Kitchen

[Bridgegal]

I have always thought that a little bit of liquid is all you need in a slow cooker.  I see so many recipes that say to cover the meat, pork, chicken with liquid.  I was always told not to do that .  That if you did , you would be boiling it.  What is the answer to this ????

[Winifred]

I do it both ways - no problem at all. Have even thrown packets of gravy in toward the end of cooking, added water to it and have great gravy with whatever I am cooking. Works like a charm. I also do not add any water at all - use the juices from the meat. I have found it depends on what you want - never have been told there are rules about it -thank goodness. LOL

[151949]

I agree you can go either way but I also am not fond of potatoes and carrots cooked "dry" over a long time. For instance, when I make beef stew I put the potatoes and carrots in the first then broth just to the top of the veg and add the meat and other ingred. on top. Just my preference to prevent dry tasting potatoes and carrots I think they need to boil.

[Sweetbay magnolia]

I add no liquid to the meat in the slow cooker and it works fine (I would guess that most cuts have enough moisture and fat).  I don't usually do veggies with the meat, since usually I use it for more than one meal and I don't like reheated vegetables, nor the fact that the fat from the meat coagulates everything.

Works for me.

[Toppers]

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@Bridgegal wrote:

I have always thought that a little bit of liquid is all you need in a slow cooker.  I see so many recipes that say to cover the meat, pork, chicken with liquid.  I was always told not to do that .  That if you did , you would be boiling it.  What is the answer to this ????

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I always add just a little bit of liquid, personally, if I am making a roast. I like a little bit of gravy with my roasts, so I will add about a quarter of a cup of gravy to the cooker.

If you have the manufacturer's booklet that came with your cooker, you will usually find helpful cooking tips in there, that can help guide you regarding how much liquid to add.

I personally do not like to add too much liquid to the cooker, unless the recipe deliberately calls for it, in the form of a soup or a stew, for example.

It has been my experience over the years that foods will cook down in the cooker-including veggies-and will add liquid to the cooker so that you will not have to add a lot of additional liquid to the cooker. 

[Mz iMac]

**taking notes**

[HonnyBrown]

I'm very new at slow cooking, so I am in mistake mode.  Here's what I have learned:

Brined meats, such as chicken and pork, make their own liquid. 

Even after skinning a chicken, if I missed a tiny patch, it will liquify, adding to the liquid from the meat.  Very tasty, but I don't want the extra calories.

Fresh produce is mostly water and that water will leech when cooking.

When I cook quinoa on high, I add more liquid (2.2x).  For some reason, whole grains seem to absorb liquid slower in a crock pot.

I learned that from messing up a lot of meals.  Now, the only items I make in the crock pot are whole skinned chickens, acorn squash and quinoa casserole.

[straykatz]

It depends on what goes in my slow cooker as to how much liquid I use.  If I am making a pot roast with veggies I put in enough liquid to cover the veggies.