Second half of very useful information in using your slow cooker.
If you have are still craving for more slow cooking tips after reading my post Part I: Tips And Tricks For Using A Slow Cooker, then wait no longer as today you will definitely be getting more of those tricks. Now, sharing the 2nd batch of those tricks.
I’m really glad that a lot of you were able to make use of the information I shared on the first post on slow cooking tips. Those tips I have researched actually are also a great help for me too. And there are more of them. There are also those that are from trial and error experiences. And I think I would agree with some saying that taking care of your slow cooker would also greatly depend on the brand and type of slow cooker.
Nevertheless, we can never go wrong as long as we make sure we follow the SOPs in using a slow cooker. Here are more of those tips that will make slow cooking such a breeze.
Check them out below.
Thickening
Just as the the liquid doesn’t reduce it also doesn’t thicken. You can roll meat in a small amount of seasoned flour before adding it to the slow cooker or use a little cornflour at the end. If you want to do the latter, take a teaspoon or two of cornflour, mix it to a paste with a little cold water. Stir into your simmering slow cooker contents, then replace the lid.
Slow Is Good
Ginny has been working with slow-cookers for over a decade, her advice is to use the ‘Low’ setting as much as you can, finding most dishes really benefit from a slow, gentle heat to really bring out the flavours. This also means you won’t need to worry if you’re heading out for the day, it’ll take care of itself. “I think of it as my cook fairy making my dinner while I’m out,” says Ginny.
Leave It Alone
Slow cookers are designed to do their own thing so you don’t need to keep checking the contents. Everytime you take the lid off it will release some of the heat, so if you keep doing this you’ll have to increase the cooking time.
When To Add Food
Ideally you want to choose recipes where most, if not all, of the ingredients can be added at the beginning, leaving you free to do other things. However in most cases, pasta, rice and fresh herbs will need to be added towards the end.
How Long Should I Cook It For?
If a dish usually takes:
15 – 30 mins, cook it for 1 – 2 hours on High or 4 – 6 hours on Low
30 mins – 1 hour, cook it for 2 – 3 hours on High or 5 – 7 hours on Low
1 – 2 hours, cook it for 3 – 4 hours on High or 6 – 8 hours on Low
2 – 4 hours, cook it for 4 – 6 hours on High or 8 – 12 hours on Low
Root vegetables can take longer than meat and other vegetables so put these near the heat source, at the bottom of the pot.
Thank you so much to bbcgoodfood.com for these great tips.
Credits to the following for the awesome images:
supersavvyme.co.uk, damndelicious.net, bettycrocker.com