How to Prepare and Cook Slow Cooker Meat Dishes

Posted on March 2nd, 2009 in General Info by CrockPot

There are many kitchen equipment and tools that you need to have. One of these is a slow cooker. This is probably one of the most convenient cooking tools that you can have for your kitchen. You can try out numerous recipes using this cooking tool. This is especially great if you live a busy life. You don’t have to resort to takeouts after a day’s work and a long commute. You can always use your slow cooker to fix delicious meals.

This is also particularly helpful during the holidays when you want to try out various meat recipes. There are many slow cooker meat dishes that you can cook using this tool. Below are several cooking tips for slow cooker meat dishes.

Follow Cooking Instructions

When cooking meat in your slow cooker, you need to be very particular about the cooking instructions. It is very important that you follow these instructions carefully. When using the slow cooker, you need to make sure that the internal temperature reaches the recommended temperature for a particular type of meat. For instance, the temperature needs to be as high as 170 degrees Fahrenheit when cooking beef or as high as 190 degrees Fahrenheit when you are cooking poultry dishes. It is very important that you follow the recommended temperature and length of cooking period in order to make sure that all meat bacteria is killed while cooking.
However, you should remember that cooking meat at high temperatures can result to tougher meat pieces, so you should consider using a low setting when cooking less tender cuts or if you are planning an all-day cooking spree.

Get the Right Slow Cooker Size

There are different kinds of slow cookers that you can purchase and use. They all come in various sizes. You might want to consider getting a large one for your slow cooker meat dishes. Make sure that your slow cooker can handle large pieces. Often, it takes time to cook a particularly large piece of meat, so you can never really kill the bacteria. Smaller pieces of meat though are better cooked using the slow cooker. The meat is juicier and the cooking is faster. In fact, it is faster to cook meat in a slow cooker than to cook vegetables in it.

Prepare the Meat Right

Before you get down to actually cooking the meat, you should first make sure that you prepare it correctly. Defrost it well before you actually place it inside your slow cooker. You should also trim the fats off your poultry or meat before you start cooking it. Meat fats generally increase liquid temperature and decreases the actual cooking time. You could end up with slow cooker meat dish that has been overcooked.

Know the Best Slow Cooker Meat Recipes

Tougher meat cuts are best with slow cooker recipes. You need to know what kind of meat is perfect for any particular dish before you actually start cooking. For instance, when following a recipe that requires ground beef, do not just purchase any ground beef. Browned beef are best for slow cooker meat dishes. Although it is not necessary that you brown the meat before you start slow cooking, it is still advisable. The flavor of the meat is enhanced if you first do so. Also, if you are going to make pot roasts, you should first pour liquid over the meat before you start cooking it.

Slow cooker meat dishes are great if you know how to prepare and cook them well. If you have a slow cooker, you are definitely in for a treat. Just make sure that you know how to cook meat in slow cookers properly before you attempt to whip up fine slow cooker meat dishes.

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Healthy and Easy Crock Pot Recipes

Posted on February 24th, 2009 in General Info by CrockPot

Now we can enjoy home cooked foods done without much supervision but with delicate quality that even gourmets would love. This is possible with crock pot recipes which are simple to prepare and cook yet incredibly appetizing.

Home cooking is a healthy way to enjoy 3 quality meals daily. Though fast foods are temptingly tastier and more convenient to have, most are also fast becoming unhealthy foods because of their synthetic ingredients and trans-fat contents. But we don’t have to limit ourselves with fast food meals. With crock pot recipes we have an alternative to opt for good old home cooked and tasty dishes. And no worry about the time needed for heavy preparation and cooking. Crock pot recipes are easy to prepare and cook.

Crock pot recipes take little time to prepare. Chop everything that needs chopping—like vegetables and spices—slice the meat or fish, put everything in a crock pot slow cooker, turn it on and that’s it. Just leave to the crock pot to cook everything slowly but surely. If we plan Crock pot recipes for supper, we can have everything prepared early morning and place them in the slow cooker, turn on and then leave for work. By the time we arrive in the evening, the delectable dish will be waiting for us, still warm and fresh from the crock pot.

The secret in being able to leave the automatic cooker to cook the crock pot recipes by itself is the crock pot timer. The timer is designed to slow cook everything in the pot for hours. We can set the timer to 8 hours and leave for work. All the while we are out, the crock pot slow-cooks the main food and ingredients, gradually tenderizing meat to ooze out flavors and mix together with other spices until a subtly blended concoction comes out of the crock pot recipe by the time we get back from work. Just imagine the finely delightful scent that would welcome us at the door.

When the timer hits 8 hours, the crock pot automatically shifts to a gentle heat to keep crock pot recipes warm but not over cooked. For lunch viands, crock pot recipes may be cooked early in the morning or the night before and then kept in the fridge until eating time. Then, the crock pot recipe may be heated gently through the crock pot. Thus, home cooking has never been made as easy as crock pot recipes in slow cookers.
 

Tags: Crock Pot, Recipes, Slow Cooker, Cooking, Crockpot

Crock Pot Temperatures – Is Your Crock Pot Working Properly?

Posted on January 31st, 2009 in General Info by CrockPot

You probably have several kitchen appliances. Many of these appliances are fairly versatile and one of them is the crock pot. If you want to maximize the use of your appliance, however, it is very important that you should understand crock pot temperatures. How is a crock pot build? What is its internal heating element? Testing crock pot temperatures also determine whether or not you need to get a new appliance or not.

Crock Pot Temperatures

All crock pots or slow cookers have internal heating structure. Usually, this is placed at the insert’s center. This way, the food will not be burnt at the bottom. Usually, crock pot temperatures are indicated by the appliance’s temperature settings which often include low, high and warm selections. Since these machines are often use for all-day slow cooking, crock pots generally run on even and slow temperatures. This way you can prevent liquid evaporation, so you end up with perfectly cooked foods at the end of the day.

Average crock pot temperatures range from 200 degrees Fahrenheit for low to 300 degrees Fahrenheit for high. Of course, these temperatures vary depending on the brand and the model of your appliance. Basically, you can cook foods on low temperatures for as long as 12 hours. You can set the temperature on high if you intend to cook your food for no longer than 6 hours. You cannot, however, go beyond the maximum cooking hours. Otherwise, you would overcook the food. Usually, recipes come with temperature approximations.

Depending on the brand, high crock pot temperatures can cause the appliance to heat up. It is a good idea to get a hot pad in order to protect your counter.

Testing Your Crock Pot Temperatures

Unless your crock pot has completely fallen apart, how do you really know if it is working properly? Slow cooking can have its benefits, but not if your crock pot is painstakingly taking its time to cook your food. How do you know if your crock pot temperatures are correct? At a temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit, your slow cooker or crock pot should be able to heat a dish within four hours. If your appliance fails to do so, you should consider purchasing a new one.

In order to know whether you need a new crock pot or not, you should try this test:

Get your crock pot and fill half of it with water and then place the lid. Set the temperature to low and cook for 8 hours. After the lapse of eight hours, immediately remove the slow cooker’s lid and then measure the water temperature. The temperature should be 85 degrees Celsius. If it is lower than that, you need to get a new crock pot.

All crock pots have internal heating system. Crock pot temperatures vary between low, medium and high. You need to test your appliance temperature in order to check if it is working. You might not know if you need a new one.

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Convenient Slow Cooker Cooking Food by Itself

Posted on December 24th, 2008 in General Info by CrockPot

How else can people cook gourmet food by merely leaving everything to a cooking pot, go somewhere else, and come back later to a perfectly cooked meal? This is only possible with a convenient slow cooker cooking food by itself.

Automatic slow cookers are designed to make special cooking an easy thing to busy people. People with no time to cook or first-timers with little experience in gastronomy can now cook food with quality similar to what chefs produce. This is all hinged on the principle of a slow cooker cooking food for them—while they go on with their regular schedules.

After shopping for the ingredients and preparing them as recipes indicate (chop, slice, wash, peel, measure, etc.), people can just shove everything inside the magical pot, turn it on, set the timer, and then forget all about it. The slow cooker cooking food the way food should be cooked will take care of everything. In fact, the trick here is that no human intervention should be present once the lead cover is placed on the cooker and the timer is set.

The slow cooker cooking food all by itself should be given freedom and enough time to slow cook food. The key to a perfectly cooked meal with all the freshness and nutrition intact is through slow cooking. Tenderizing meat without sacrificing quality and mixing food flavors to a perfect evenness is done through steady low heat. If medium or high heat is applied, meat may reduce in size, lose flavor, or even burn. Vegetables would be overcooked.

Thus, with low heat, a slow cooker cooking food is better left to itself. After all, this is how slow cookers are designed. And this frees people from being tied down to the kitchen when cooking up something really special. They can now enjoy their favorite TV shows, pocket books, special time with the family, go to work, attend to a chore, surf the Net, talk long on the phone, etc., and not ruin their cooking. When they get back to the kitchen at the set time, dinner is ready.

Start the slow cooker cooking food for lunch or supper in the morning. Set timer to 2 or 4 hours, even up to 12 hours, to cook. If started at, say, 7 am, and the timer is set to 5 hours, lunch will be perfectly cooked by the time people get back home at 12 noon.

A slow cooker cooking food by itself has really revolutionized home cooking.

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Cheap Slow Cooker Models to Consider

Posted on December 19th, 2008 in General Info by CrockPot

Here are some helps to get more value for one’s money when buying slow cookers. Good quality but cheap slow cooker models are available at less than 25 English pounds.

Cordon Bleu is a quality but cheap slow cooker model with a 3.5-liter capacity and stainless steel make mixed with some black plastic parts. It has a tempered glass lid, a warming function, and fitted with slide-proof rubber soles. It runs on a 160-190 Watt power. This cheap slow cooker model makes a very presentable cooking device in one’s kitchen.

Cookworks Round Slow Cooker also has a 3.5 -liter capacity, and with tempered glass lid, easy-switch timer, and elegant slightly tall white body. It looks great in the kitchen, giving it a touch of culinary sophistication. It may look expensive but it’s really a cheap slow cooker model.

Rival SCV400CR slow cooker is a bit shorter but it has a roomy round body, a tempered glass lid, and cooking timer for setting cooking span and with warming function. This hard-working but cheap slow cooker model makes slow cooking experience a delight each time.

Frigidaire FCLSC35 is a 3.5-liter slow cooker equipped with a special toughened glass lid cover and low or high heat cooking setting. It has a removable oval pot inside that is dishwasher-proof. The handles are heat-proof for easy handling and the oval pot can be used as a serving dish. This practical and cheap slow cooker model also has a slip-proof base and runs on a 240-Watt power.

Try also the Micromark 52189 cheap slow cooker model that runs on a 225-Watt power and has a content capacity of 3.5 liters. It has two heat options (low and high) and a warming food control. The ceramic bowl inside is removable and may be used as a serving bowl. It has a durable tempered glass lid, an off and on indicator, and an elegant white color.

Crock-Pot SC7500IUK is a bigger cheap slow cooker model with a 4.7-liter food content capacity. It allows 3 cooking options—high or low heat, and a food warming control. It is designed to be dishwasher-safe and with non-slip foot base.

Finally, there’s the Morphy Richards 48710 S/S cheap slow cooker model with a silvery elegant look, 3,5-liter capacity, automatic settings, dishwasher-safe feature, and runs on a 200-Watt power. With this model, cooking food is made even easier with automatic cooking and heat settings.

With less than 25 English pounds, good quality but cheap slow cooker models are possible.

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Amazing Slow Cooker Food!

Posted on December 11th, 2008 in General Info by CrockPot

Slow cooking is starting to become a popular method of preparing food. It is because of the convenience of using a slow cooker. It is definitely easy to cook food using slow cookers, as it is not that tedious and time-consuming as other detailed methods such as baking or grilling. Also, the slow cooker food that can be prepared varies greatly, and is very delicious as well. It is a good alternative cooking method not only for beginners but for those experienced in the kitchen.

You can make great meals with slow cookers too. Just because it is convenient, easy to use, and electronic, does not mean the quality of your food will diminish greatly. Slow cooker food generally still tastes the same, sometimes even better.

Slow cooker foods are comprised of simple ingredients. Slow cooker foods generally involve raw food, usually meat, fish, or vegetables. The raw food is then immersed into a lot of liquid placed in the cooker itself. The liquid can be (preheated) water, or stock, or it can be another liquid used in cooking, depending on your recipe’s specifications. After placing the uncooked foodstuff into the water, you can start cooking by switching the slow cooker on. This is the typical way of preparing slow cooker meals. In a way, it is similar to boiling or steaming the food for your meals. As you can see, it is so simple to do, and the outcome is excellent, even when compared to the actual traditional methods of cooking the food you have.

An even interesting fact is that you can use the recipes you have been keeping or using in your kitchen. Yes, it is quite possible to do this. All you need is to make some changes and modifications to the recipe you are familiar with. If you’re not a handy expert with recipes, however, a lot of cookbooks, and even some online resources, offer readymade slow cooker recipes for your meals. Indeed, with a slow cooker, you can do a lot. The slow cooker foods you can produce can be as simple as a daily meal, a pastry desert such as cake, and even gourmet dishes!

Slow cookers offer convenient alternatives for you to prepare your food. With the resources and possibilities easily available to you, you too can start using a slow cooker on your own to make your very own slow cooker food. You can become your very own chef with just one handy modern cooking utensil. So go ahead, and try it yourself!

Tags: Food, Cooker, Slow Cooker, Crockpot, Recipes

Crock Pot: Purchasing and Care

Posted on September 22nd, 2007 in General Info by CrockPot

Crock pots have many benefits and it provides a new way of preparing food. Many people opt to use the crock pot slow cooker because of the convenience it provides and cooking without looking is possible.

People should be aware of the do’s and don’ts when buying a crock pot slow cooker and also put into consideration some important points to remember in purchasing a crock pot slow cooker.

The things that should be put into consideration before buying a crock pot slow cooker are first the size of the family. Crock pots sizes vary from 1 pint to 7 quart capacity. A bigger pot is needed for cooking large amount of food. Next are the features of the crock pot like the keep warm features, the delayed start and the temperature variations. These features are necessary to achieve the easy cooking principle of crock pots.

The crock pot slow cooker should be complete which has the heating element in the sides of the appliance. The crock pot should have a removable liner for easy cleaning. The removable liner should be dishwasher safe.

When buying a crock pot slow cooker the following features may be available. The multiple heat settings provide different options for cooking the contents. Then the glass lid makes monitoring of the food easy without removing the lid. There must be a non stick interior and convenient cleaning feature in which the parts can be disassembled.

It is also important to follow the manufacturer’s instruction on how to use the crock pot slow cooker. This will ensure safety and effectivity of the appliance.

When using the crock pot, the safety of the user and the household members should be the priority. These cookers are movable with hot surface and also contains hot liquid therefore children and pets are at risks for accidents like scald burns. The way to void this is to secure the pot in a place that is away from children and pets like in the high countertop instead in the table. In short proper placement of the appliance will avoid big accidents.

Cleaning the crock pot slow cooker is easy. You just need to soak the removable parts then scrub off the stains using an abrasive cleaner and rinse.

Careful considerations of things before purchasing a product are important to avoid hazards and to get the expected results. Following the product handbook is very important also. Safety features should be the priority.

The introduction of crock pots in the market is a proof that manufacturers want the best for the people in terms of cooking and dining.

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Crock Pot Slow Cookers: How to Care for Them

Posted on September 21st, 2007 in General Info by CrockPot

Crock pot slow cookers are here once again. And it’s really nice to see their comeback to the world of home cooking after having been (close enough to being) nearly forgotten years after their first emergence to the society.

But then, even though a lot of people are already familiar with how to care for this type of cookery – in order to make these crock pot slow cookers last longer in one’s kitchen – there are still those who have never encountered them before, and are probably at a loss on what to do in terms of cleaning and caring for these cooking equipments.

For these people, one thing that they should take note of is that it’s actually very simple to ensure that the working capacity of these crock pot slow cookers are kept in good shape and condition.

Incredulous of what we are saying here? Well, allow us to show you some guidelines that can make the experience of newly-introduced individuals to the world of crock pot slow cookers easier to live on.

Here are a few tips that they can follow at home:

* Never remove the top while cooking.
When cooking on a stovetop, the usual gesture of a cook, to check if the food is already ready to serve, is to open the lid of the pot.

With crock pot slow cookers, this isn’t recommended since this would only prolong the time involved in cooking, and would also cause the cookery to decrease or lose the heating level it works on.

* Do not pour cold water to cool this cooking appliance.
In the attempt, perhaps, to cool crock pot slow cookers, in order to make it easier to remove the morsels of food stuck on the inside, an individual would probably pour cold water into it.

However, doing so may affect the heating element, and may make the inner parts crack.

* Thaw frozen foods before cooking with the use of crock pot slow cookers.
First-timers should take note of this: It would be wise to thaw foods first before adding them to the crock pot slow cookers. If not, this would only increase the hours involved in cooking.

* Use vinegar to remove stains.
Scraping the insides would only result in unsightly scratch marks that would be hard to cover up. A cup of vinegar mixed with hot water can help loosen the stains, and make the chore less difficult.

So, for those who would like to know how to care for crock pot slow cookers, better remember that it’s not a hard task to deal with. With these tips, one should be able to make these cooking equipments work effectively for a long time.

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A Buffet Slow Cooker and Server Bonus

Posted on September 16th, 2007 in General Info by CrockPot

Cook stylish food the easy way and have its full flavors come out through an effortless style that beats any home-cooking tradition. Then the choice is to cook with Buffet Slow Cooker and Server for the desired results.

Buffet food preparation can be made easier with Buffet Slow Cooker and Server. This slow cooker has a dual function feature of being a slow cooker and a server. No need to transfer food from cooker or pot or oven to a dish server or bowl before putting in on the buffet table. Now, with Buffet Slow Cooker and Server, food serving is as easy as cook and serve.

Actually, the culinary innovations of Buffet Slow Cooker and Server go past beyond food serving. It really starts from food preparation, to cooking, and finally to food serving, until dish washing. Buffet Slow Cooker and Server units are dishwasher friendly.
Cooking is simple as preparing the ingredients, placing them in the Buffet Slow Cooker and Server, heat, and come back at dinner time for the buffet meal. Stone wares of Buffet Slow Cooker and Server have various designs to make them function as dish servers. No need to transfer cooked food from the slow cooker to a separate dish server. The Buffet Slow Cooker and Server is both a slow cooker and a dish server. This makes for an easy buffet server.

Cooking is made easy with Buffet Slow Cooker and Server. Just put all the ingredients in the sow cooker, close and heat, and let the Buffet Slow Cooker and Server do its job—as easy as that. Prepare the ingredients in the morning, leave everything in the slow cooker to cook, go to the office, and come back to a bursting aroma and swell, well cooked, and well blended dinner recipe the family will love.

The Buffet Slow Cooker and Server is fitted with an 8-hour timer digital clock and a temperature control. This is the secret to a no-burn, well cooked food that is gradually cooked and treated. Best of all, the Buffet Slow Cooker and Server automatically shifts to a fine simmering or warming of food to keep dinner delightfully warm but not over cooked.

Buffet Slow Cooker and Server is a dual breakthrough in home slow cooking. It affords gentle and no supervision cooking of foods and a simpler buffet service where food is served directly from the Buffet Slow Cooker and Server stoneware itself.

Tags: Cooking, Cooker, Crock Pot Cooker Parts, Slow Cooker, Rival Crock Pot

Special and Common Crock Pot Ingredients

Posted on September 13th, 2007 in General Info by CrockPot

Cooking dishes with crock pot slow cookers result in a well blended crockpot ingredients that gradually and gently ooze subtle savory tastes from the richness of natural food flavors. Thus, dishes cooked in slow cookers stand out well at dinner tables. So a factor here is the combination of crockpot ingredients that make good crockpot recipes.

Crockpot chicken recipes often go well with thick barbecue sauces or buttered marinades. Crockpot chicken recipes are often enhanced with crock pot ingredients like enriching broth seasonings, cream soups, a few dashes of rosemary seasoning, and sometimes even regular spaghetti sauce. Sautéed garlic or ginger or both, oriental soy sauce and lemon marinade, and flour spiced up with pepper and garlic powder, are among favorite crockpot ingredients.

For crockpot pork recipes, among the best crockpot ingredients to exploit the flavor juices of pork are the following: a breaded flour mix or simple flour mixed with a little garlic powder. Pork chops can also be marinated and mixed with crockpot ingredients like lavish chopped onions, garlic, and soy sauce. Such regular crockpot ingredients as paprika, Worcestershire sauce, and ketchup can also perk up the flavor of pork. The thick cream of mushroom soup mix is also a succulent crockpot ingredient.

Among crockpot ingredients that boost the richness of beef recipes are peppercorns and Worcestershire sauce, with a mix of crock pot favorite chopped onions and tomato paste. And how about the stew itself where the beef has been boiled and tenderized for hours? Mixed with a few chopped garlic and onions, carrots, potatoes, and broth seasoning, this crockpot ingredient makes for a mouth-watering beef casserole.

Crockpot vegetable recipes often have the most ingredients, many of which are also vegetable crockpot ingredients. Most vegetable cuisines are spiced with chili, red or green pepper, pepper granules or powder, garlic powder, onions, garlic cloves, tomatoes, celery, parsley, and curry powder. The common major crockpot ingredients in vegetable recipes are beans, string beans, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms, and broccoli.

Finally, here are uncommon crockpot ingredients: Apricot can a good crockpot ingredient. Like in a Apricot Nut Bread crockpot recipe. Dried apricots are used to liven up the fruity flavor of the recipe. Another unusual crockpot ingredient is red wine, as in a Beef Buorguinon crockpot recipe. Red wine and bacon are among the crock pot ingredients that perk up the taste of beef.

Crockpot ingredients are a culinary interplay of both common and special ingredients that result into super dishes and cuisines.

Tags: Crockpot, Slow Cooker, Recipes, Cooking, Crock Pot Cooker Parts