Three Smart Slow Cooker Tips

About author / Christine Gable

Culinary enthusiast; kids cuisine and slow cooking; magazine recipe developer; professional writer. Her simple recipes are great for family dinners.

Last week we had a little blast from the past learning about how Mable Hoffman revved up interest in the slow cooker with her demos and bestselling cookbooks. She was a popular recipe developer and cookbook author who fired up interest in the (then) new-fangled device of this electric-cooking pot, the slow cooker or crockpot.

In the interest of refreshing the best practices for using a slow cooker, I thought it would be interesting to review some basic how-tos for using this handy plug-it-in dinner-maker. For even when we’ve been using something for years, sometimes there are little things or one particular aspect that we may not be aware of. Perhaps we receive a new crockpot as a gift or choose to replace one that seems to be losing its cooking power.

That’s what happened when I replaced our harvest gold wedding gift crockpot that was losing its heat-ability. Each time I used it, I had to allow at least 10 hours for a 6- to 8-hour recipe. It was turning out to NOT be such a convenient helper. Especially when I arrived home to find dinner not-completely-cooked. I chose one of the newer models that offered different time and heat settings (from Rival).

When I started using it, I was shocked at how much more powerful it—was it really cooking an 8 hour recipe in 4 to 6 hours? You bet! It’s one of the new generation of cookers (the result of bacteria-growth-low temperature consciousness). Now I just have to make sure that I don’t overcook recipes. I usually have to set it on a lower setting than the recipe calls for.

In the interest of reminding us all of smart safety issues when using crockpots, here’s a quick list of items to keep in mind when cooking dinner with a slow cooker:

1. Newer vs. Older

Depending upon the age of your crockpot, it can vary in heat intensity. Older models tend to be less powerful and need longer cook times. When using slow cooker recipes that provide a range, go with the shorter time, but know that it may take the extra hour or two to be fully cooked if your model is older or less powerful.

2. Size

Crockpots come in a wonderful array of sizes and shapes: from 1 quart to 3 quart and 5 or 6 quart. When cooking for one or two, it can be ideal to have the smaller size. When cooking for a larger family, it can be helpful to have a larger one for the main dish and a smaller one for a vegetable or side dish. If you have the extra cupboard space, store an extra one and you may find that it comes in quite handy when you’d like to have a second dish simmering all day.

3. How Full?

No matter what size crockpot you’re using, it’s best to remember to fill the cooker 2/3 full. It works like this: the fuller the cooker, the longer the cook time needed. The more densely packed it is, the more cook time needed. The larger the chunks, the more time needed.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the small cookers generally need less cooking time. There’s less volume surrounded by a more constant source of heat, so you’ll want to take the lesser time guidelines into account for these recipes. You’ll see that some recipes note which size crockpot the recipe is designed for.