Perfect Slow Cooker Meals From Start To Finish A Few Simple Tips For Delicious Results

You've got your recipes ready, you've been to the grocery store, and you are more than ready to dig in. You can't wait for the aroma to fill your house. It's slow cooker time!

But, now that you have everything together, you don't know how to begin. Where do you start, and how do you know you're putting it together the right way? The recipe may only give you part of the story. You don't want to get it wrong. You want your time and effort to pay off in a scrumptious meal.

There are a few things to remember when it comes to preparing and creating a slow cooker meal. Let's take a look at several ways you can get your slow cooker cooking off to a good start.

Spray the inside of the crock insert with a light coating of cooking oil just before adding your ingredients. This not only helps prevent your food from sticking, but also helps simplify clean up.

If time permits, heat any liquids before adding to the slow cooker. This will give the contents a head start toward the temperature 'safety zone' of 140 degrees F. If you're pouring in a lot of cold chicken broth, for instance, you can see how it's going to slow down the cooking process in the beginning.

To get your foods cooking quicker, start your recipe on the high heat setting, let it cook for about an hour, then turn to low. This works great for very dense foods. For instance, if you are adding a lot of meat straight from the refrigerator to the slow cooker, this faster cooking method will ensure that the meat cooks properly and dinner is ready when you are.

Don't over-fill your slow cooker. Most manufacturers recommend contents in the crockpot should come up to between the 1/2 and 2/3 level. Also, don't pack the ingredients in there too tight. You want the heat to be able to circulate.

The slow cooker is specifically designed to produce condensation inside, gathering on the cover, then dripping off back into the contents. Recipes should have enough liquid or moisture of some kind to produce this steaming and dripping process. Especially when meat or poultry is being cooked, this ensures a moist, evenly cooked result. Even if you are putting a whole chicken or roast in, be sure to include plenty of vegetables and some liquid to produce this process.

During the cooking time, leave the cover closed. If you must stir, do so quickly. However, just be aware that every time you lift the cover you'll have to add more cooking time. A recipe that calls for 8 hours in the slow cooker assumes the cover will be closed tightly for the entire 8 hours. Just keep that in mind.

You will find lots of slow cooker recipes that call for dried beans. These can be tricky. The quality can be less than satisfactory if beans are not cooked properly. The best way to ensure good results when using dried beans in a slow cooker is to precook them at least partly. Soak the beans overnight, then rinse them, put them in a pot with fresh water, bring to a gentle boil and let them cook for about 15 minutes. Then drain them and add the precooked beans to your slow cooker recipe. Or, use canned beans.

Separate your vegetables into two categories; dense and soft. When you cut them up, be sure to allow for this difference. For instance, potatoes, celery, carrots, and turnips are quite dense so they should be in smaller pieces than softer vegetables such as bell peppers and onions. And remember, for very soft vegetables, such as sweet peas, you can wait until the last minutes of cooking time before you add them.

Think twice as you cut up your meat and poultry. Dark chicken meat can cook longer than white chicken meat, and fatter cuts of meat can stay in the slow cooker longer than lean cuts of meat. If you cook a combination of dark chicken meat and white chicken meat, for instance, try to cut the dark meat a bit smaller than the white meat. Also keep in mind if you are cooking a whole roast, it will cook more evenly if you cut it into smaller pieces. This is especially important if you have a large roast and you want it well-done all the way through.

If you are layering a dish, such as making a pot roast, start by putting the vegetables on the bottom and up around the sides. Choose the most dense vegetables first, then layer on the remaining vegetables, finishing with the softest vegetables last. Then set the meat on top. This follows the way the crockpot cooks, and since vegetables take longest to cook, they should be closest to the heat source.

After serving your slow cooker meal, remove any leftovers immediately and put in food storage containers to refrigerate or freeze. Your slow cooker is made to retain heat well, meaning the food won't cool off in the refrigerator for hours, much too long to be safe to eat later.

This suggestion is not so much about creating a good slow cooker meal, but you do need to take care of your slow cooker properly in order for it to work well. Your slow cooker is not indestructible. It does need a bit of attention.

After you have stored your leftovers, give the crock insert a good soak in hot soapy water and scrub with a soft, non-scratch sponge. Do not attempt to scrape off any stuck food with a metal spatula or other utensil. A scratched crock is an invitation for bacteria.

If you have stuck-on food that simply won't soak off, fill your slow cooker with warm water and vinegar, set it in the base, set the heat to high, and leave it for a couple hours. This should remove any stubborn stuff. Rinse and dry the crock carefully. Give the slow cooker base a wipe down with a clean, damp cloth, then dry that carefully, too. Now you are ready to put the crock insert into the base and it will be all set for your next meal.

Some of these tips will make it easier to put your meal together, while other tips will make your meal come out better, and still other tips may just make your slow cooker cooking experience more enjoyable. Following these tips when you begin preparing your ingredients for the slow cooker could result in a much tastier end to your busy day!