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Tips for Adapting Recipes to Slow Cooker

Source of Recipe

By MIRIAM SILVER - NYT Regional Newspapers


Recipe Introduction

From DSredTX - Recipes From Friends Tips for Adapting Recipes to Slow Cookers

Many recipes work well in a slow cooker. Here are a few things to pay attention to when adapting your favorites:

REDUCE LIQUIDS:
Crockpot cooking is in a mostly closed, never-open-the-top environment, so there is almost no escaping of liquid by boiling or steaming. You should generally reduce the amount of liquid called for in a recipe by half. Most recipes need only one-half to one cup of liquid to cook.

VEGGIES:
Vegetables, especially root vegetables like carrots and potatoes, tend to cook more slowly, so place them at the bottom or along the sides of the crockpot, ensuring that they are covered in liquid. There is no need to cook vegetables or saute onions and garlic ahead of time. Some cooks opt to do it, however, because the high heat of a saute brings out natural sugars and rich colors. One exception would be eggplant, which needs to be cooked ahead
to get rid of bitterness.

DAIRY:
Dairy products such as milk, cream and sour cream tend to break down in crock-pot cooking. Substitute another liquid, if possible. If dairy is necessary, add it only during the last hour of cooking, or, better yet, stir it in at the very end.

BROWNING MEATS:
For flavoring reasons, many cooks brown their meats first. You don't have to, but if you are making ribs, particularly pork ribs, you may want to brown, boil or broil them first, draining off the fat that would otherwise be a mess after the crock-pot cooking is done. Ground meat should also be browned ahead of time for color and to prevent large clumps of meat from forming.

BEANS:
Dried beans have to be softened on your stove top before adding to a crockpot. Cover the dried beans with three times their volume of unsalted water, bring to a boil, and boil 10 minutes, reduce heat, cover and allow to simmer 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Drain and combine with other ingredients in the crock-pot.

SPICES:
Dried whole or leafy spices are best for seasoning in a crockpot, because they tend to hold up better during long cooking times. If you use powdered spices, add them in the last hour. If that's not possible, just increase the amount of powdered spice slightly when you place the ingredients
in the pot. Since the long cooking time tends to diminish some flavors, be sure to taste test, adding salt and pepper, lemon juice or Tabasco sauce at the end.

ROASTS AND OTHER MEATS:
Meat, particularly tough, inexpensive cuts, does remarkably well in the crock-pot because it is slowly cooked. Some recipes say you can use frozen meat, but the timing and adding of liquid is more difficult, so it's easier to just make sure it is defrosted.

You can cook a whole roast without adding water in the slow-cooker, if it is cooked on low. You need to add liquid - stock or water - if the dish includes vegetables.

SOUPS:
Soup recipes usually call for much more water than is needed in a crockpot. To adjust, add other ingredients first and then add enough water only to cover.

FINISHING TOUCHES:
If you end up with more liquid than you need, mix a small
amount of the hot liquid with flour or cornstarch. Then, stir that mixture back in to thicken. Or, just take out the vegetables or meat, set aside, and then remove the liquid to a pot and thicken on the stove.

Crockpots work by steaming, on low, reaching an internal temperature of up to 200ºF, so if you like crispy skin on your chicken, you'll have to prepare it the conventional way.

COOKING TIMES:
The Rival company, the first manufacturer of the crockpot,
offers the following cooking times for adapting recipes. Generally speaking, most recipes will cook in eight to 10 hours on low. Think overnight, or one work day to be complete.

If a recipe says 15 to 30 minutes, cook in the slow-cooker on high for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or on low for four to six hours.

If the recipe says 35 to 45 minutes, cook on high for three to four hours, or on low six to 10 hours.

If it says 50 minutes to three hours, cook on high four to six hours, on low, eight to 18 hours.

Generally quick-cooking foods, rices, pastas and seafood do not do well in the crockpot.