Living Well in Yalobusha County
Slow Cooking Tames Tough Meat
By Pamela Redwine
Imagine walking into the house after a long day at work and being welcomed by the inviting smells of beef stew or chicken noodle soup. Slow cookers, also known as crockpots, offer convenience, time savings, lower electricity use and great flavor. But there are some tips everyone should follow to make sure their food stays safe:
Is A Slow Cooker Safe?
Yes, the slow cooker, a countertop appliance, cooks foods slowly at a low temperature—generally between 170° and 280° F. The low heat helps less expensive, leaner cuts of meat become tender and shrink less.
The direct heat from the pot, lengthy cooking and steam created within the tightly-covered container combine to destroy bacteria and make the slow cooker a safe process for cooking foods.
Safe Beginnings
Begin with a clean cooker, clean utensils and a clean work area. Wash hands before and during food preparation.
Keep perishable foods refrigerated until preparation time. If you cut up meat and vegetables in advance, store them separately in the refrigerator. The slow cooker may take several hours to reach a safe, bacteria-killing temperature. Constant refrigeration assures that bacteria, which multiply rapidly at room temperature, won’t get a “head start” during the first few hours of cooking.
Thaw and Cut Up Ingredients
Always defrost meat or poultry before putting it into a slow cooker. Choose to make foods with a high moisture content such as chili, soup, stew or spaghetti sauce.
Cut food into chunks or small pieces to ensure thorough cooking. Do not use the slow cooker for large pieces like a roast or whole chicken because the food will cook so slowly it could remain in the bacterial “Danger Zone,” between 40 and 140 °F, too long. If using a commercially frozen slow cooker meal, prepare according to manufacturer’s instructions.
Use the Right Amount of Food
Fill cooker no less than half full and no more than two-thirds full. Vegetables cook slower than meat and poultry in a slow cooker so if using them, put vegetables in first, at the bottom and around sides of the utensil. Then add meat and cover the food with liquid such as broth, water or barbecue sauce. Keep the lid in place, removing only to stir the food or check for doneness.
Settings
Most cookers have two or more settings. Foods take different times to cook depending upon the setting used. Certainly, foods will cook faster on high than on low. However, for all-day cooking or for less-tender cuts, you may want to use the low setting.
If possible, turn the cooker on the highest setting for the first hour of cooking time and then to low or the setting called for in your recipe. However, it’s safe to cook foods on low the entire time — if you’re leaving for work, for example, and preparation time is limited.
While food is cooking and once it’s done, food will stay safe as long as the cooker is operating.
Power Out
If you are not at home during the entire slow-cooking process and the power goes out, throw away the food even if it looks done.
If you are at home, finish cooking the ingredients immediately by some other means: on a gas stove, on the outdoor grill or at a house where the power is on.
When you are at home, and if the food was completely cooked before the power went out, the food should remain safe up to two hours in the cooker with the power off.
Handling Leftovers
Store leftovers in shallow covered containers and refrigerate within two hours after cooking is finished. Reheating leftovers in a slow cooker is not recommended. However, cooked food can be brought to steaming on the stove top or in a microwave oven and then put into a preheated slow cooker to keep hot for serving.
Recipe of the Week
Creamy Zucchini with Linguine
INGREDIENTS
· 1/2 cup olive oil
· 2 large zucchini, diced
· 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
· 1/2 teaspoon salt
· 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
· 1 (12 ounce) package linguine pasta
· 1 cup whole milk
· 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
· 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
DIRECTIONS
1. Warm olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add zucchini and garlic to hot oil, and season with salt and red pepper flakes. Cook, turning occasionally, until zucchini are well browned on all sides, about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of generously salted water to boil. Add pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, and set aside.
3. Stir milk into zucchini, and simmer until it is reduced by about half, about 10 minutes. Add pasta to skillet, and stir well. Sprinkle parsley and 1/4 cup Parmesan over the top, and toss. Garnish with remaining Parmesan to serve.
