Cooking Hints and Tips
Crockpot
It's difficult to give exact conversion information on translating traditional oven recipes to the crockpot. Below you will find some general guidelines for converting your favorite recipes to the crockpot. Since crockpots vary, you should consult your owner's manual for instructions.
Reduce the amount of liquid used in most oven recipes when using the LOW setting, since the crockpot retains all moisture that usually evaporates when cooking in the oven. Add liquids for sauces about an hour before done. You will normally end up with more liquid at the end of cooking times, not less. A general rule is to reduce liquids by half, unless rice or pasta is in the dish. Spices may need to be reduced or increased. Whole herbs and spices increase their flavoring power in crockpot cooking while ground spices may lose some flavor. Add ground spices during the last hour of cooking. Whole leaf and herbs will probably need to be reduced by half. Rice, noodles, macaroni, seafood, Chinese vegetables and milk do not hold up well when cooked 8-10 hours. Add these to sauces or liquid about 2 hours before serving when using LOW setting (or 1 hour on HIGH). If you want to use milk in an 8-10 hour recipe, use evaporated milk. Browning meats before cooking is a personal choice. It's not necessary but it will reduce the fat content of some meats and increase the flavor of all meats if you brown it before cooking. Add spices and herbs toward the end of cooking time. (if possible) Reduce and concentrate the liquid, because it does not evaporate from food prepared in a slow cooker as it does with food prepared in the oven or on top of the stove. Cut root vegetables into thin slices or small pieces because they cook more slowly than meat in the slow cooker. Pay attention to cooking temperature (low or high setting) in recipes. Sautéing vegetables (like onions, etc) is not necessary, (except for eggplant which should be parboiled or sautéed prior due to its strong flavor). Just add them to the pot with everything else. You may wish to reduce quantities of stronger vegetables since they will permeate the other foods in the crockpot with their full flavor. Dry beans can be cooked overnight on LOW as an alternative to soaking. Cover with water and add 1 teaspoon of baking soda. Drain and combine with other ingredients. Be sure beans are softened before adding any sugar or tomato mixture. For best results, use long-grain parboiled/converted raw rice in recipes, and use standard liquid amounts instead of reducing the liquid. For mixed recipes requiring pasta, it's best to cook the pasta separately to al dente texture and add just before serving. For soups, add water only to cover ingredients. If thinner soup is desired, more liquid can be added at the end of the cooking time. To keep foods moist and tender, slow cookers should be at least half full but no more than two-thirds. Always use the heat setting called for in a recipe. But to shorten cooking time, remember that the rule is: one hour on high is equal to 2 to 2 1/2 hours of cooking on low. For best flavor, some meats such as "ground beef or ground turkey be browned on top of the stove before being added to the slow cooker." Trim extra fat from poultry and meat. Thaw frozen meats or vegetables first before placing them in the pot. Stick to the amount of liquid called for in the recipe, because liquids don't boil away as they do in stove-top recipes. If adapting a conventional recipe to the slow cooker, reduce the liquid by half. Cut vegetables into uniform, equal pieces so they are done at the same time. Place root vegetables such as carrots, potatoes and turnips at the bottom of the pot with the meat on top because, surprisingly, they cook more slowly than meat. Add milk, sour cream and cheese during the last 30 minutes of cooking time; they can curdle when cooked for too long. Or, for a creamy, smooth sauce, substitute canned evaporated milk, canned condensed soups or nonfat dry milk for the fresh milk. Don't peek once the lid is on unless you need to check for doneness. Every time you lift the lid, it takes about 20 minutes to recover temperature. Use an instant-read thermometer to be sure food is cooked through: poultry - 170 degrees; large cuts of meat - 155 degrees. General Crockpot Cooking Times for Specific Foods
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