How to Slow Cooker

The slow cooker is known for letting you "set it and forget it", but getting your recipes to taste good is another matter!

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Some good links:

[MsJudiXO]

There's a blog called 365 days of crock pot and my favorite, a year of slow cooking. As the names imply, you'll find a plethora of recipes. My favorite is the Indian chicken curry. I make it without chicken sometimes and just add extra sweet potato or eggplant and it's delicious.

[museofthepoets]

Slow cooker liners are a life saver. They save me so much time. Not terribly economical or environmentally friendly, but they save me so much time on scrubbing, soaking, and rinsing out my slow cooker insert.

[allisonhealy]

Does anyone else get really excited when they see it’s a Hank episode? He’s engaging and doesn’t seem like he’s talking down at me.

[loganl]

I love using my slow cooker to make broths. I don't have to worry about stuff scorching to the bottom of the vessel, so I can let my chicken broth go for as long as i can to get out all of the flavor. Same thing with veggie broth! Just throw in your bones and/or veggie scraps, cover with water, and let it simmer for a while (I usually go for at least 24 hours. As long as the temp is high enough, you don't have to worry about germs/spoilage).

[brittanyalways]

I never pre-heat & almost never thaw...but I'm a huge fan of the "dump" recopies. Throw a bunch of stuff in, come home from work, and there's dinner. Yum. Slow cookers are the best!

[hyackley]

I didn't realize a crockpot was a brand name! Imma call it a slow cooker from now on then... Which is handy to know considering I bought one yesterday!

[Alverant]

If you can, buy an oval slow cooker so you can fit in wider pieces of meat like baby back ribs.

You want your meat to thaw, but adding a bag of frozen peas half-way through the cooking time is good. Otherwise, the peas get too mushy from overcooking.

Layer your ingredients. You want the hard root veggies (carrots, potatoes, etc) on the bottom and things like onions, peas, tomatoes up on top.

Use spices. Things like bay leaves and cinnamon sticks work great in a slow cooker. (Adding a cinnamon stick to beef stew is wonderful, don't knock it until you try it.)

[hyackley]

Also, a how to live alone video would be fantastic. Just bought my own apartment! It's super close to friends but it'll be the first time living without roommates!

[chelseajupiter]

Contentious, maybe: don't pre-heat. Almost every slowcooker recipe you'll follow is written without the addition of pre-heating, and the resulting change in variables means things may not turn out the way you're hoping. Don't sear pulled pork or chicken. Aromatics often benefit from being added later in the recipe. Likewise, if your recipe calls for carrots or parsnips, try adding these in the last hour of cooking. They'll retain their flavor and texture.

[MrValkilmer]

"The Vegan Slow Cooker' by Kathy Hester" I lived out of this book for like two years. So many amazing recipes! Slow-cookers are really for people who need to eat a lot, cheaply, and just cant be bothered with a lot of prep time. This is one area of adulting I had down quick. haha

[bibliophilecb]

Love this! Can you do a How To Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker too?

[KristanShuford]

Another thing to consider when it comes to smell. In the past I have left my slow cooker on while at work and have come home to a very upset dog, who sat in front of the slow cooker smelling the delicious meat all day. I try to bring the dog with me so she isn’t drooling in front of it all day long.

[actingotaku]

you can prep a lot of slow cooker meals ahead of time and freeze them. pull them out the night before to defrost in the fridge, then pop them in the cooker in the morning before you leave for work.

[SocietyKilledTheUnicorn]

Hank green is literally helping me grow up since a young teen. Wtf, I’m nearly 30 now. Don’t tell my friends I’m excited about my slow cooker.

[coffeecat]

I am so glad I found this channel bro. I watch your other stuff. I’m just now getting to learn to cook because I have some control over seizures. Kind of embarrassing since I’m 38 lol but I’m really really really excited to be able to do it. Thank you!

[Mrules]

Depending on the slow cooker you own, you can take the insert and use it on the stove top directly, to sear your meat or sauté your veggies. Doing this directly in the insert keeps all the flavours in the slow cooker because you don’t lose any flavour that would have stuck to the pan. Don’t forget to deglaze before you put it back in the slow cooker, just to avoid burning anything onto the bottom.

[treblepilgrim]

Hi! Could someone help me? I just bought a vintage Creative Chef (fryer/cooker/steamer) Model SC 710, from the thrift shop. The settings are: Simmer, 300°F., 350°F., and Deepfry. There's no manual, and none online. It has a glazed ceramic insert (pot) that fits within the main steel pot.
Do I add water to the steel pot while using the insert, or not?
Do I have to season the ceramic pot before use (it doesn't look used). It is glazed inside, but clay outside. I saw videos which showed soaking clay cookers in cool water for 12 hours before using.
Is that applicable for this type of cookware?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thanks.
🤔

[qupimashups]

i just randomly searched for a slow cooking tutorial and was surprised by hank green hello i miss you!

[kujmous]

We use ours a couple times each week. I will see about sauteing onions though. That sounds like a solid tip.

[rachelelizabeth]

YEEEES!!!! I love this channel SOO much!! 😄💕😄