If you’ve bought or are in the market for a slow cooker and you want to find out more, using it to create delicious meals is simple. These are our top tips to get the most from a slow cooker and produce restaurant quality meals with minimal hassle.
How a slow cooker works
A slow cooker surrounds a ceramic pot with gentle, steady heat while the lid traps moisture and flavour inside. Nothing browns, nothing catches, nothing needs stirring. Time does the work that a hot pan usually does, which is why tough, inexpensive cuts come out so tender: hours of low heat gradually break them down in a way no quick fry ever could.
Low or high?
Most recipes offer both, and the settings are more like two routes to the same result. As a rule of thumb, a dish that takes around eight hours on low takes around four to five on high. Low is the better default: it is more forgiving if you are back late, and long and slow is where the deepest flavour comes from. Use high when the day has run away from you and dinner time is approaching.
How much liquid?
Less than you think. Barely anything evaporates under the lid, so a stew that would need covering with stock on the hob might only need enough to come partway up the ingredients in a slow cooker. If you are adapting a normal recipe, cut the liquid back by around a third and trust the process. Too much liquid is a common mistake, you can always add more liquid if needed, but it is harder to take it out.
To brown or not to brown?
Browning meat and softening onions in a pan first adds a layer of savoury depth that the slow cooker cannot create on its own. It is also an extra pan to wash in the morning. It is up to you, brown when you have ten minutes and want the best version of the dish, skip it when you just need everyone to get out of the door on time. The meal works either way.
Keep the lid on
This is the rule that will really change how successful your meals turn out. Every time the lid comes off, heat and steam escape, and the pot can take a good twenty minutes to recover. Resist the urge to have a nose inside. There is no need to stir or check regularly, once in the middle of an 8-hour cook is plenty. Only lift the lid again if things are looking dry and it needs a top up of water or stock.
Layer with a little thought
Heat comes from below, so the bottom of the pot cooks hottest. Put the slowest ingredients down first: carrots, potatoes, parsnips and other root vegetables, with the meat resting on top. Quick-cooking and delicate additions can wait until later in the day. Stir through cream, milk or cheese near the end, add pasta or rice in the final hour or so, and dress with fresh herbs just before serving for a pop of brightness.
A few sensible safety habits
Defrost meat fully before it goes in, because a slow cooker heats too gently to take meat safely from frozen. Aim to get the pot going reasonably soon after loading it rather than leaving raw ingredients sitting at room temperature. Once cooking is done, move to keep warm for serving rather than leaving food on the countertop. Cool leftovers promptly and get them stored in the fridge. If you want to reheat them, do this thoroughly in a pan or the microwave rather than in the slow cooker.
Time to get to work!
Ready to get started? Browse the full range of slow cookers and find the size and style that suits your kitchen, whether that is a compact pot for two or a family-sized machine built for batch cooking. Once yours arrives, come back to these tips and enjoy easier mealtimes.