Andy at q wrote on 9/4/05 8:01 AM:

> I finally bought a slow cooker. It's a 7-qt cooker, the All-Clad sold at
> Williams-Sonoma.

7 qt is a little big for a small family--don't know what your situation
is--but it will come in handy. Just make sure it's always at least half
full. You don't want it more than 3/4 full, anyway.

> In the instructions it says do not slow cook a whole chicken because the
> temperature doesn't get hot enough. The unit is rated at 330W but
> nowhere does it mention what the HI and LOW temps really are. Is this
> typical, not cooking whole chickens?

Yes, it is. You can make small birds in a crock pot, like a cornish game
hen. I wouldn't go bigger than a 3-3.5 lb broiler in a crock pot. And
DEFINITELY not stuffed! It's not that the temp doesn't get hot enough--it's
that the temp doesn't get hot enough QUICK ENOUGH to avoid the danger zone
for salmonella and other nasties that seem to like chicken. The slow
heating takes time to penetrate the entire bird, and the center of the bird
winds up being "lukewarm" (the perfect environment for bacteria) for an
extended period of time. And especially in a large slow cooker, the food
will be farther from the sides, where the heating elements are, so it will
take longer for the heat to penetrate all the way through than it would in,
say, a 3.5 quart slow cooker.

If the booklet says don't do it, I wouldn't. It might be ok.
But what if it turns out it's not? Is food poisoning one of those things you
really want to experience?

Chicken parts are a different matter. They are acceptable in the slow
cooker (but they don't need as long as, say, a chuck roast or a pork
shoulder.) Follow the guidelines in the booklet that came with the
slow-cooker. You just might want to brown the pieces before dumping them
into the pot.

You usually don't want to skip the browning step when using a slow-cooker.
The slow-cooker is really a simmering pot....and if you don't brown your
meat in a pan on the stove-top, you will wind up with water-logged meat.

>
> I cooked a pot roast yesterday and the water and juices eventually came
> to a low simmer (on HI). Is this typical?
>
> The outside housing is stainless steel and in no time at all it was
> super hot!!! Is this typical?

I dunno. I have cheaper slow-cookers (West Bend and Hamilton Beach brands,
one less than $15, one less than $25) and I imagine their housing is
aluminum. It gets hot, yes. Super hot? Not sure if I'd characterize it as
super-hot but yeah, it gets hot. It's a cooking pot. It's gonna get hot!
Also, the heating elements are in the walls of the housing, the coils wrap
around the crock and that's how it cooks. So yeah, don't worry about that.
Just keep plastic bags and little fingers away from it when it's on.
>
> The glass cover isn't really a snug fit and has a little room to slide
> around. Is this typical?

Yes. That's by design, so there is a slight amount of evaporation from the
pot during simmering. If it were a snug fit, you'd really be steaming the
food.

> It did warn that the ceramic temp should match the food temp to prevent
> cracking. I imagine that's typical!

Physics. Yeah, perfectly normal. There's wiggle room there, though. If you
put ICY cold food into a room temp crock, then turn on the pot, it won't
crack. Don't do that for another reason though--see my first point. Really
cold food will take longer to reach a safe temp and you could wind up with a
food-poisoning incubator. You don't want that! What you want to avoid is
extremes of temp...NEVER pre-heat the crock pot, or turn it on without any
food in it. This can cause cracking--putting COLD food into a HOT crock.
Same goes for any crockery cookware. (Those clay bakers, for example) It's
just simple physics.

To avoid cracking, just put warm from the skillet or room temp ingredients
into a room-temp crock, and switch it on immediately.
>
> Now I can try all those great slow cooker recipes! Just need an army to
> feed. It's a big pup!

Invest in some Gladware containers and freeze the leftovers in meal-sized
portions. This will come in very handy when you come home from work tired
and don't feel like cooking but want a home-cooked meal. Voila, instant
pot-roast! Seriously...most foods that work well in the slow-cooker freeze
well, also. Just be sure to label the containers with contents and date, and
use them up within 3 months. Unless you have a vacuum sealer. Then stick the
filled containers (bottoms only) into a vacuum sealer bag, suck out all the
air, seal, label and those will be able to be kept months longer.
>
> Andy
> Something else to clean

Slow cookers are great but you have to know how to use them.

You don't need special recipes, you can use your favorite recipes, but keep
in mind a couple points:

1. There is no browning in a slow-cooker, so always pre-brown anything you
want to benefit from that nice "caramelized" flavor. The exception to this
is you can make a meatloaf in a slow-cooker and somehow it does develop
crust. It's not brown, really, but it is crust, and it's delicious. Just
make sure it touches the sides of the pot. Also, it's perfect for making
caramelized onions.

2. There is very little evaporation, so cut way down on the liquid in the
recipe. Never more than 8 ounces of liquid (including thick liquids like
tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, honey, ketchup, etc) Keep in mind, water from
the meats and veggies will also come out in the cooking process, which adds
to the liquid in the pot. So try to use flavorful cooking liquids, like
broth, wine, etc. It will get diluted from the natural juices of the foods
you are cooking anyway.

Good luck.
---
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Live like there's no tomorrow
And dance like there's nobody watching