Converting Recipes: Converting your favorite recipes to the
crockpot or slow cooker is pretty easy. Here is a pageline for
cooking times. If you are cooking on the low setting, make sure that any uncooked meat cooks for at least 8 hours.
| Stovetop Cooking Time | Crockpot Cooking Time | |
| High Temp | Low Temp | |
| 15-30 minutes | 1 1/2 - 2 1/2 hrs | 4 - 8 hours |
| 35-45 minutes | 3 - 4 hours | 6 - 10 hours |
| 50 minutes - 3 hours | 4 - 6 hours | 8 - 16 hour |
Seasoning: Spices will be diluted overtime as they cook in a crockpot. So add spices in the last hour of cooking.
Ground Beef: Brown ground beef before adding to the crockpot. It will taste better and have better texture this way.
Raw Vegetables: Uncooked vegetables like carrots, potatoes and onions should be place at the bottom of the crockpot for faster cooking.
Dairy: Add sour cream, heavy cream and other dairy ingredients during the last hour of cooking.
Cleaning: Do not add cold water to a hot crockpot to clean it. Either let it cool down or add warm soapy water.
Garnish: Many vegetables will lose their color in a slow cooker. Add a colorful garnish like fresh parsley, chives, tomatoes, red peppers or cheese for color.
Cooking Tip: Keep your crockpot at least half full to avoid overheating and overcooking food.
Thickening: Add a cornstarch in the final hour of cooking to thicken juices.
Use your crockpot outside in the summer to help keep your house cool.
What are your favorite crockpot tips?
This page contains the following solutions.
Using your good old reliable crock pot can save you plenty of time and cash, but if your model is aging, give it a test. Bacteria can grow when food is kept under 140 degrees F for four hours or more.
Recently, I put up a crockpot full of chicken and marinade. Leaving it overnight, it was perfect the next morning. By noon, however, it was a bit dry. That is when I realized what I had done.
It is 96 degrees and humid today, so I took out my trusty slow cooker this morning. Cooking in the slow cooker keeps my kitchen cooler, plus the whole meal can be cooked in one container.
I cook my meat in my crockpot for a few hours while I'm gone. Then I pop it in the oven for 20 or 30 minutes to brown and crisp up before serving.( while I fix the rest of dinner) My husband does not like meat from the crockpot. He never guesses. By charleeta
When I went back to college and my kids were in school, I figured out a way to do things to where we still had a good meal. I used a lot of things and bagged them in freezer bags.
Before you contemplate buying a crockpot, check out the smallest ring on your electric cooker. I found out that my past two cookers were usable this way by reading the information that came with the contraption. I didn't trust it to start with so I stayed in all day just to make sure.
Here are the questions asked by community members. Read on to see the answers provided by the ThriftyFun community.
Does frozen meat need to be thawed before placing in the crockpot?
Editor's Note This is not a safe practice as the meat comes up to temperature too slowly to avoid bacterial growth. The meat will be fully cooked but may make your family ill.
Here is a link from the USDA with more safety information:
Cook Slow to Save Time: Four Important Slow Cooker Food Safety Tips
I do this all the time. Just throw it in, add seasonings, cream of whatever is on hand. Add 2 cups of water, and turn on low for 8-10 hours.
I have never had a problem crocking frozen meat. You must add sufficient liquid, but it always turns out fine. (Well, the times it doesn't, it's more me and the recipe than the frozen meat! :) )
No you do not have to thaw the meat. We take a frozen roast into a slow cooker and add mushroom soup to it and some black pepper. Start out on high and when you start to smell it turn the meat over and check it to make sure it is not burning. Don't open the lid but two times. Then reduce the heat and cook all night. There is a lof you can do also like put in frying pan brown each side then put in the cooker. Chicken do this to and use cream of chicken soup. Brown before starting and it will help too. Good luck and happy cooking...
The only time I thaw the meat is when I want to brown the outside of the meat. I found that if you do this, the meat stays juicer.
Have a great day
Lisa
Several of the cooking shows that I watch have been featuring crock pot cooking lately. The one thing they all say is to remember one rule - cold crockpot - cold meat. Hot crockpot - Hot meat or product. The deal is, is that if you put cold meat in a hot crock pot or vice versa it may crack your crock pot.
Just make sure you have plenty of time to let it cook. I put a whole frozen chicken in mine last Sunday thinking we would have chicken later that day and I had to come up with an alternative because being frozen it was taking a lot longer than I thought it would.
I just got back from Milwaukee where my mother in law made a pork roast from frozen and my sister in law made a beef roast from frozen. They started it in the morning at low and it was done by 5:30 -6 at night. It was so good and I never knew you could do that!
I always crock with frozen meat! Makes things easy!! :)
The Crock-pot website says:
"Yes, but be sure to add at least 1 cup of warm liquid to the stoneware first. Do not preheat the unit. Cook recipes containing frozen meats an additional 4 to 6 hours on Low or 2 hours on High."
Since I was a kid I used my nose a lot smelling things. I am now a scientist, retired, and my nose
has worked well to determine food quality, studying new methods in laboratories, and cooking. I firmly believe, as one person said to do, it's good to cook your meals first, then freeze them. Consider
that you buy meals already cooked and heat them from manufacturers and some taste OK.
I know from experience and studies that cells in plants and animals will burst when frozen. If the
meat or plant is cooked, first, the cells contain less water and are more pliable. Thus the damage
from freezing doesn't occur (as much). When I've cooked I often plan to freeze my meal instead of taking out a portion of frozen food and cooling only 1 meal.
When you combine your work you save money, time, and cleanup. And, it tastes better to bring out a cooked portion from the freezer than to cook a pre-frozen piece of meat. If you don't agree then I suggest that you look at the way you freeze. It's important to be sure to seal your cooked foods well. Smells from vinegar (pickles) or any other
smells in the refrigerator will migrate to the freezer.
TIP for clean fridge: You can buy baking soda but it's got to put as much of its area into contact with air as possible. The way to do this is not to put a box in the fridge or buy the 'special' box for fridge. Instead lay out out in a tray for maximum exposure. If it gets damp you can dry it in the oven at any temperature. It wont burn. Also you could put it into a nylon stocking. Squash it flat and hang it. That will give it more surface contact.
Glad I was able to share.
Does anybody know if you can successfully cook rice in a crock pot?
Susan from Columbus, OH
Starchy things like rice, potatoes, and pasta usually do not cook well in crock pots.
Saw this recipe here:
www.fabulousfoods.com/
Have not tried it though...but worth a shot
Here are two recipes for making rice in a crockpot:
Crockpot - Rice
rice
salt
water
butter or margarine
Follow directions on rice package for proportion of rice to water.
(Up to 4 cups raw rice may be prepared in crockpot/slow cooker.
Makes 10 cups cooked). Rub crockpot/slow cooker lightly with 1 tablespoon butter. Pour in rice, water and salt. Cover and cook on High 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. or to cook all day:
Cook on Low for 8 to 10 hours - use 2 to 3 cups long grain rice,
4 to 6 cups water or broth, 2 Tablespoons butter. Salt to taste
before serving.
NOTE:
When turned off, crockpot/slow cooker will keep rice warm for
serving for 2 to 3 hours!
crockpot - Rice, foolproof
1 cup regular raw, white rice
1 cup water
2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon butter
Place all ingredients together in crockpot/slow cooker.
Cover and cook on LOW for 6 to 8 hours.
This Foolproof Rice recipe really does work, even with the small amount of water required. Covering the crockpot and setting it on Low effectively turns your crockpot into a rice steamer. The rice will have the consistency of steamed rice and will not be the kind of "sticky rice" that you would get from cooking it in a pot on the stove top.
I would suggest that you get a rice cooker, and use that. My son gave me one that cooks up to 4 cups of rice. It is no trouble to set it up and do a few other things while it cooks. The one I have was less than $10, my son said. I would cook something main course in the slow cooker, and cook the rice in the rice cooker when you get home.
I just found this thread and had a few things to add.
I have 5 crockpots of different sizes and use them ALL the time to save time in the kitchen since we are ranchers and farmers and need to be outdoors all the time. I think of my crockpots as mini ovens and even use them with timers so that I am not necessarily cooking the food all day.
Potatoes do wonderful in crockpots, despite what was earlier said. I cube my potatoes and cover with water. Cook on high for about 4 hours or low for 6-10 hours. Drain and mash and enjoy!!
A wonderful site for crockpot recipes and ideas from main dishes to even desserts is "A Year of Slow Cooking". This site crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Crockpots are not just for stews, soups, and heavenly starchy gravy soaked meats!! Experiment and enjoy
Manufacturer: Rival
Request: This slow cooker has a liner that can be used directly on the stove top. Any opinions?
Holly from Richardson, TX
I have one of that type also. Just be sure to use the metal ring that comes with the slo cooker if you use it on the stove. That way the liner is not directly on the burner.
I LOVE mine...I used it once, then ordered 4 more for Christmas gifts!!! BUT the advice on the metal rack is ONLY for Electric stoves...you do NOT use it on a GAS burner...Nicest slow cooker I have ever seen!!
this is a great toy...my first crock pot. i like being able to use it with interchangeable heat sources. it has made cooking fun again...the food tastes wonderful .
I put a 4 pound lamb roast in my crock pot for 5 hours. It is cooked, but I still have about 2 hours before dinner time at the most. Can I leave it on low until we eat, should I turn it off, or should I put it on auto? or let it cool and put it in the fridge, or I could transfer to another pan and set my oven to warm? Help :)
By Nicole D
I've kept my slow cooker on warm for LONGER than 2 hours because my family members were not ready to eat at the same time.
Yes, it will be alright to leave your roast Lamb in the crock pot on low. Be sure the lid is still covering it and add a little water now and again so as it does not go dry.
You can use the broth to make gravy.
Enjoy !!
If I half a slow cooker recipe and use a smaller cooker, do I cut the time?
By Joanie
My inclination would be yes. If you are using a slow cooker that would not normally hold a whole recipe, or it would be very full, then you should half the recipe. Cook it for about a third of the time and see how it fairs. If it doesn't seem to be fully cooked go the rest of the time. When you have an appliance that you are either not sure of or it has cooked incorrectly in the past you need to adapt to the unit.
For example I have a microwave that brings a coffee cup to a rolling boil for just a minute. A half a minute doesn't really do the coffee justice but we found 45 seconds does the trick OR we can do a minute and turn down the strength of the microwave to about 2/3 it's normal power.Once you use the slow cooker a couple times you'll understand exactly how it does a job and you'll be cooking foods perfectly every time.
This is a page about converting recipes for a slow cooker. Traditional recipes can be easily converted to preparation in your slow cooker. This is a page about converting recipes for a slow cooker.
Your crockpot is the prefect appliance for cooking tender tasty meat of all types. While some meats are browned first, meat doesn't not need to be cooked before putting it in a crockpot.
Can I use "oven cooking bags" in my crockpot?
