Helpful Hints For Using Your Crockpot

[Baking_Bud]

1. To avoid breakage or cracking, never add cold water to a hot crockery insert. If you want to soak the hot pot immediately after the cooked food has been removed, add hot water to the hot insert.

2. For best results, most manufacturers recommend that the slow cooker be half to three-quarters full. Refer to the manufacturer's instruction book accompanying your pot.

3. Keep perishable foods, such as meats, poultry, fish, and vegetables, refrigerated until preparation and cooking time. If you opt to cut up vegetables or meats the night before you're planning to cook them, be sure to package each different item separately and store in the refrigerator.

4. Purchase roasts and other large cuts of meats in a size and shape that will fit conveniently into your slow cooker. Otherwise, plan on trimming the meat to fit.

5. To end up with the least amount of fat in finished slow-cooker dishes, use lean meats and skinless poultry, well trimmed of fat.

6. In general, avoid using completely frozen foods in the slow cooker. If necessary, thaw frozen ingredients in a microwave oven before adding to the cooker.

7. To avoid heat loss, refrain from removing the lid during the first three-quarters of the cooking time. If you peek often, an extensions of the cooking time may be required. Remove the lid only to stir food or check for doneness.

8. Use cooking times as guidelines. Pots vary; each one is not exactly the same, and fluctuations in power or voltage may occur. Generally, figure that 1 hour on high is about 2 hours on low. Some recipes should only be cooked on high or low, so follow directions carefully.

[Baking_Bud]

9. Because they cook more slowly than meats, generally lace fresh vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, celery, and onions, in the bottom and around the sides of the low cooker. Then place meats on top.

10. For best flavor and texture, ground beef or ground turkey should usually be browned on top of the stove before adding to the slow cooker. With few exceptions, it's not necessary to brown other meats.

11. To speed up the thickening of sauces with flour or cornstarch at the end of the cooking, increase the heat to the high setting and cook from 15 to 45 minutes longer. Or drain the juices into a saucepan and bring to a boil on top of the stove or in a glass measure in a microwave oven, stirring until smooth and thickened.

12. To avoid curdling dairy products, generally add milk, heavy cream, sour cream, or cheese sometime during the last hour of cooking time. If heating cheeses for long period, opt to use processed cheeses or cheese spreads, because they can tolerate more heat. Some dessert recipes in this book use milk, cream, eggs, and cream cheese successfully, but for the most part, they are cooked quickly on the high heat setting.

13. At high altitudes (more than 3,500 feet), it may be necessary to increase the cooking times specified in the recipes here.

14. Flavors often become diluted with long slow cooking; so before serving any slow-cooker creation, taste and adjust the seasonings. You'll not that many of the recipes in this collection add additional spices, herbs, and other ingredients at the end of the cooking time for more pizzazz. To add spark, you can also use more seasoned salt and garlic pepper than usual. If you prefer, you can substitute ordinary salt and pepper, but realize there will be a concurrent loss of taste.

15. Because colors fade with long, slow cooking, for eye
appeal, dress up slow cooker dishes with a garnish of chopped fresh parsley, cilantro or watercress, basil or other fresh herbs, sliced scallions, chopped tomatoes or red peppers, shredded carrots, shredded cheeses, nonfat yogurt, sour cream, lemon or lime wedges, cooked crumbled bacon, or sliced radishes.

16. Vegetables take longer than meat to cook and should be placed at the bottom of the pot with the meat or poultry on top and boiling liquids added last.

* Fish takes less time than meat to cook.

17. Add milk or cream in the final hour of cooking to prevent it from separating.

[Robyn2]

Here are some other tips for using a crock pot. I found these on another website.
busycooks.about.com/library/howtos/blcrockpot101.htm

BASICS OF COOKING LESSON #7
CROCKPOT 101

The crockpot or slow cooker is one of the best time saving appliances in the kitchen. It's great for beginning cooks because all you have to do is fill it and turn it on. Hours later, you come home to a house filled with wonderful smells and dinner ready for the table. Here are some basic tips about using your crockpot.

BASIC TIPS

When purchasing a crockpot, look for one with a removable liner. They are much easier to clean. If you have a nonremovable liner, however, all is not lost! Line your crockpot with a cooking bag and you'll have no cleanup at all. Spray the inside of the liner with cooking spray before you fill it to make cleanup easier.
Only fill the crockpot one half to three quarters full. The foods will not cook properly if the appliance is filled to the brim. If the food and liquid level is lower, the foods will cook too quickly.
Foods cooked on the bottom of the slow cooker cook faster and will be moister because they are immersed in the simmering liquid.
Remove skin from poultry, and trim excess fat from meats. Fats will melt with long cooking times, and will add an unpleasant texture to the finished dish. Fatty foods will also cook too quickly.
You can thicken the juices and concentrate flavors by removing the lid and cooking on HIGH for the last half hour of cooking time.
140 degrees is the temperature the food needs to reach as quickly as possible. If you are at home during the cooking times, test the food temperature after four hours of cooking on LOW - the temp should be at least 140 degrees. If it isn't, there's a problem with your crockpot and you should get a new one.
For food safety reasons, it's a good idea to cook on HIGH for the first hour to quickly bring the temperature up to 140 degrees. Then turn the dial to LOW and finish cooking.
The LOW setting is about 200 degrees, and the HIGH setting is about 300 degrees. Note that both of these temps are well above the minimum safe temperature of 140 degrees.
Don't put frozen foods in the microwave. All foods should be defrosted before cooking so the food temperature can reach 140 degrees as soon as possible.
Most meats require 8 hours of cooking on LOW. Use cheaper cuts of meat - not only do you save money, but these meats work better in the slow cooker. Cheaper cuts of meat have less fat, which makes them more suited to crockpot cooking. Moist, long cooking times result in very tender meats.
Ground meats must be cooked in a skillet before cooking in the crockpot.
Seafood should be added during the last hour of cooking time, or it will overcook and have a rubbery texture.
Large pieces of meat can be browned before cooking in the crockpot, but this step isn't necessary. Browning adds color and helps in flavor development.
One hour on HIGH is equal to two hours on LOW.
Cayenne pepper and tabasco sauce tend to become bitter if cooked for long periods of time. Use small amounts and add toward the end of the cooking time.
Add tender vegetables like tomatoes, mushrooms and zucchini during the last 45 minutes of cooking time so they don't overcook.
Dairy products should be added during the last 30 minutes of cooking time, unless the recipes states otherwise.
Liquids do not boil away in the crockpot, so if you are making a recipe that wasn't specifically developed for the crockpot, reduce the liquid by 1/3 to 1/2 unless you are cooking rice or making soup.
Remove cooked food from the crockpot or liner before storage. Because the liner is made of such thick material, the food won't cool down quickly enough to prevent the growth of harmful bacteria.
Stir in spices for the last hour of cooking. They will lose flavor if cooked with the rest of the ingredients for the long cooking period.
Follow the layering instructions carefully. Vegetables do not cook as quickly as meat, so they should be placed in the bottom of the appliance.
Don't lift the lid to stir, especially if you are cooking on the low setting. Each time you lift the lid, enough heat will escape that the cooking time should be extended by 20 minutes to half an hour. To check progress without lifting the lid, spin the cover until the condensation falls off. Then it's easy to see inside.