Chapter 3
Slow Cooker Basics from Start to Finish
In This Chapter
Reading the owner’s manual
Mastering the basic slow cooking rules
I f you’re the owner of a new slow cooker, congratulations! You’re certainly in for a rare treat: delicious home-cooked meals, like Lemon and Thyme Pork Stew and Rosemary and Garlic Roasted Leg of Lamb, favorite side dishes like Macaroni and Cheese or Classic Vegetable Casserole with French-Fried Onions, and, for dessert, Apple Brown Betty or Creme Caramel. If you’re a dyed-in-the-wool user, we congratulate you for having the wisdom to simplify your life by purchasing and using this time-saving kitchen device, and for your commitment and ongoing vision to use it even more after reading this book.
As with any appliance, you should have a good understanding of how it works. If you’ve been using a slow cooker for years, you should also pay attention because procedures and safe cooking practices have changed over time. So before you get started, sit back and take a few minutes to find out everything you need to know about slow cooking!
The owner’s manual: An important message brought to you by the manufacturer
Take our advice. Read the owner’s manual. By doing so, you can avoid failure and disappointment. The manufacturer has taken the time to put key information in writing so that you will have years of cooking and eating enjoyment! We also want you to read all the helpful tidbits we include in this book. In fact, in this chapter we collect the best of what we have discovered about the slow cooker from our years of using and demonstrating slow cookers, and are pleased to expand upon this information and share it with you.
First Things First: Wash Your Slow Cooker
As with any new small electrical appliance, you will want to wash each component, using the steps described in this section, to remove any manufacturing oils, dust, or grime before using the slow cooker for the first time. Also wash each part if the slow cooker has not been used for an extended period.
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1. Use a clean, soapy cloth or sponge to wash the slow cooker for the first time and every time thereafter. Remove any soap film with a clean cloth or sponge. Dry well with a soft cloth.
The removable cooking container and cover may also be washed in the dishwasher. If your cover is plastic, place it on the top rack of the dishwasher to prevent the cover from warping.
2. When you’re sure that the cooking container is nice and clean, dry it and place it in the slow cooker base. You’re ready to begin.
Caring for Your Cooking Container
Most slow cookers have removable cooking containers. Although these removable containers make for easy cleanup, they require some care in handling. Some points to remember are discussed in this section.
Most slow cooker cooking containers are made of highly glazed porous stoneware. As is true with most clay cookware, stoneware is known for its heat-absorbing and -retaining qualities, allowing food to cook slowly and evenly without hot spots, eliminating the need for stirring.
Never heat the stoneware cooking container on a stove or cooktop.
Check the owner’s manual to see whether the container and cover are oven-, broiler-, and/or microwave-safe.
Never place the cooking container in the freezer.
Never place a hot cooking container and cover in the refrigerator.
Never pour cold water or place cold food into a hot cooking container.
Never plunge a hot cooking container and cover into water.
Never run water over a hot cooking container or cover.
Never use a cooking container or cover that’s chipped, cracked, or severely scratched. Check the warranty section of the owner’s manual and contact the manufacturer to purchase a replacement.
Never preheat or heat the cooking container in the slow cooker without food.
Preparing to Slow Cook: Some Tips
After the slow cooker is clean and dry, you’re ready to begin cooking. Prepare all the ingredients for the recipe you plan to make. You may find it more comfortable to fill the cooking container before putting it in the slow cooker. Just remember one thing: The average weight of a ceramic, stoneware cooking container is 6 pounds, before adding food! When filled, the container may weigh more than twice that. Here are some tips:
Before filling the container with food, decide whether you can comfortably lift a 12-pound container and put it in the slow cooker. If doubtful, fill the container after you place it in the slow cooker.
To avoid making a sloshing mess, add liquids (more than 2 cups) after the cooking container is in the slow cooker.
To make cleanup easier, lightly spray the inside of the cooking container with vegetable oil cooking spray.
Getting a jump start the night before
To save time in the morning, you can prepare your ingredients the night before. Place everything in the slow cooker cooking container, as called for in the recipe. Cover with the glass or plastic cover and refrigerate immediately.
The next day, remove the cooking container from the fridge and place it in the slow cooker. Cook covered, as specified in the recipe. Do not preheat the slow cooker before inserting the cooking container. The overnight method works well with most recipes, with the following exceptions:
Unless potatoes are layered on the bottom of the cooking container (such as underneath a pot roast), don’t add them until you’re ready to cook because they will discolor.
Don’t add uncooked rice or pasta until ready to cook because it may absorb some of the cooking liquid.
If you’re making soup or a recipe with a large amount of cooking liquid — that is, more than 2 cups — don’t add the liquid until you’re ready to cook.
Fruit desserts are better if prepared just before cooking because cut fruit will discolor and sugar will cause fruit to release its juices.
The browning issue
Slow cookers save you time by cooking food so that it requires little or no intervention. You simply place the ingredients in the cooking container. Stir them all together. Put the cover on and turn the control knob to low or high. About 8 hours later, dinner is done and ready to be served. Because slow cookers cook at a low temperature, they don’t get hot enough to brown the food.
As you read some of our recipes, you may be surprised to see that we ask you to brown or sauté some ingredients like onions, garlic, and meat or poultry in a skillet on the stovetop burner with some oil before adding them to the slow cooker. The reason is quite simple: flavor. High heat alters the appearance and flavor of food. The natural sugar found in food causes it to brown, making it more appealing to look at. The meat loses that raw look, while at the same time becoming more complex in flavor than if it was just boiled.
Besides being advocates of slow cookers, we also like to advocate food that tastes as good as it looks. We feel that certain foods and recipes benefit tremendously when you take the extra time to brown them before placing them in the slow cooker. This may mean spending 15 to 20 minutes in the kitchen to do so. When you taste the results, you know that time will have been well spent. In some recipes where the difference between browning and not is negligible, we give you the option, so the call is always yours. Browning is discussed in greater detail in Chapter 9.
The high and low of it
With the rare exception, most slow cooker recipes, including the ones found in this book, are prepared on the low setting. When we cook in an oven, recipes are based on temperature. For example: Bake in a preheated 350° oven for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Slow cookers don’t have thermostats like ovens do, and slow cooker recipes never specify a temperature, because the cooking process is based on the electrical wattage of the appliance. After reading this information, you don’t need to think about it again nor ponder it. We mention it simply so that you understand the reasons to choose between low or high.
Most slow cookers, when set on high, use a maximum of less than 300 watts of electricity. When used on low, the appliance draws about half the wattage it does on high. One hour on high is approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours on low. High, therefore, cooks almost twice as fast as low and should be used when you wish to have dinner ready faster than you normally would on low. Because the slow cooker is heating up hotter and faster, you may need to stir the food occasionally when cooking on high so that it doesn’t stick to the sides of the cooking container.
Some recipes, such as the Old-Fashioned Beef Stew in Chapter 8, start off on the low setting the first 8 to 10 hours. Quick-cooking ingredients like peas are not added until the stew is almost done cooking. The setting is then increased to high, and the peas cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they test done.
The high setting is also a great way to thicken a loose sauce or gravy after the food is thoroughly cooked. Uncover the slow cooler and raise the setting to high. The liquid will begin to simmer. Let it cook down for 35 to 45 minutes, stirring periodically.
Now You’re Cooking
After you load the cooking container with food and place it in the slow cooker, plug the appliance into a 120-volt AC-rated electrical outlet. Turn the control knob to either the low or high setting.
The electrical heating elements heat up slowly, warming the metal, wrap-around housing, which in turn indirectly warms the air trapped between the housing and the cooking container. The cooking container directly heats and cooks the food in the slow cooker at a low temperature, generally between 170°and 280°. The exact temperature depends on the type of food being cooked, the amount of cooking liquid, and the length of cooking time. Nevertheless, the direct heat from the cooking container, the lengthy cooking time, and the moist, steam-infused heat in the tightly covered slow cooker combine to destroy bacteria and make the slow cooker a safe process for cooking food.
Smoke in your eyes?
When using a new slow cooker the first few times, you may notice, as with any new small electrical appliance, some slight smoke and/or odor. Smoke and odor are the result of manufacturing oils being released upon initial heating. This is normal and will subside after a few uses.
Don’t touch that lid!
As simple as it may appear, the cover that comes with your slow cooker is almost as important a component as the cooking container. As you probably know, heat rises. With the cover positioned on top of the slow cooker heater, heat is trapped and converts into hot steam, which in tandem with the slow cooker, cooks your food safely. Remove the cover or cook without it, and steam and heat go up into thin air.
Unless specified in the recipe, food must always be cooked covered, for the recommended time, before checking for doneness. The cover doesn’t form a tight fit on the slow cooker. If it did, it could seal and form a vacuum. For best cooking results, center the lid over the cooking container.
Don’t remove the cover while cooking because doing so results in major heat loss, ultimately affecting the cooking time. To understand this, think of cooking in your slow cooker as you would in your oven — if you leave the oven door open, all the heat will escape, and you’ll never get the cooking results you hope for.
The cover heats up during cooking and can get very hot. After cooking, remove the cover with a pot holder or oven mitts. To avoid steam burns, tilt the cover toward you when removing it.
To stir or not to stir? That is the question
To whole idea behind using a slow cooker is to get you in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible and off doing whatever else you need to do. With the even transfer of heat and no hot spots, slow cooker cooking eliminates the need for stirring during the initial cooking time. In fact, every time you remove the cover, valuable heat and steam are lost, prolonging the cooking time.
Even though you may have this terribly strong urge to uncover, peek, and stir, please don’t, unless specified in the recipe, and even at that, be quick about it. If you find yourself longing to peek and unable to control the desire, we suggest you try some behavior modification therapy and leave the house altogether!
Is it done yet?
One of the hardest things for people to understand when reading a slow cooker recipe is how long it takes to cook something and the fact that most recipes have a 1- to 2-hour range when the food is supposed to be ready. For example, a pot roast normally cooks in about 2 1/2 hours on the stovetop in a Dutch oven. Our slow cooker version requires 9 to 10 hours. Why the additional 7 to 8 hours, and how can you be certain that the food is ready to be served?
A slow cooker saves you time by eliminating the need for you to be in the kitchen overseeing the cooking process. The food cooks slowly, covered, between 170° and 280°, with plenty of moist steam. The temperature of the cooked food is about 200°. This combination of low heat and hot moisture cooks the food, inhibits bacteria growth, and eliminates the need for stirring. Varying factors, such as liquid and fat content, the temperature of the food, and the size of the pieces, also play a direct role in how quickly a recipe will cook.
Although all slow cookers provide the same end results — thoroughly cooked food — some are a bit faster than others, another reason why your food may be done on the low end of the estimated cooking time. The temperature of the food when you begin cooking or whether the cooking container was in the refrigerator beforehand can also influence exact cooking times. Another factor is how full the slow cooker is. Ideally, the slow cooker should be one-half to three-quarters full for efficient use and to conform to the suggested cooking times.
After It’s Done: From Slow Cooker to Server
Today’s slow cookers have attractive stoneware or heat-resistant glass cooking containers that are completely finished on the outside. You can serve directly from the slow cooker, or you can remove the cooking container and use it as serving dish at the table. The cooking container will be hot and heavy. Turn the appliance off. Carefully remove the cooking container using pot holders or oven mitts. Place on a heat-resistant trivet or hot pad and never directly on the serving surface or counter. If serving from the slow cooker, turn the control knob to the keep warm or off setting after you determine that the food is thoroughly cooked and is ready to be served.
Slow cooker dishes are also a mainstay at potluck or pitch-in suppers. The attractive outer housing and cooking container make them ideal for serving. To keep your food warm while in transit, some manufacturers sell insulated carrying cases. Contact the customer service number for your brand of slow cooker to see whether such cases are available for your slow cooker (see the appendix).
Storing food in the slow cooker
Once the food you are preparing is thoroughly cooked, you can turn the slow cooker to the keep-warm setting. Food can safely stay on keep warm at least 2 hours before the cooking container should be removed from the slow cooker and the food cooled to room temperature and then refrigerated.
Never store cooked food unrefrigerated. Thoroughly cooked food can be stored in the covered cooking container in the refrigerator. Food should be eaten or discarded within 3 to 4 days. Do not store food in ceramic, stoneware slow cooker containers in the freezer.
Reheating food in the slow cooker
Cold or room-temperature food can be reheated in the slow cooker cooking container, inserted in the housing, on either low or high. Once it is reheated, food can be kept warm on the keep warm setting.
Reheating food in the slow cooker takes almost as long as it does to cook it. We suggest that you reheat food in the cooking container if it fits in your microwave oven. If not, remove the food to a microwave-safe dish to reheat. Cooked food can be kept warm in the slow cooker. Food must be hot enough to prevent bacteria growth before using the keep warm setting.
Scrubbing those nooks and crannies
Always clean your slow cooker well after each use. Unplug it from the electrical outlet and allow all components to cool to room temperature before cleaning. We mention some cleaning tips earlier in the chapter. Here are some reminders and some further tips:
To prevent personal injury or electric shock, do not immerse the slow cooker housing/base, its cord, or the plug in water or any other liquid.
Use a soft cloth or sponge to wash the slow cooker cooking container and cover with warm water and dishwashing liquid. Rinse off and towel dry. The container and cover are usually dishwasher safe; check with the owner’s manual to verify.
Hard-to-clean spots can be removed by using a nonabrasive cleaning powder like Bon Ami on a clean, damp sponge or cloth.
The metal housing, inside and out, should always be wiped down with soapy water. Never use any abrasive metal scouring pads or harsh cleansers on the metal housing, cooking container, or cover because these can damage the finish.
Always make sure that the inside of the base is clean and that there are no food particles or old spills. If so, wipe out with a clean, damp cloth or sponge, and towel dry.
Always make sure that the cooking container is clean inside and out and that no food particles are stuck to the bottom before placing it in the slow cooker base.