5 Common Slow Cooker Mistakes

Author: Kari Johnson

Slow cookers are a great way to cook meals in an easy, budget friendly way with limited mess. Who doesn’t love just cleaning one pot after meal time? With its ease of operation, there are several common mistakes made when using a slow cooker.  Here are some tips to break these habits to make cooking with your slow cooker a success.
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1. Overfilling or underfilling your slow cooker.

• The best recipes never fill the slow cooker more than three quarters full.  This allows circulation of heat to thoroughly cook all ingredients without boiling or burning your delicious meal.

2. Opening the lid during cooking.

• Though it is tempting to open the lid to stir, taste, or check on your meal, try to avoid this. Slow cookers help trap the heat for long periods and every time you remove the lid it must heat back up. 

3. Too Much Liquid Added

• When too much liquid is added to your tasty dish, it can come out floating in broth. Slow cookers will not condense your liquids into a savory gravy but instead come out thinner than you wish.  If this does happen, transfer the broth to a saucepan and thicken with a little cornstarch.

4. Not trimming the Fat

• Some cuts of meat can contain a nice layer of fat.  When cooking these cuts in the oven they are able to drain away.  In a slow cooker your meat will be swimming in pools of oil.  Trimming the fat down helps reduce the piece of meat from being greasy and gives you a healthier result to your meal.

5. Root Vegetables on Top

• There is nothing worse than biting into a crisp stewed potato with your tasty pot roast. Adding your root vegetables on the bottom, near the heat source, allows them to be cooked completely at the same time as your meat.  No more microwaving those partially cooked root veggies anymore.

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