Crockpot / Slow Cooker Cooking Keeps the Kitchen Cool

When thinking of crock pot cooking, cozy fall and winter evenings with hearty soups and stews likely come to mind.  Don’t relegate the crock pot to two seasons only.  Keep it on the counter and use it in the spring and summer as well.  It is a great way to have a hot nutritious meal without turning on the oven and heating up the house. It is a fantastic way to braise a pork should or Boston butt into meltingly tender pulled pork sandwiches. Think about having a pulled pork slider bar at your 4th of July party. A main dish that cooks itself cannot be beat!

Crock pots come in all shapes and sizes.  Some have digital settings and others simple dials.  The most important feature is a removable crock.  Since the heat unit cannot be submersed, a removable crock is facilitates clean up. It is also important to have variable heat settings.

For best results, keep the crock half to two thirds full of food with at least 2 inch gap between lid and food. It is best to start cooking on “high” to bring the ingredients quickly to a safe cooking temperature (140 degrees), and then reduce to low setting for slow cooking. Frozen ingredients are to be avoided because they take so long to heat leaving the food in the danger zone longer than is ideal.  The heating element is on the bottom.  If layering ingredients, place ingredients that will take the longest to cook on the bottom. Consider adding seasonings just before serving for maximum flavor.

On most crock pots, “high” cooks at about 300 degrees and “low” equals about 200 degrees.  It takes about twice as long to cook a meal on “low” as it does on “high.” Be sure to keep lid on; it takes a long time to build up lost heat. To avoid frequent lid lifting, use a remote meat thermometer. Because the crock pot is a moist cooking environment, the actual cooking time in generally flexible.

Many of your favorite recipes can be adapted to be cooked in a crock pot.  Be sure to brown meats before putting them in the crock and use half the amount of liquid called for in the recipe.   If layering ingredients, place the ingredients that have the shortest cooking time or have been previously cooked on the top to avoid over cooking.  Another technique is to add these ingredients the last 30 minutes of cooking time.  Dairy and other delicate items should be added just before serving.  As a general rule a recipe that would simmer on the stove top or cook in the oven for 35-45 minutes will cook in 3-4 hours on the “high” setting or 6-10 hours on “low.”

These simple rules will allow you to get the most out of your crock pot.  You might even find out that you use your crock pot for the main dish and a side dish and need more than one!

General Rules:

• Fill crock half to two-thirds full
• Start on high to bring temperature up quickly
• Avoid frozen food
• Place longest cooking ingredients on bottom
• Keep lid on

Adapting Recipes:

• Brown meats first
• Use half of the liquid
• 35-45 stove top/oven minutes equals 3-4 hours on “high” or 6-10 hours on “low”

Julie Languille - busy wife and mom, owner

Dinners In A Flash - Easy Dinner Recipes and Online Dinner Planner

Filed under Articles | Comment (1)