Rely on Your Slow Cooker for Help This Thanksgiving.
Welcome to the Scammer’s Guide to Thanksgiving . While there is plenty of advice out there for people making desserts and artisan breads, The Con Man’s Guide is geared toward the individual who could use a helping hand, even from some unconventional sources. Some might call it “cheating” (as if that’s a bad thing), but there’s nothing wrong with using modern technology and supermarket know-how to create a stunning traditional feast – with far less of the traditional work involved.
Cooking an epic Thanksgiving dinner requires a lot of moving parts and planning. You can’t do it all yourself, but it’s also annoying when others mess around in your cooking area. Since cloning yourself isn’t possible (yet), you should consider relying on your slow cooker, the queen of set-it-and-forget-it appliances. Delegating the right tasks to this machine could be your ticket to a less stressful Turkey Day.
What is a multicooker?
If you’re not familiar with this clever invention, a slow cooker consists of two parts: a heating element and body, and an inner ceramic container. There is a lid, and perhaps plastic spatulas are included in the package, but these two parts are the main ones. The ceramic container sits inside the device’s large body, which is mostly made of lightweight aluminum, and the heating element sits inside the base. You use the control panel to select the cooking time—usually in two-hour increments—and the temperature—usually ranging from low, high, and keep warm. It’s also worth noting that a reliable slow cooker can easily cost less than $80 and last you a decade or more.
Multicookers are ready to take over the honor of cooking for Thanksgiving:
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For the traveling guest: Cook & Carry 6 liter multicooker.
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For small portions: a 4-liter multicooker.
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For large households and dinners: 8-liter multicooker.
Why a slow cooker can help
Let’s start with cleaning, because that’s the dark side (but still the reality) of every Thanksgiving. The simple design of the multicooker is a cleaning coupling. Unless you’re experiencing some terrible overflow, everything is contained in a ceramic vessel. Once it is empty and cool, it can be easily washed with soapy water. Ceramic is smooth and needs to be wiped down like any plate or bowl. The rest of the slow cooker stays clean and ready for the next batch.
Besides cleaning, there is ease. It’s an ingenious device that allows you to dump things in there and magically reveal a delicious dish six hours later. Slow cookers come in a variety of sizes, so this could be the kind of thing that will keep your stuffing warm for two or make 18 servings of gooey mac and cheese. This is hands-free cooking that frees up the burners on the stove and leaves room in the oven for other dishes. The results are always reliable, but I recommend practicing making the recipe once or twice before Thanksgiving to really get you comfortable.
The icing on the cake is that the slow cooker is beautiful enough to be serviced if you so choose. You can scoop directly from the slow cooker, or remove the ceramic container from the slow cooker body (it is very hot, so use oven mitts or oven mitts) and place it on a trivet on the counter.
What can you cook in a slow cooker for Thanksgiving?
Once you get going, you’ll realize that you can cook a lot of things in a slow cooker. You might even think you need more than one slow cooker—and that’s okay, too. Use a slow cooker to cook anything that can handle humidity and long cooking times. Vegetables that need to be chopped or dishes that need to be soft or creamy are best suited for the slow cooker. Here’s a list of popular Thanksgiving sides to get you started:
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Green Bean Casserole (if you like it)
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Or lightly heat frozen peas or corn with butter.
What you probably shouldn’t put in your slow cooker
Do not use the slow cooker for side dishes that need to be crispy on the outside or around the edges (such as roasted vegetables, wraps, or turkey) or vegetables that need to retain some crunch (Brussels sprouts, green beans, or broccoli). . Any greens that will become sulphurous or decay too much when cooked for long periods of time should not be placed in the slow cooker. As you can see, I included green bean casserole on the “yes” list and plain green beans on the “no” list. Thanksgiving is a time to eat good food, so having green beans chopped to a pudding-like consistency with crispy onions on top is, for all intents and purposes, your safe place. I’m on Team Crunch, so I blanch or even pretend .
Really tough leafy greens like collards, mustard greens, and kale are good candidates for slow cooking. Yes, they will fade in color, but once cooked slowly they will become more digestible and will certainly irritate your teeth more easily.
Some recipes produce nice crispy edges in the slow cooker, but anything you want to crisp up before serving, like mac and cheese or sausage stuffing, can be spooned into an oven-safe pan and placed under the oven. broiler or lightly burned with a blowtorch.