The Incredible, Indispensable Slow Cooker

If you don’t have a slow cooker, you are wasting too much time in the kitchen.

Did that get your attention? Good.

I started using a slow cooker many years ago. And through many moves, times when I consciously tried to get rid of anything I didn’t want to haul around, this baby always made the cut.

In fact, I might even be so bold as to declare the slow cooker the ultimate kitchen hacking tool.

But unlike most kitchen gadgets, this one pays for itself many times over with the countless ways it can save you time in the kitchen while sacrificing nothing in pure deliciousness.

Breaking Out of the Basics

When it comes to stocking a kitchen, I suggest you go plain-Jane.

A few pots and pans. A good knife. A cutting board, a spatula, and a wooden spoon.

Like a master jazz player, you can take these basic elements and riff off them to create an endless amount of dishes to suit your taste.

But let’s not be too judgmental of new technology, shall we?

It used to be that a member of each household was available to spend large amounts of their time cooking. They would cook on a hearth over an open fire. They bought cheap, tough cuts of meat and starchy vegetables. And they tended the cooking all day while they cooked slow and low.

Does that sound like the sort of thing you have the luxury to do?

If so, then I must say kudos to you. But the rest of us who aren’t real housewives of Beverly Hills have a problem: how to eat healthy, home cooked meals when we can’t spend a lot of time in the kitchen.

And that’s where the slow cooker comes in to save the day.

Slow cookers really took off in popularity in the 70’s with the introduction of the Crock Pot. Like Kleenex and Band-Aid, the brand was so popular that people started using the trademarked name to refer to the generic product.

A slow cooker can help you become a master kitchen hacker for the following reasons:

• It allows you to cook “slow and low” for healthy and cheap cuts of meat and starchy vegetables.
• It allows you to “set it and forget it”. Toss everything into the pot, turn it on, and go to work (or go to sleep). In about ten hours your meal will be ready to eat!
• It allows you to make massive quantities of food. Slow cookers come in all sizes and can really help you to make a week’s worth of food in as little time as possible.

The Many Uses of the Slow Cooker

And so, slow cooker, how do I count the ways that I love thee? Let’s try.

1. Pot Roast
Ah, the pot roast.

So simple, yet so complex. Pot roast is the epitome of what a simple meal–using simple ingredients, prepared simply–can truly be.

In essence, a pot roast is a tough cut of meat and starchy vegetables cooked over a bit of liquid for a long time at a low temperature.

For the beginner, the pot roast is the perfect test of your basic food prep skills. If you can get this down, then you can get anything.

In fact, I believe that preparing your first pot roast is so key in your path towards kitchen hacking mastery, that I provide a thoroughly detailed guide in the Kitchen Hacking 101 email course. (Haven’t signed up yet? Do it here!)

2. Stew
Think of stews as a pot roast with more liquid.

Where you can serve a pot roast on a plate, you need to serve a stew in a bowl.

From Polish bigos to Louisiana gumbo and South African potjiekos to Hungarian goulash, stews are eaten across all cultures by those who want to eat healthy on the cheap.

Oh, and I’ve saved one type of stew for its own category…

3. Chili
For most American men, chili takes on a sort of mythical status.

Like barbecue, it’s one of the few dishes that the average guy is going to have at least a fighting chance of knowing how to cook.

Having your own “secret formula” is on the bucket list of most guys, and having a slow cooker makes it all the easier.

Beans or no beans? Tomatoes or no tomatoes? Hamburger meat or ground chuck? Everyone’s got their own take, and you should as well.

4. Soup
With more liquid and less solids, soup is similar to the others on this list.

Soup really benefits from the “everything but the kitchen sink” philosophy. You can toss just about anything into a pot with plenty of stock to simmer in and you’ll probably end up with a great soup.

Some classic examples include French onion soup, phở, and tom yum.

5. Stock
One thing the previous four on this list have in common is that they all use liquid in the cooking process.

You can use water, or even wine, but I’ve found the best to be stock, or liquid that has been infused with compounds from meat and vegetables by slow simmering.

Now, you can pick up a can or box of stock from the supermarket, or, if you are more adventurous, you can make it from food scraps you were going to throw away anyway!

All those potato and carrot peels? Those celery trimmings? Meat bones and gristle? Keep ‘em in a bag in the freezer instead of throwing them away. Once you’ve got enough, fill up the slow cooker, add some herbs and spices, then cover with water and a little vinegar.

Slow Cooker Buyer’s Guide

At the heart of it, a slow cooker is a very simple piece of equipment, a ceramic pot with a well-fitting lid that sits in a heating unit.

As a result, most of the slow cookers you’re gonna find will be good enough for your needs. No need to splurge if you don’t have the cash. Used ones will also work just fine.

I’d suggest buying something in the range of 5 quarts. I’ve found that this size is enough to make a week’s worth of whatever dish I’m preparing.

I’d also recommend going with an oval-shaped cooker rather than a circular one if you get the option. This makes it easier to throw in large cuts of meat.

In all, I’d say you should set aside about $40 for your slow cooker. It will pay for itself in the first couple months by how much less time you need to spend in the kitchen. Trust me.

The Ultimate Kitchen Hacking Tool

Although I think that most of the kitchen appliances that have been invented in the past 100 years are utterly dispensable, the slow cooker stands out as the greatest exception.

The “busification” of American society has meant that old ways of food preparation are now all but impossible for all but the most unemployed of us.

Traditional ways of cooking that stretch back thousands (and possibly millions) of years have been pushed aside so that we can work long hours and take on other activities.

As a result, methods of food preparation with a proven track history of keeping people fit and healthy have been relegated to the sidelines while new methods of dubious health benefit have taken their place. (Microwaveable sliders, anyone?)

But with a painless investment in a slow cooker, you can once again have access to these traditional methods of cooking, without the hassle and labor they traditionally required.

Whatever you do, buy a slow cooker. Like, now.

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