Whether you live alone or with a family, life hacks will always come in handy. Preparing dishes using a slow cooker is one of the most convenient and hassle-free ways to end up with nutritious meals. Here are a few tips shared by the Huffington Post.
Heat settings can be used as a template for different dishes you may want to cook up. High settings are best for soups, casseroles, puddings, and stewed fruits. High temperature is 212 degrees Fahrenheit or 100 degrees Celsius.
Low settings are the standard for slow cooking. These settings are best used for braised food, roasts, stews, ribs, shanks, chops, not-so-tender meat, and other soups. Low temperature is around 200 degrees Fahrenheit or 93 degrees Celsius.
Settings that allow for simmering are best for stocks and soups. They allow for much longer cooking time that really releases the flavor of your dish. Simmer settings are around 185 degrees Fahrenheit or 85 degrees Celsius.
Warm settings are not used to cook food. As the name suggests, this setting is only to keep food warm ahead of the meal. Warm settings are around 165 degrees Fahrenheit or 74 degrees Celsius.
Preparation hacks save you so much time that it would be crazy not to try any of these. Try lining a slow cooker with aluminum foil that helps cook food evenly, Eat At Home Cooks suggests. It has the added benefit of keeping the slow cooker cleaner. To maximize the slow cooker, fill it up to around two-thirds for even cooking. Trimming fat from the food also makes dishes less greasy.
Using the slow cooker as a double broiler is also possible. Simply fill insert halfway with water and add ingredients to a bowl. This slows down the cooking process for those scrumptious overnight recipes.
Slow cookers can also be used as a steamer too. First, use platform in the insert. Stacked lemongrass stalks work very well. Now, place food for steaming on top of platform. Fill insert with water until just before the top of the lemongrass rack. Steam away!
Poaching chicken is easily done by placing chicken on a bed of herbs. Fill insert to that chicken is covered and cook for 2 to 3 hours.
The best kinds of meat for slow cookers are brisket, pork, lamb shoulder, short ribs, lamb shanks, chuck roasts, and chicken thighs. The worst meats to use are lean meats, chicken breast, and pork tenderloin. Soft vegetables like mushrooms and tomatoes, pasta, rice, and dairy, are best added towards the end of the cooking cycle.
