Many slow cookers have two or more temperature settings. These settings can vary from one cooker to the next, so it is very important to read the manufacturer’s instructions carefully.
Most modern cookers have a ‘Low’ and a ‘High’ setting. Some will have an ‘Auto’ option, which means it starts cooking at High, then switches automatically to Low. If a cooker has a ‘Keep Warm’ setting, it means that after the food is cooked it will hold the food at a safe temperature until serving time. Some cookers have timers, which cook the food for a specified time, then switch automatically to ‘Keep Warm’ until serving time. Some have the option to brown the meat in a removable insert, before returning it to the cooker to complete cooking.
When purchasing a slow cooker and wondering about the right size for your needs, think about what you will be using the cooker for. A small family? Entertaining? Is one enough? Also consider if you want one with a round or oval shape – the latter is better for cooking certain roasts, such as a leg of lamb.
Most of the recipes in this book serve four to six people. The recommended capacity of the slow cooker is indicated at the beginning of each recipe. To feed more, use a larger cooker and increase the quantities of ingredients correspondingly. Keep in mind that the cooker should not be filled to more than 3 centimetres from the top.
A very handy size is the smaller 1.5 litre capacity cooker (serves two to three people). I find that the food tends to cook in a shorter amount of time so if I’m going out I use the Low setting. If using this smaller cooker, reduce the quantities of ingredients correspondingly in the recipe.
Is Slow-cooking Safe?
Yes, slow cookers cook foods at a lower temperature for an extended period of time, but the temperatures reach a level far above the recommended food safety levels. Any bacteria are destroyed by the multi-directional heat combined with the steam created in the tightly sealed container.
Times and Temperatures
The amount of time dishes take to cook can vary, so always allow plenty of time. It is highly unlikely that the food will overcook, especially on Low. Even on High an extra hour will have no detrimental effect. I’ve cooked some meals for several hours extra on Low with no ill effect. The meat and vegetables were still intact and the meat delightfully tender.
As a general rule, the Low setting is approximately 94°C (200°F) and the High setting is approximately 149°C (300°F).
One hour on High is more or less equivalent to 2 hours on Low. This may vary to a degree in some recipes, which will have instructions to this effect. Some recipes require cooking on a specific setting. For meat dishes, as a general guide only, you can use the following table. Check for information in the instruction book for your cooker for any variations.
|
Conventional recipe times |
Slow Cooker – Low |
Slow Cooker – High |
|
15 to 30 minutes |
4 to 7 hours |
1½ to 2½ hours |
|
35 to 50 minutes |
6 to 9 hours |
3 to 4 hours |
|
50 minutes to 3 hours |
8 to 16 hours |
4 to 6 hours |
Note: Recipes can be cooked for 1–2 hours on High and then reduced to Low if this is convenient.
For Safety’s Sake
If the power goes off when you are not at home, you will unfortunately need to discard the food because the temperature may have dropped to unsafe levels, causing the food to spoil.
If you have an old cooker, you can quite easily test to see if it is cooking to temperature. Fill the cooker with about 2 litres of cool water (less of course for a smaller cooker), cover with the lid, then heat on Low for 8 hours. Remove the lid and immediately check the temperature with a food thermometer. The temperature should be about 85°C (185°F). If the temperature is lower, the cooker may not be heating effectively enough to be safe.
Always defrost foods before adding them to the slow cooker. And certainly don’t use the slow cooker to defrost foods.
If you wish to prepare foods the night before to set on to cook the next morning, it is best not to put the prepared ingredients into the cooker insert and then refrigerate it overnight. This is because the chilled insert takes longer to come up to the required temperature in the cooker. Instead, store the ingredients in containers in the fridge (keep meat and vegetables separate). It only takes a few moments to combine them in the cooker the next day. Make sure also to wipe away any food on the rim of the cooker insert after preparing ingredients in the cooker, so that a good seal forms with the lid during cooking.
When cooking foods in the cooker at altitudes over 1067 metres above sea level, you will need to extend the recommended cooking time by 50 per cent.
According to food experts, food should not be reheated in the slow cooker.
It is best not to leave leftovers in the cooker as they take a long time to cool down, meaning that bacteria could potentially grow in the food during this time. Instead, place them in containers and store in the fridge or freezer. Leftovers are very tasty indeed the next day and make wonderful fillings for pies. Leftovers can usually be frozen for up to 3 months.
Some people recommend using an external timer for the cooker. This means that the food is placed in the cooker and set to turn on at a specific time if anyone is away from the house. Although this may be very convenient, it does carry significant risks – for instance, the food left standing at room temperature may develop harmful bacteria. As a general rule, don’t leave food waiting to be cooked at room temperature.
General Tips
Preheating on High may be recommended for your brand of slow cooker. Follow the manufacturer’s directions in the instruction manual that comes with your cooker. If someone has donated a cooker to you minus the accompanying manual, it would be best to preheat for 15 minutes.
Always make sure not to overfill the cooker – no more than halfway to two-thirds full – otherwise the seal may not form effectively.
When lifting the lid from your cooker, lift straight up and away from the cooker so that the moisture on the lid doesn’t fall back into the food.
Oven bags can be used to line the slow cooker insert, which will reduce washing up, although some instruction manuals carry a warning that they should not be used with chicken, lamb, pork or beef.
Some slow cooker inserts can be placed in the oven preheated to 160°C to brown toppings etc at the end of the cooking time. Check the manufacturer’s manual to be sure.
Slow cookers don’t like fat, so cut visible fat and skin from meat and poultry before adding to the cooker.
Generally it is not necessary to stir during cooking time, so don’t be tempted to lift the lid unless it is to add dumplings or toppings, soft or thawed frozen vegetables, or dairy in the latter stages of cooking. Each time the lid is lifted, an extra 20– 30 minutes must be added onto the cooking time. This is because the steam that results from slow-cooking creates a seal with the lid, and when the lid is lifted this seal is broken and needs to form again. Heat is also lost each time the lid is lifted.
If the dish is not cooked, replace the lid, set the cooker to High and cook in 30-minute increments. Always allow plenty of time.
Don’t place the hot slow cooker insert on a cold surface, nor a very cold slow cooker insert into a hot unit.
Don’t pour cold water into a hot slow cooker or hot water into a cold slow cooker.
Liquid Content
Use about half the recommended amount as you would in a conventional recipe, unless otherwise stated. One cup of liquid for a casserole-style dish is generally more than ample. If you find that the dish has too much liquid for your liking, simply turn the setting to High during the last hour of cooking. Some books recommend taking off the lid and turning the cooker to High for a time, to reduce the excess liquid, but I’ve not always found this to be successful as heat is lost. It is more successful if the lid is placed back on the slow cooker. Often, I instead take out most of the excess liquid with a soup ladle and put it into a small saucepan. I cook it over high heat on the stovetop until it reduces right down, and then return it to the slow cooker. It only takes a few minutes and needs little attention. In this way the flavours are retained and intensified.
Another trick is to thicken the sauce in the saucepan with cornflour paste (up to 1 tablespoon of cornflour mixed to a paste with a little cold water), stirring constantly while adding, and using only as much as is needed to thicken to the desired consistency. Then return the resulting gravy to the cooker. Cook on High for a few minutes more.
Many casseroles can be thickened in the cooker itself quite effectively (particularly on the High setting) by merely stirring in some cornflour paste, as the density and heat of the food is enough to induce the thickening in conjunction with the cornflour.
The Flavour Factor
It is sometimes claimed that during long slow-cooking some of the flavours of the food are diminished. In fact, I have rarely found this to be the case, but I have a range of simple products on stand-by as flavour enhancers, should they ever be necessary. It is really important to taste the food before serving (as with any form of cooking), so that flavours can be adjusted if necessary.
Although I generally refrain from using anything reeking of artificiality, I do keep on hand top-quality beef, vegetable and chicken stock powders.
The other items on the list of (good-quality) flavourings include:
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
sweet chilli sauce
barbecue sauce
fish sauce
chutney or relish
tomato sauce (ketchup)
quince or redcurrant jelly
raspberry jam
marmalade
apricot jam
honey
You can use the commercial product or make your own (except for the soy sauce) – there are many easy recipes in my book A Year in a Bottle.
Soups
Only add enough water to barely cover the ingredients and add extra water later if necessary. To make a cream soup, I make a cheese or cream sauce on the stovetop and add this at the end. This sauce can be made any time and reheated before adding to the slow cooker. Another method is to add cream or evaporated milk at the end of cooking time, replacing the lid on the cooker, turning the setting to High and reheating for approximately 20 minutes.
For a really rich soup, a combination of cream and egg yolks can be stirred in at the end of cooking time. This is indicated in specific recipes in this book.
Rice and Pasta
The same amount of water can be used as for conventional cooking, or reduce by one-third at most.
Rice and pasta should never be cooked for an extended period of time; 2 hours is usually ample. For pasta and rice dishes, cooked rice or pasta should be added during the last hour to half-hour of cooking time.
Fish and Seafood
When cooking a whole fish, it is a good idea to line the cooker with a piece of baking paper large enough to reach up the side, then place the fish on top. This makes lifting out the cooked fish much easier.
I have found cooking seafood highly successful in the slow cooker; it retains its shape, nutritional value and delicate flavour. It is ideal for squid, for instance, which benefits greatly from the slow-cooking process.
Vegetables
In the slow cooker, some vegetables tend to take longer to cook than meat. Generally speaking, root vegetables, such as carrots, parsnips and onions, should be cut into pieces no larger than 2 centimetres.
Soft vegetables, such as tomatoes and zucchini, should be added in the last hour of cooking, unless you want them to break down. Frozen vegetables should be thawed and added during the last half-hour.
Green vegetables, such as peas and beans, lose their characteristic bright colour if slow cooked.
Dried beans should be soaked overnight, and some beans, such as red kidney beans, need to be cooked for 15 minutes and drained before adding to the cooker. Certain varieties of dried beans can be poisonous if not cooked first. If you are unsure about the type of bean you are using, it is best to cook them in this way before using them in a slow cooker recipe.
I often use drained canned chickpeas or beans, and add them during the last hour to half-hour of cooking time.
Herbs and Spices
During cooking, herbs and spices may diminish in flavour. This particularly applies to dried herbs, so it is better to use fresh. I often use a combination of both. If you think the dish could do with a little more flavour when tasting at the end of the cooking time, just add extra at this point.
Be careful with adding cayenne pepper and Tabasco sauce – they can become bitter over a long period of cooking. Add them towards the end.
Dairy Products
Dairy products do not handle long periods of slow-cooking particularly well. Generally, they should be added during the last hour to half-hour of cooking.
Cheese or white sauces reputedly break down, though I have not found this to be a real issue if a combination of cornflour and eggs is added to the sauce mixture.
Low-fat cream or evaporated milk can be used instead of regular cream, and sometimes they perform better than the full-fat varieties.
Meat
Cheaper cuts of meat, such as casserole steaks, are a good choice for the slow cooker, as they break down to become very tender indeed.
Some people brown meat before adding it to the cooker. Generally, this is not necessary (I certainly don’t bother), not even for roasts – it will just take extra time and effort and means extra cleaning up. For recipes in this book, I have eliminated the need to brown meat for the sake of convenience. The exception is Steak and Kidney Pudding, which is more about the thickening of the gravy than the browning of the meat.
However, if you want to sear the meat first, then that’s fine too. If you have the luxury of a cooker insert that gives this option, by all means include this step if you want.
All visible fat and gristle should be cut off meat for the slow cooker. Use smaller whole roasts or cut a roast beef, for example, to fit comfortably in the cooker. Any lean trimmings from the meat can be used later in a casserole-type dish.
Meat should be thawed before placing in the cooker. This is because foods should reach 60°C (140°F) as soon as possible, and the inclusion of frozen meat could hamper this process.
Roasting meats is simple – just place them straight into the slow cooker. No liquid is necessary – the gravy develops during the cooking process. Herbs and spices can be used to season the meat if desired.
In some recipes an amount of sausage meat will be specified. Instead of buying sausage mince especially, use the required weight in sausages. Simply slit the skins lengthways and they easily peel off, leaving the filling ready to use.
To heat frankfurters or similar in the slow cooker, just pour in about ½ cup of water and place the frankfurters in the cooker. Heat on High or Low until hot enough to serve.
Chicken
For whole chicken, use a chicken no larger than 1.5 kilograms.
Although not absolutely necessary, for best results remove skin and visible fat from chicken. Opinions now vary on whether it is necessary to cook chicken on High – some manufacturers’ instruction booklets indicate this should be so, others indicate that to cook chicken on Low is perfectly fine. Always check your cooker’s instruction booklet to be sure. What I do is cook the chicken dish on High at the outset – even if only for a few minutes or half an hour, then reduce the setting to Low and cook for several hours more as indicated in the recipe.
Stocks
Slow-cooking is an ideal way to make stocks and saves buying expensive commercially made preparations. However, for convenience use those by all means or even a good-quality stock powder mixed with water (¾ teaspoon per cup of liquid).
Desserts
It is always a good idea to preheat the cooker for a few minutes on High before adding a pudding, especially if the recipe contains self-raising flour so that the raising ingredient is activated.
Desserts cooked in the slow cooker are always moist and delicious. Fruits tend to keep their shape well and the flavours are intensified. Self-saucing puddings cook to perfection.