7 tricks for better slow-cooking in your crock pot

Home made pea soup in a crock pot. Yum! 1 pound dried peas, two smoked pork hocks or smoked ham, 1 small chopped onion, & salt & pepper. Cover with enough water to fill pot 3/4 full. Cook on high until it begins to boil & then turn down to low. Will take about 4 hrs. Stir occasionly & add more water if necessary. Enjoy with warm corn bread.

i have used the same little crockpot for for 34 years. I even make meatloaf in it! full roasts whole chickens come out fully cooked and "fall off bone" tender( just keep a bit of liquid in bottom and NO STUFFING!). actually picked up extra pots and lids that fit base at garage sales so can store lefovers in them for the next meal. throw on base add whatever and next meal is ready!

I have an old dial a number crock pot that I use during the holidays to cook my stuffing, so I can use the oven just for the turkey and it tastes wonderful! I also have one I bought earlier this year that I LOVE!! I make both beef and pork roasts in it and rarely are they NOT frozen! I add either some beef or chicken stock season the meat add cut up onion on top and set it for 8 - 10 hours and its always tender flavorful and DONE, even when I add potatoes n carrots at the beginning. I too also cook a whole chicken in it, and only add a lil water for moisture! Sometimes I wonder who is making up these cooking rules!!

The tip about browning the meat beforehand is a good one, especially with roast (I'm ignoring Tip #6 because it's wrong). When I cook roast, I like to brown it on each side, put it in the crock pot, and then caramelize the onions in the same skillet before adding them to the crock pot. It truly makes a difference. I also do this with beef tips as well, coating them with flour and seasoning before browning. This thickens the gravy as it cooks, so there's no thickening required at the end time.

I use my crock pot all the time, make home made chicken noodle soup, bean soups, and even meatloaf. I have also cooked a turkey breast in my slow cooker. you can cook meats in there, they just have to be not frozen and I cook on high. When I am cooking something like a turkey breast or meatloaf, I only do that on days I am home where I can keep an eye on the process and I cook them on the 'high' setting. Oh yea, I don't have a programmable slow cooker, I have one that cost me like $18 at Wal-Mart 2 Xmas's ago, which I bot to replace one that cost me similar years before that. It has off, low, high settings is all. But with the high setting, I can cook navy beans in about 3-4 hours time for soup!! So, high is HIGH!

I have an older crock pot & it works great! I cook anything I want in it. Roasts are awesome, even make enchilada casserole in it..

OH I LIKE THAT....HI

I like to roast a whole chicken in the crock pot w/seaseoned salt, black pepper and a little poultry seasoning. When it's done, I put it in a pan and place it under the broiler to crisp and brown the skin. It's very good and fall-off-the bone tender.

Sorry, but I have an older-model, bare-bones crockpot, no timers or other doodads, and it works just fine, meats are completely cooked, etc. I DO like to brown meat a little bit before putting it in the crockpot, but that's just a personal preference.

I make whole chickens and roast in my Crock Pot all the time as did my mother before me and her mother before her. No one has died yet.

Seriously, though, buy a programmable crock pot. It will change your life.

you know, if you should only fill the crock pot 2/3rds full, why is there no indicator on the pot to show the 2/3rds level? it always amazes me when you buy an item, and then find out you also need geometry skills to cook in the darn thing...

Ace, please give full recipe for steel-cut oatmeal. What is it? cook on low/high? thank you. I love oatmeal

I also cook beef roasts in my crock pot all the time and have never had a problem....sprinkle a layer of dried onion in bottom of pot, put in frozen roast season with garlic salt and pepper, turn it on high and go about your day.....throw in some potatoes and carrots about an hour before you want to eat, you'll also have lots of juices to make a quick gravy too.

One of my favorite crockpot recipes is simply throw in frozen chicken breasts with your fave barbecue sauce and maybe adding a little honey..a simple and delicious dinner in about 5 hrs (on high)

I have one from the 70's my grandmother gave me. It has High and Low temps. Best part is it's old school, and works like a charm.

I agree, most of these tips aren't really helpful. I put frozen things in my crockpot all the time. I put large roasts and whole birds in, too. I never heat up sauces nor do I brown meat or veggies (somewhat defeats the whole purpose of the crockpot for me). Also, I would say that putting too little in my crockpot has caused more problems than putting too much ever has. When I put too little, things have a tendency to burn around the edges where they meet the crock.

In regards to Tip #1...if you are like me I do not have the money to buy every size crock pot a recipe calls for...in fact one weekend I was listening to KNX 1070 (Los Angeles) with Melinda Lee when this question came in from a listener regarding when a recipe calls for a certain size crock pot..."do I need to go out and buy that size just because the recipe calls for it?" NO. Melinda suggested cutting a piece of parchment paper to the inside diameter of your crock pot and just laying it on top. When you use a crock pot larger than suggested the cooking times can be thrown off and the meat dry. Putting the parchement down on top keeps the liquids from evaporating. I have never had issues with my meals I make in my crock pot, this might be because I usually put my meat in frozen to keep them from drying out.

In Asia, there are lots of fantastic stew dishes that use pork, beef, chicken, and game meats. Whereas, in the states, most stews are beef. Amercians really don't know how to stew pork and chicken.

Crock pots rock!!!

I cook medium sized boneless beef roasts in my crock pot. They're fall-apart tender after cooking on low for about 5 hours, and high for about an hour or 2 more. It's not rocket science. You can check for doneness with a meat thermometer. You have to be using a really old or inappropriately-sized crock pot to not be able to do a roast in 7 hours.

Some cuts of beef are better potroasted (or slow-cooked) than others. Ask your meat counter guy.
You can find tons of delicious recipes online.
DO slowcooking! It's totally delicious, great time management meals, and great for your pocketbook, too.