10 Of The Smartest Slow Cooker Hacks Ever

I like the vacations, and I like making our favourite vacation dishes, however as soon as January rolls round I are likely to really feel a bit burnt-out on cooking. However there are solely so many nights in a row you possibly can order pizza earlier than you begin feeling unhealthy about it! 😉 To keep away from the January pizza marathon, I’m planning on utilizing my crockpot as a lot as doable!

Whereas scouring the web for sluggish cooker recipes lately, I got here throughout a couple of sensible sluggish cooker hacks that I knew I needed to share right here on the weblog. I threw in a couple of hacks of my very own, and voila, this checklist of ten must-know sluggish cooker hacks was born! For those who’ll be becoming a member of me in taking part in “Simply-Say-No-To-Cooking January” (which I simply made up) I believe you’ll discover some helpful suggestions in right here. 🙂

1. Two-For-One

Use tin foil to create a divider within the heart of your crockpot. Place a sluggish cooker liner excessive and push it down into the 2 cavities. Now you should utilize your crockpot to cook dinner or warmth up two dips or soups!

2. Double Boiler

Fill your crockpot with a couple of inches of scorching water, and you should utilize it as a double boiler! Simply put no matter you’re melting in a glass mason jar and place the jar into the water. This trick is nice for melting chocolate, making salves, and extra!

3. Catch Condensation

Catch drips of condensation earlier than they attain your meals by putting a towel or a thick paper towel beneath the closed lid of your crockpot. That is actually helpful for making issues like crockpot brownies and bread that are likely to get soggy.

4. Humidifier

Use your crockpot as a humidifier! Simply fill your crockpot with heat water and switch it on excessive. Moisture will begin to escape the crockpot after an hour or so, humidifying no matter room it’s in. Humidifiers could be a lifesaver within the winter, as the nice and cozy, dry air from furnaces can dry out your nasal passages, which might improve your possibilities of getting sick.

5. Avoiding Crockpot Catastrophes

For those who’re including cream or cheese to your crockpot recipe, add it in the direction of the tip of the cooking time to keep away from unintentionally curdling the dairy. Likewise, gadgets which might be already cooked will break down shortly in your crockpot, so add cooked pasta, veggies, and beans in the direction of to your crockpot close to the finish of the cooking course of.

6. Erase Residue

Regardless of our greatest cleansing efforts, the detachable stoneware in a crockpot can develop a white residue over time. This residue may be dissolved utilizing white vinegar, or a mix of white vinegar and baking soda. Simply sprinkle baking soda contained in the stoneware, then pour or spray a little bit of vinegar onto it. Wash afterwards with heat, soapy water.

7. Sear Your Meat

For meat dishes and recipes, you possibly can obtain a a lot richer and fuller taste by searing your meat on a scorching pan earlier than placing it within the crockpot. Searing meat at excessive temperatures creates caramelization on the floor, which is able to infuse your last dish with a extra developed taste than you’d have the ability to obtain with out searing.

8. Preserve A Lid On It

Until your recipe instructs you to stir in the course of the cooking course of, maintain your palms off that lid! Each time you take away the lid throughout cooking, a considerable amount of warmth is misplaced, and it may well take as much as 30 minutes to regain the misplaced warmth.

9. Rescue Runny Soups & Sauces

Alternatively, in case your crockpot creation is just too liquid-y in your tastes, you’ll WANT to take away the lid. Eradicating the lid permits the liquid content material in your dish to cut back, leading to a thicker last product.

10. Keep away from Dry Meat

Slow cookers are likely to work greatest with bigger, fattier cuts of meat. When fats is cooked slowly at a low temperature, it melts into the meat which retains the entire thing moist and scrumptious. Leaner cuts have much less fats, and so they can flip robust and dry in a sluggish cooker. For those who’re cooking a lean meat, it’s greatest to make use of a big piece, which is able to dry out extra slowly than a smaller piece. (For example, hen breasts will dry out fairly shortly, however an entire hen will keep very moist!)

Bonus Slow Cooker Suggestions!

11. Adapt Recipes For Crockpots

With a couple of easy alterations, you could make lots of your favourite customary recipes in your crockpot! Obtain my helpful printable information to changing recipes for crockpot use by following the hyperlink under.

Learn Extra: Stovetop/Oven to Crockpot Conversion Chart

12. Clear The Inside Of The Cooker

The detachable stoneware a part of your crockpot is simple sufficient to scrub in your dishwasher or by hand, however what concerning the precise cooker half? Spills occur, and might get crusted on to the inside of the cooker. However it’s doable to scrub away these stains!

Learn Extra: A Easy Manner To Clear The Inside Of Your Slow Cooker

13. Make One thing Attention-grabbing

Past the same old meat dishes, soups, and stews you’re accustomed to making, there are all types of issues you can also make utilizing your sluggish cooker! I wrote a publish a couple of months again about uncommon issues you can also make in your crockpot, masking every part from brownies to crayons!

Learn Extra: 10 Uncommon Issues You Didn’t Know You May Make In Your Crockpot

14. Give Your Crockpot A Makeover

Chalkboard crockpots are very “in” proper now, and for good motive! It’s a enjoyable and straightforward strategy to label what’s cooking inside, so you possibly can serve meals proper out of if and your visitors will know precisely what they’re getting. It additionally appears to be like smooth and complex by itself! However you don’t have to exit and purchase a brand new crockpot to money in on this pattern – simply give your current crockpot a makeover!

Learn Extra: How To Give Your Crockpot A Enjoyable And Practical Makeover