Crock Pot 101 Betty Greer, PhD, RD Professor Nutrition Specialist

Crock Pot = Time-Saving Appliance When purchasing a new crock pot A removable liner (also called an insert)makes clean-up easier For easy clean-up Line non-removable liner with a cooking bag Spray inside of liner with cooking spray

Food Safety for Crock Pot Low setting is about 200 o F minimum safe temperature is 140 o F For most foods, start on high for the first hour to reach 140 o quickly Remove food from the liner before refrigerating leftovers. Food won’t cool as quickly in the liner Generally, 1 hour cooking on high = 2 hours cooking on low

Cooking Tips Fill crock pot only 1/2 to 2/3 full Food will not cook properly if the appliance is too full Foods on the bottom of the crock pot cook faster than foods higher in the pot

Cooking Tips - continued Remove skin from poultry and trim excess fat from meat Fats melt with long cooking times and add unpleasant texture to the food Fatty foods cook more quickly than non- fatty foods Cheaper cuts of meat work better in the crock pot because they generally have less fat

Cooking Tips – continued Place vegetables on bottom Lifting the lid will extend the cooking time by about 20 minutes For best results, cook ground meats in a skillet before adding to the crock pot Drain fat Add seafood during the last hour of cooking

Cooking Tips – continued Browning large pieces of meat prior to adding them to the crock pot adds color and aids flavor development Add dairy foods during the last 30 minutes of cooking Add tender vegetables (tomatoes, mushrooms, zucchini) during the last 45 minutes of cooking

Cooking Tips – continued Liquids do not boil away in crock pot Reduce liquid by 1/3 to 1/2 if using a recipe not developed for crock pots (unless it is for soup or rice) Cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce should be added towards end of cooking time

Recipes There are a wealth of recipes available for the crock pot Recipes attached to this lesson came from The American Heart Association’s cookbook on Healthy Crock Pot recipes FCE members who shared recipes Numerous recipes on the web (web sites below are suggestions. You can google “crock pot recipes” and find other options low-cooker-recipes low-cooker-recipes RecipeList.do#Slow%20Cooker RecipeList.do#Slow%20Cooker