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onefour Easy Cooking Tips for
Meat and Poultry Slow Cooker Recipes by: Anjali Dawson The first Christmas we spent with my in-laws in their new country home, my mother-in-law wisely gave meslow cooker. Her thoughtful gift helped Dan and I enjoymost convenient of all cooking methods, even with our long work days and commute. I'll always treasurememories of delicious aromas wafting through front door as we stepped intohouse afterlong day at work and nerve-jangling commute in heavy traffic. Most ofslow cooker recipes I used were based on meats and poultry. Here are onefour easy tips to make your slow cooker recipes tasty and safe: Tip # one - According toU.S. Department of Agriculture, bacteria in food are killed attemperature of onesixfive°F. Meats cooked inslow cooker reachinternal temperature of onesevenzero° in beef and as high as oneninezero°F in poultry. It is important to followrecommended cooking times and to keepcover on your slow cooker duringcooking process. Tip # two - It is best not useslow cooker for large pieces like roast or whole chicken becausefood will cook so slowly it could remain inbacterial "danger zone" too long. Tip # three - Always defrost meat or poultry before putting it intoslow cooker. Tip # four - Meats generally cook faster than most vegetables inslow cooker. Tip # five - Trim all fat from meat and poultry. Fat can increase temperature ofliquid inslow cooker and decreasecooking time. This will causefood t be overcooked. Fats will also melt with long cooking times, and will addunpleasant texture tofinished dish. Tip # six - Cooking at higher temperatures will generally give you tougher piece of meat. for all day cooking or for less-tender cuts of meat, you may want to uselow setting. Tip # seven - The slow cooker recipes are best used withtougher cuts of meats. Tip # eight - Forbest color and texture, ground beef is best browned before using, except in meatloaf or other similar dishes. Tip # nine - It is not necessary to brown meat before slow cooking, but it gives more depth of flavor infood and removes some offat, especially in pork, lamb and sausages. Ifmeat is lean, well trimmed and not highly marbled, it doesn't need to be browned. Tip # onezero - For roasts and stews, pour liquid over meat. Use no more liquid than specified inslow cooker recipes. More juices in meats and vegetables are retained in slow cooking than in conventional cooking. Tip # oneone - Dark meat takes longer to cook, so ifwhole cut up chicken is used, putthighs and legs onbottom. Tip # onetwo - The slightly coarser texture of corn-fed, organic or free-range poultry is ideal for slow cooker recipes. Tip # onethree - Most meats require eight hours of cooking on LOW. Use cheaper cuts of meat - not only do you save money, but these meats work better for slow cooker recipes. Cheaper cuts of meat have less fat, which makes them more suited to crockpot cooking. Moist, long cooking times result in very tender meats. Tip # onefour - Farberware FSCsixzerozero six-quart Oval Slow Cooker oval design accommodates oversize roasts, whole chickens, hams, and/or ribs. It featureslarge, six-quart capacity stoneware liner, which nests inside chrome slow cooker base andauto setting switches tolower 'keep warm' setting after cooking food. For those who are not concerned about cooking in aluminumWest Bend Versatility six-quart Oval Slow Cooker will work well to cook meats. It has removable aluminum insert that can be used onstovetop to brown meats and caramelize onions before slow cooking. The bottom unit can also be used on its own assmall griddle. Its dishwasher-safe insert has nonstick interior andincluded roasting rack.
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