Cooking With a Crockpot - It's Slow Good

It is easy to come home to a hot evening meal every night when you use your crockpot. Taking the time to fill up the crockpot in the morning will bonus you with a tasty meal in the evening with no fuss. When you get home, just dish every person up, and have a splendid meal.

Easy Crockpot Cooking Tips

Crockpot

There are a few tips that will help your crockpot meals turn out excellent every time. First, never overfill the crockpot. Make sure when you are filling it up that the pot is in the middle of half and three-quarters full. Too full, and your food will not cook enough. If the pot is too empty, the food will cook too speedily and you will come home to a evening meal that is overdone.

Fresh vegetables should be located in the lowest of the crockpot because they take longer to cook than your meat. You may have issue believing it, but try putting them on top and see what happens. Freezing vegetables should be located on top of your meat since they do not take long to cook.

If you take the time to brown your meat before putting it in the crockpot, the fat will get rendered a bit and the natural sugars in the meat will caramelize. Your meal will look more appetizing, and you can deglaze the pan afterwards and add the tasty drippings to the crockpot for flavor. It also helps if you take off any skin or excess fat from your meat before you start.

When to Add those Tender Ingredients

Ingredients that are tender, such as tomatoes, peas, and other soft foods should be added in the last half hour or so of cooking. Dairy should be added only a short time before you serve as well. When you add dairy products, make sure your temperature is on low so they will not curdle. Thickeners like cornstarch can be added during the last hour of cooking. Place the crockpot on high so their thickening qualities are activated. Rice and pasta should be added during the last 45 minutes or so or they will tend to turn to mush.

Do not take off the lid during cooking unless you need to add added ingredients. Try to do this all at once so you do not lose too much heat. Each time you open the lid; you should add other 30 minutes to your cooking time.

What Can You Make with a Crockpot?

Following these simple suggestions makes cooking in the crockpot easy and fun. Your crockpot can be used to in fact make just about anything. Roast pork and beef work well in the crockpot. Add a whole chicken or chicken parts with your popular sauce for a tender, tasty meal. Stew works well, as does soup. Side dishes can also be made in the crockpot. Vegetable dishes, rice and lentil dishes are all easy to make while you are away.

Amazingly, you can even bake in your crockpot! Desserts like cakes, sweet breads, and boiled peanuts can be made in fact without using your oven. The versatile crockpot is a tool every person should have in his or her kitchen.

Cooking With a Crockpot - It's Slow Good

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