How to be creative with your slow cooker in winter 2022 and make the best recipes Wine News

Tips for using your slow cooker this winter

You can reduce moisture buildup a bit by laying a triple layer of paper towel on top of the pan (overhanging the edges) and tucking the lid on top. The paper towel will absorb some of the steam and prevent water from raining down on top of your dessert. But while you can make something akin to pizza, it will be pale and soft compared to the baked version.

The same goes for roast chicken. The internet has hundreds of recipes for roasting a whole chicken in a slow cooker, but you’ll never get the golden, crispy skin that’s the sine qua non of a good roast dinner. I’ve tried every way, including first browning the chicken in a skillet (the end result was an uneven brown bird, but not crispy), as well as cooking it upside down and brushing it with butter ( result, a pale chicken and soft chuck) – none of this works properly.

But if you’re looking for really tender, juicy chicken meat, for a salad maybe, or a poached chicken dish, then rub the bird with the seasoning, herbs and butter, put it in the cooker (no need to add liquid) and cook on high for four hours. Indeed, it is a matter of gently steaming it in its own juices, which will have accumulated at the bottom of the dish and which you can eat with the poultry or use as a concentrated broth.

Speaking of broth, this is one of the best uses for a slow cooker. Right after a meal is the best time to simmer a pot of broth, but I draw the line by leaving a pot on the stove overnight, and the next morning I lost the will to handle a bowl frozen bones.

So instead, at the end of a night out or a long Sunday lunch, I just throw the bones in the slow cooker and cover with water. Half an onion, a carrot, a celery stick, and a bay leaf come in if I have any, but it’s no disaster if I don’t, or just can’t be bothered. The slow cooker is turned on and the next morning a perfectly clear broth is ready to be strained, cooled and chilled. If I’m in a hurry, I’ve been known to simply turn off the slow cooker (without lifting the lid) and let it cool during the day, before straining in the evening.

And it’s in this transformation of cuts and cheap leftovers into kitchen gold that slow cookers excel. According to Zoe McClean, senior economist at Crock-Pot, the brand that claims to sell one every two minutes in the UK alone, basement butcher specialties like shin of beef and butt of lamb , also release additional liquid. More liquid released means you don’t have to add as much and you get a more concentrated flavor.

Like those bouncy chunks of meat, sturdier grains do better than white rice and pasta, and the same goes for vegetables, so kale’s tendency to roughness becomes a positive advantage in the area of the slow cooker. All with minimal intervention from me, the masterfully inactive chef.