultures cooking their pork in this fashion (hole in the ground, lava rocks). Having a ceremony to dig up your food from the "ground oven" is about as paleo as it gets!!

Matt
PhysiqueRescue.com

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I think you'll find a lot of native tribes actually used this 'slow-cook' method by virtue of their underground ovens. Technology is a blessing of the modern age (depending of course) and so whilst the slow cooker may not replicate this method, I'd say it's more primal than the microwave at least in its method and in the sense it's far more economical to power up.

If you are that hardcore, by all means though, go dig a hole. You'll have my admiration!

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Exactly, hot rocks, leaves, buried in the ground, is very common in paleo archeaology and more recent tribal cultures. Often this was more common than direct fire. So yes, slow cooking is very paleo. – Jamie Oct 16 at 6:46
I have wondered if there were extremists out there. Like an Amish Paleo type thing :) – Alan Oct 16 at 6:50
I bet there are ^ – Alvaro Oct 16 at 16:54
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What we are interested in, is the end nutrition, not the cooking process

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Well doesn't that depend on the degree to which the cooking process influences the nutritional profile of the meal? – borofergie Oct 16 at 14:54
Exactly ^...... – Alvaro Oct 16 at 16:53
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I agree, not only is slow-cooking used by hunter-gatherers and known to be an ancient cooking technique, but in terms of end nutrition it is beneficial to use a slow moist heat method over charring on a direct fire-- which is said to destroy nutrients and create carcinogens... mmm, delicious flame-broiled carcinogens. I don't worry too much about that, I just think it is better to eat more of your meats moist-heat cooked rather than high-heat fried, broiled, BBQed, etc.

Or just plain raw....

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We are nothing like our ancestors, if the food is real, go for it.

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