Tips and Hints for Slow Cooking

There are quite a few newcomers to the world of Slow Cookers, so I thought I would start this thread asking some basic questions so all you experts out there can share your tips and advice for using slow cookers. It will be linked to both the chatter thread and the recipes threads.

If anyone has any other useful tips etc, please post them.

1. My sauce looks to thin/watery, how do I thicken it?
~ A little cornflour (dont use bread as suggested in one recipe - ick) - caro
~ I put it up to high and leave the lid off for a bit which will evaporate some of the liquid. Or cornflour depending on the recipe. - Flea

2. What meats are suitable for slow cooking?
~ All Meats - caro
~ Cheap nasty ones lol. DH would never eat chuck steak normally but it's perfect for the SC. Ditto Chicken drumsticks. - Flea

3. How do I stop roasts from sticking to the bottom?
~ I put mine on an upside down saucer - more so it doesn't sit in its juices than to stop it sticking. Another option is sitting the roast on lemon halves. - Dachlostar
~ I put them on cut potatoes or onions to elevate. - Flea
~ Rest on foil balls - caro

4. What do I do if the recipe sticks to the cooker?
~ Never had that happen but I do give it a light spray of olive oil before I put anything it it. - Flea

5. I have made my sauce too a) Spicy/hot b) Sour c) Salty - how do I fix it?
~ Chuck a couple of whole peeled potaotoes in to absorb the flavours or you might be able to double the quantities of all the other ingredients so you cook twice as much and have a meal for freezing. - Dachlostar
~ Sometimes I add sugar if something is too acidic - Flea

6. How do I clean my slow cooker if I 'burn' the recipe?
~ I usually give mine a good soaking then use some elbow grease - Dachlostar
~ I just clean with hot water, detergent and a scourer. They're pretty durable. - Flea

7. My meatballs fell apart, how do I stop it happening again?
~ Make sure there's something in the recipe to bind them - egg, cheese or bread/milk. You can brown them in a frypan before hand and put them in gently and don't stir while they're cooking.- Flea

8. My Chicken was too dry, how can I keep it moist?
~ I find chicken NEVER needs long in the SC. I never leave it in all day, only if I'm doing a whole chicken which I do for about 6 hours on low. Four hours tops would be the limit for chicken peices in my SC. - Flea

9. Do I have to brown the meat first?
~ I like to brown roasts so they look nicer and mince so it doesn't stick together. I also like to stir-fry dry spice mixes with ginger and garlic so the flavours are a bit fuller. - Dachlostar
~ No - caro
~ I never do, too lazy. Never had a problem. - Flea

3. I put mine on an upside down saucer - more so it doesn't sit in its juices than to stop it sticking. Another option is sitting the roast on lemon halves.
5. chuck a couple of whole peeled potaotoes in to absorb the flavours or you might be able to double the quantities of all the other ingredients so you cook twice as much and have a meal for freezing.
6. I usually give mine a good soaking then use some elbow grease
9. I like to brown roasts so they look nicer and mince so it doesn't stick together. I also like to stir-fry dry spice mixes with ginger and garlic so the flavours are a bit fuller.

1. My sauce looks to thin/watery, how do I thicken it? I put it up to high and leave the lid off for a bit which will evaporate some of the liquid. Or cornflour depending on the recipe.
2. What meats are suitable for slow cooking? Cheap nasty ones lol. DH would never eat chuck steak normally but it's perfect for the SC. Ditto Chicken drumsticks.
3. How do I stop roasts from sticking to the bottom? I put them on cut potatoes or onions to elevate.
4. What do I do if the recipe sticks to the cooker? Never had that happen but I do give it a light spray of olive oil before I put anything it it.
5. I have made my sauce too a) Spicy/hot b) Sour c) Salty - how do I fix it? Not sure - sometimes I add sugar if something is too acidic
6. How do I clean my slow cooker if I 'burn' the recipe? I just clean with hot water, detergent and a scourer. They're pretty durable.
7. My meatballs fell apart, how do I stop it happening again? Make sure there's something in the recipe to bind them - egg, cheese or bread/milk. You can brown them in a frypan before hand and put them in gently and don't stir while they're cooking.
8. My Chicken was too dry, how can I keep it moist? I find chicken NEVER needs long in the SC. I never leave it in all day, only if I'm doing a whole chicken which I do for about 6 hours on low. Four hours tops would be the limit for chicken peices in my SC.
9. Do I have to brown the meat first? I never do, too lazy. Never had a problem.

OKAY HELP

used my new SC for the first time and i was very concious about not using too much liquid, as in the instructions it said not to... and also i layered my onions first, then carrots, then the meat, as it said to in the instructions.... my problem is, the meat was quite tough, and i attribute this to the fact that it wasn't covered in liquid, as it was the top layer and quite high up, and also i didn't use much liquid at all, would have barely covered the carrots.... so there's my dilemma, if i have the meat sitting quite high as one of the last layers, then i would need a hell of a lot of liquid to cover it...

can anyone tell me what they do and where i am going wrong? do you have your meat sitting in sauce/liquid, or is it uncovered - if its uncovered does it turn out soft or tough?

help!

kangaroo is a meat that cooks well quickly (just like stirfrying type recipes)
and it's nice a little bit raw

if you cook it over a long period of time, it goes hard and revolting.

i didn't find kangaroo suitable for the slow cooker.

Number 9 about browning meat. I read somewhere on a slowcooking website that usually the idea of browning the meat first is to reduce the risk of food poising and cross contamination. It doesn't necessarily have to be cooked all the way thorugh, just enough to kill off any nasties that are on the surface of the meat.