Slow Cooker Tips

By Addie

Keep a few favorite recipes and ingredients on hand, and you'll always have a meal idea at the ready. Here are some other quick tips:

Ingredients

• No frozen meats. Always defrost meats and poultry before placing them in a slow cooker.
• Smaller chunks. Cut whole chickens and large pieces of meat into smaller chunks to ensure thorough cooking.
• Layer your ingredients. Vegetables should be placed in the bottom and up the sides of the pot, then layer in the meat on top.
• Fill 'er up. It's best to fill a slow cooker to at least one-half and no more than three-fourths full.
• Keep the lid on. Each time you lift the lid you'll lengthen the cooking time, this can be anywhere from 15 to 25 minutes.

Preparation

Step 1

Is Browning Better?

You don't need to brown meat before cooking it in a slow cooker, but there are some advantages. If you sear it with a little oil in a hot skillet, the meat develops more complex flavors. Always brown ground beef or any ground meat before adding it to your slow cooker: otherwise, the meat will clump together and add lots of grease to the finished product.


Go Easy on the Juice

Because slow cookers work at low temperatures with lids on, there's nowhere for the liquid to go, so it just collects on the lid and bastes the food. If you're adapting your favorite recipes from the stovetop or oven to the slow cooker, decrease the amount of liquid you use.



Lightly Spice

Whole spices such as bay leaves, peppercorns, or cinnamon sticks will give slow cooker items a very intense flavor if left in the pot for the entire cooking time, so use them sparingly. Ground spices as well as fresh and dried herbs, on the other hand, can lose much of their flavor if allowed to simmer for several hours in the slow cooker. It's better to add these items during the last two hours of cooking if you can manage it.



Meat Matters

While you can cook just about any kind of meat in the slow cooker, some are better candidates than others. Chicken on the bone and cheaper, tougher cuts of beef, pork, and lamb turn succulent and fork-tender under the gentle, moist heat of the slow cooker.

Hint: for maximum flavor and a more appetizing color in the finished product, remove skin from poultry and trim visible fat from all meats, then coat meat lightly in flour and brown in a hot skillet before adding to slow cooker.



The Finishing Touches

As your dish nears the end of its cooking time, it's time to add the finishing touches.

If there seems to be too much liquid, remove the lid and turn the pot up to high, allowing some of the water to cook out.

If you'd like to thicken or enrich the sauce, now is the time to stir in cream, sour cream, shredded cheese, or a slurry of cornstarch and cool liquid.

Brighten up the flavors with salt and pepper, lemon juice, or vinegar, and maybe a handful of fresh chopped parsley, basil, or cilantro.