Slow Cooker Healthy Recipes

Crock pots/slow cooking methods are generally only good for a small variety of things. I only use mine for beans for instance. Really tough cuts of meat respond well to low and slow but only because they need tenderizing which is more important than overcooking them.

There is no fixing dry overcooked meat which is a likely outcome of other lean proteins like chicken if you put it in the crock pot. Some people manage to eat it and not notice. I am not sure how.

NovusDies wrote: »

Crock pots/slow cooking methods are generally only good for a small variety of things. I only use mine for beans for instance. Really tough cuts of meat respond well to low and slow but only because they need tenderizing which is more important than overcooking them.

There is no fixing dry overcooked meat which is a likely outcome of other lean proteins like chicken if you put it in the crock pot. Some people manage to eat it and not notice. I am not sure how.

I agree that chicken breast can be tricky but I've never had a problem with overcooking chicken thighs.

OP - lots of slow cooker recipes on https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/253/everyday-cooking/slow-cooker/
I always read the reviews and look for trends in the comments.

kshama2001 wrote: »

NovusDies wrote: »

Crock pots/slow cooking methods are generally only good for a small variety of things. I only use mine for beans for instance. Really tough cuts of meat respond well to low and slow but only because they need tenderizing which is more important than overcooking them.

There is no fixing dry overcooked meat which is a likely outcome of other lean proteins like chicken if you put it in the crock pot. Some people manage to eat it and not notice. I am not sure how.

I agree that chicken breast can be tricky but I've never had a problem with overcooking chicken thighs.

OP - lots of slow cooker recipes on https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/253/everyday-cooking/slow-cooker/
I always read the reviews and look for trends in the comments.

Chicken thighs do not get as dry as chicken breasts but they can get rubbery and they should also not be cooked past 165/75. They don't take that long to cook using conventional means and there is no flavor or tenderizing advantage to cooking low and slow. Even on a lower temperature chicken thighs do not need to be cooked several hours and unless you are making a soup or stew it is better to cook them using a dry method.

Everything a crock pot can do can be done with a oven safe pot or dish. The only advantage to using one is the energy savings when cooking a roast for 8+ hours and I do find it handy for beans. I personally hate pot roast and I tolerate the occasional pork roast cooked in one.