* If using frozen veggies, cook them in the microwave first then place in the slow cooker. This brings the temperature up a much quicker.
* Bulk out casseroles with extra veggies. It's amazing how far a slow cooked meal stretches.
* If adding potato or carrots to a slow cooked casserole, cut it into small chunks and place it near the bottom of the slow cooker where the temperature is hotter. Also try to keep the potato and carrots under any liquid.
* Use the right sized slow cooker for your meal. Ideally slow cookers should be half to two thirds full.
* Slow cooker packet mixes can be high in salt and pepper. Use with caution and maybe use two thirds of the mixture for the first time to get an idea of how it tastes.
* If you have a slow, slow cooker, put it on about 8 am so that the food is properly cooked by dinnertime.
* Proceed with caution if wanting to cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker. I personally haven't tried it and never will. I'm concerned the chicken is too big and will take too long to come up to a safe temperature. Maybe brown the chicken in a pan first and place in a preheated slow cooker.
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| Cooking beef in beef stock juices |
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| Bread pudding in the slow cooker |
I have cooked a roast chicken in the slow cooker many times. I find it only needs about 6 hours on the high setting, or the chicken will be overcooked. I do it a lot in the summer, as it is too hot to put the big oven on.
ReplyDeleteI have ALWAYS cooked whole chickens in my slow cooker - never had a problem and they are beautiful. They just fall apart and are so tender. I'm not sure why people are so nervous about it. Julia, UK.
ReplyDeletePeople are nervous about putting such a big piece of meat ( which is temperature sensitive ) in a cooking appliance that takes a while to come up to temp. I would advise to preheat the slow cooker
DeleteWendy, it's been a long time since I have cooked a whole chicken in my Crock Pot. My experience was that it was overdone at 5 hours on Low. When cooked the full 8 hours, the bones even broke apart. I think the CP is OK for BLSL chicken breasts if you get the time right
ReplyDeleteI've cooked a whole chicken in the slow cooker heaps of times, I always cook it on high, put it on in the morning and leave it cooking on high all day, it cooks in it's own juices and just falls apart in the end, completely cooked through. if i want roast chook it goes in the oven because doing it in the slow cooker is really for me just for nice tender chicken pieces for sandwiches or chicken and salad etc. After the chicken is taken out I take all the meat off then put the bones back in with the juices plus extra water and stock veggie scraps and cook it on low overnight, it makes the best stock so full of flavour.
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