Problem with crockpot cooking.

[HankG]

I seem to remember a thread a while back about crockpot recipes, so maybe someone here will know the answer to this. I recently purchased a crock pot, and the couples times I've used it, it's pretty much filled with liquid. Enough to cover a significant portion of the food. I had to turn the latest meal into a stew. Is there any way to stop this? Should I prop the lid open? I'm worried that doing so would interfere with the cooking process.

Sorry I accidentally put this in the wrong forum, could a mod please move it to the mess hall? Thanks.

 

[Carlin]

Use less liquid?

 

[troy1979]

what are you cooking? if it is pot roast, the extra liquid is for gravy. good luck

 

[HankG]

I'm not adding any liquid at all at the beginning. All of the liquid is accruing during the cooking process. The first time was indeed pot roast and I did use the liquid for gravy. This time it was chicken and vegetables which ended up as stew. I'd like to try other types of dishes, but there are a lot of things that I wouldn't want to be swimming when cooked. I can't imagine it's normal for there to be so much liquid, but maybe I'm wrong.

 

[bradyarz]

What if you just used a slotted spoon and/or tongs to pull the food out of the liquid, then ladled some back on for moisture?

The most common meal my wife makes in the crockpot is pulled pork shoulder. It does end up with a lot of juices, but we just pick the meat out with tongs.

 

[danparker77]

Are they actual slow cooker recipes? When converting a recipe for a slow cooker (from say oven or pressure cooker) the liquids are drastically reduced. If things are a little "wet" you can remove the lid for ~ the last hour. but that wont fix what you are talking about.

 

[Luc]

Maybe I'm not using the crockpot right but I thought that a crockpot should be used for soups/stew and bean pots...

 

[Confuzius]

Maybe I'm not using the crockpot right but I thought that a crockpot should be used for soups/stew and bean pots...

Same here, those, plus pulled pork is pretty much what my Crockpot excels at.

 

[Carlin]

I just got back from the store w/ a pork butt. I also have a crock pott that I've NEVER used. How to do?

 

[Arkansas]

Put a 4lb beef roast in crockpot. Add water/beef broth until halfway up the roast. Cook on low overnight. Add veggies in morning, add smallest amount of water necessary. Low until home from work.

Eat.

 

[bradyarz]

Put a 4lb beef roast in crockpot. Add water/beef broth until halfway up the roast. Cook on low overnight. Add veggies in morning, add smallest amount of water necessary. Low until home from work.

Eat.

sounds good. sometimes we make a sort of broth/marinade with soy sauce and some other spices. you can also throw some garlic cloves in.

 

[langod]

I just got back from the store w/ a pork butt. I also have a crock pott that I've NEVER used. How to do?

Put pork butt in crockpot
add cola till mostly covered. (don't use diet cola)
Throw in a couple of garlic cloves.
cook 8 hours on low or until falling apart.
Scoop out pork, shred and add in enough of the juices from the pot to re-moisten the meat to your liking.

No it doesn't taste like Coke, and it isn't sweet.

 

[Monkeydad]

The condensation is normal for a Crockpot. Yeah, there's a lot of it but I've never had it ruin or even interfere in a dish.

I most often make chili in mine and I usually dump that water off in the sink for my hourly stir. If you're not going to be monitoring it and can dump the liquid if it worries you that much(leave it on when not home?), you can just add slightly less water or broth at the beginning and let the condensation compensate, but if you don't...it will be fine.

How I cook mine that seems to result in a thick chili or beef stew - I cook it on low for the majority of the time (4 hours) and them crank it up to high for a final hour. That seems to cook off any excess water and thickens the dish up. When I turn it off, I'll let it sit a a little before serving. That accomplishes two things, allows it to thicken a little more and save your mouth from scalding.

 

[CapnPanther]

Are they actual slow cooker recipes? When converting a recipe for a slow cooker (from say oven or pressure cooker) the liquids are drastically reduced. If things are a little "wet" you can remove the lid for ~ the last hour. but that wont fix what you are talking about.

This is pretty much correct. You cannot take a recipe written for preparation on a stove-top or in an oven and do it in a slow-cooker/crockpot. Main difference is that the liquid doesn't evaporate to anywhere near the same extent in a crockpot, which is why you see so much at the end of cooking.

Hard to do a conversion. General rule of thumb is to use half the liquid called for in an oven recipe. However, if you're cooking rice, pasta, or anything that absorbs liquid, then you should double the amount.

In other words, if you are committed to using a crockpot, invest in a cookbook that has recipes written for it.

 

[Prince]

my favorite pulled pork recipe is simple too:

1-2 pounds of pork roast, add a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Pull apart, throw a few spoonfuls on a bun and enjoy.

 

[Confuzius]

At the end of last years growing season I slow-cooked a bunch of ripe tomatoes for 48 hrs and have had an incredible sauce base in portioned ziplocks in my freezer since.

 

[plexibass]

I just cooked a pork roast in mine.
Pork roast
1/2 cup of Merlot wine
About a dozen cloves of garlic[I split them in half to open the flavor up
Tablespoon of Rosemary
Cooked 7 hours

Served with garlic/rosemary potatoes

 

[StinkyBunny]

my favorite pulled pork recipe is simple too:

1-2 pounds of pork roast, add a bottle of your favorite barbecue sauce and cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Pull apart, throw a few spoonfuls on a bun and enjoy.

I smoke mine first, then throw it in the crock pot on low for a few hours.

 

[Arkansas]

You gents are killin' me.
I've got to try every one of your recipe's.

Thanks!



Oh, and try a bit of cole slaw on that pulled pork on a bun.