Crock-pot Comeback
How to Slow Down
Dust off that old Crock-Pot and change the way your family eats (and cooks)
Slow cooking, for anyone who hasn't tried it, can save you time, money, and weeknight panic. Even better, it can give you warm and nourishing one-pot meals every family member will enjoy.
Epicurious talked to Lora Brody, author of Slow Cooker Cooking, about how to make the most of Crock-Pot cooking. The mother of three sons (all of them grown now and all of them cooks), Brody has been using her Crock-Pot for decades. She recommended several family-friendly recipes from her book, including caramelized onions ('Strangers will ring your bell to ask what you're cooking, because it smells fantastic'), and offered a few of her best tips.
Expert Tips
• Buy the biggest slow cooker you can get (e.g., a six-quart), so you can make enough for leftovers. I freeze leftovers in a plastic bag, then just dunk that in water to defrost, or microwave. My favorite is the slow cooker that Michael Graves did for Target. It's the cutest thing. Also, less is more — you don't need all the fancy programmable stuff.
• Get your teenagers to use it — this is a way to get them into the kitchen. It's straightforward and safe.
• Take the time to braise the meat ahead of time. It really makes a difference; the food will be much more attractive and it will taste better.
• Don't put mushy stuff like rice on the bottom — it'll become more like porridge. Meats or vegetables are better on the bottom.
• If you end up with more cooking liquid than you want at the end, empty it into a saucepan and reduce it. Don't add salt until the very end.
• The marriage of the slow cooker and the immersion blender was made in heaven. Put vegetables in a slow cooker, for example, and just before serving, use the blender to purée them right in the cooker.
• The slow cooker is a good place to make fillings for other things, like pizza or calzones. Buy frozen pizza dough in the supermarket and put in your homemade filling.
• Any recipe that involves braising or stewing can be adapted to the slow cooker. Be careful with fish, though, because it could fall apart. Don't add as much liquid as a recipe calls for; try cutting the liquid in half. And don't salt ahead of time.
• Try cooking at night rather than letting it go all day. Then you have the option of checking on it in the morning to see if it's done. Once it cools, put it in the refrigerator, and when you're ready to eat, heat it up — it's actually better.
Lora Brody's latest book is The Cape Cod Table.
Dust off that old Crock-Pot and change the way your family eats (and cooks)
Slow cooking, for anyone who hasn't tried it, can save you time, money, and weeknight panic. Even better, it can give you warm and nourishing one-pot meals every family member will enjoy.
Epicurious talked to Lora Brody, author of Slow Cooker Cooking, about how to make the most of Crock-Pot cooking. The mother of three sons (all of them grown now and all of them cooks), Brody has been using her Crock-Pot for decades. She recommended several family-friendly recipes from her book, including caramelized onions ('Strangers will ring your bell to ask what you're cooking, because it smells fantastic'), and offered a few of her best tips.
Expert Tips
• Buy the biggest slow cooker you can get (e.g., a six-quart), so you can make enough for leftovers. I freeze leftovers in a plastic bag, then just dunk that in water to defrost, or microwave. My favorite is the slow cooker that Michael Graves did for Target. It's the cutest thing. Also, less is more — you don't need all the fancy programmable stuff.
• Get your teenagers to use it — this is a way to get them into the kitchen. It's straightforward and safe.
• Take the time to braise the meat ahead of time. It really makes a difference; the food will be much more attractive and it will taste better.
• Don't put mushy stuff like rice on the bottom — it'll become more like porridge. Meats or vegetables are better on the bottom.
• If you end up with more cooking liquid than you want at the end, empty it into a saucepan and reduce it. Don't add salt until the very end.
• The marriage of the slow cooker and the immersion blender was made in heaven. Put vegetables in a slow cooker, for example, and just before serving, use the blender to purée them right in the cooker.
• The slow cooker is a good place to make fillings for other things, like pizza or calzones. Buy frozen pizza dough in the supermarket and put in your homemade filling.
• Any recipe that involves braising or stewing can be adapted to the slow cooker. Be careful with fish, though, because it could fall apart. Don't add as much liquid as a recipe calls for; try cutting the liquid in half. And don't salt ahead of time.
• Try cooking at night rather than letting it go all day. Then you have the option of checking on it in the morning to see if it's done. Once it cools, put it in the refrigerator, and when you're ready to eat, heat it up — it's actually better.
Lora Brody's latest book is The Cape Cod Table.
