Crockpot Cooking - Advantages and Disadvantages

Written by Tony Buel


In my 'un-biased' opinion,repparttar crockpot / slow cooker is one ofrepparttar 145310 most convenient and easy to use appliances in my kitchen. The time savings features ofrepparttar 145311 slow cooker andrepparttar 145312 delicious dinners that have resulted more than offset any minor drawbacks.

Before I list my top reasons whyrepparttar 145313 crockpot isrepparttar 145314 most useful appliance in any kitchen, I will list a few ofrepparttar 145315 areas where it does not perform as well.

- Large cuts of meat such as boneless prime rib or leg of lamb are still best when oven roasted.

- Except for stews and chowders,repparttar 145316 slow cooker does not cook fish very well.

- The slow cooker collects a lot ofrepparttar 145317 juices sincerepparttar 145318 steam does not escape during cooking and these juices can become diluted and watery, which can affectrepparttar 145319 flavoring ofrepparttar 145320 food.

- If not careful, a slow cooker can overcook food -especially some of repparttar 145321 more tender meats and poultry.

Converting a Recipe for your Crockpot

Written by Tony Buel


Crockpots vary butrepparttar low setting is typically around 100 degrees and its high setting is around 300 degrees.

Knowing this, it is fairly easy to convert most recipes for use in your slow cooker. Some adjusments to cooking times will be a judgement call on your part, but some simple guidelines should help. Just follow a few simple rules and you're on your way.

You should decreaserepparttar 145309 liquid since it does not boil away in a crockpot.

Add cheeses and other milk product towardsrepparttar 145310 end of your cooking since they tend to break down if they are cooked for too long.

Brown any ground beef before adding torepparttar 145311 crockpot. It will taste better and have better texture this way.

Add rice and noodles atrepparttar 145312 end of your cooking as well. They will turn mushy if they are cooked too long. You can cook these separately and then combine them when it's time to serve.

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