Cuisinart CRC-650 User manual

Slow Cooker
Cookbook
traditional to gourmet recipes
model psc-650

Introduction
Get ready to slow down and enjoy meals!
Your Cuisinart® Slow Cooker is designed to have
your favorite one-pot recipes ready and waiting for you.
Slow cooking is a traditional method that tenderizes meats
and melds avors to produce delicious family dinners
and easy, relaxing suppers with friends.
You can even prepare desserts in your Slow Cooker.
Easy to operate, easy to serve from,
and easy to clean...
enjoy!
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Tips & Hints
2 - 4
Important Guidelines
5
Suggested Foods
6
List of Recipes
7 - 8
Starters/Beverages/Miscellaneous
9 - 15
Soups & Stocks
16 - 25
Stews & Chilis
26 - 32
Entrées & Sauces
33 - 51
Side Dishes
52 - 66
Desserts
67 - 83
Contents
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Tips & Hints
› Before food is added, the ceramic pot may be lightly coated with cooking spray so
cooked foods release more easily.
› Root vegetables such as carrots and potatoes will take longer to cook. Either cut the
pieces smaller or place on bottom of Slow Cooker. Baby carrots, for example, may
take longer than other vegetables.
› Ground meats and uncooked sausages should always be browned and drained be-
fore adding to Slow Cooker. Smoked sausage such as kielbasa does not need to be
browned (though it may add avor and visual appeal). If browning the night before,
make certain the meat is cooked completely through and properly refrigerated.
Combine with other ingredients just before slow cooking.
› Browning meats (roasts, chops, cubes for stews) and poultry adds avor and eye ap-
peal to the nished dishes. It also helps cook out some of the fat.
› In general, cooking for 1 hour on High is the equivalent of cooking for
2 hours on Low.
› If you are not ready to serve food immediately, switch to the Warm mode to hold
foods until ready to serve.
› Tender vegetables, or those that you wish to be crisp-tender, should be added
during the last 30 minutes of cooking time to prevent overcooking.
› Each time you remove the lid, you will lose heat and will need to add 15 to 20
minutes to your cooking time. If you do need to stir (or peek), lift the lid just
slightly so that you can get the spoon or spatula in.
› A fat mop can be used to remove separated fat from slow cooked food by brushing
it over the top. Alternatively, the food may be refrigerated, and the congealed fat
can then be lifted off and discarded before reheating and serving.
› Many slow-cooked foods such as stews benet from cooling and refrigerating, then
reheating – as the saying goes, stew or chili is always better the second day.
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› If using frozen foods, thaw completely before adding to Slow Cooker.
› To cut the fat from recipes, remove as much of the visible fat as possible from
meats and poultry. Cook and drain all ground meats. Remove skin from poultry.
› Dried beans should be soaked overnight, then rinsed, drained and rinsed again be-
fore cooking. Do not add salt or any acid to beans when cooking, as it will prevent
them from softening completely. Dried beans can be cooked ahead, drained and
frozen. Thaw before adding to your favorite recipes.
› The Slow Cooker is perfect for foods that require long, slow simmering, such as
soups, stocks, stews, and dried beans.
› The Slow Cooker is the perfect way to cook items that require a bain marie,
or water bath. We recommend starting out with hot water and cooking on High
for most of these recipes.
› Cooking ground meats in the Slow Cooker without browning them rst is not
recommended, as ground meat has a high incidence of bacterial contamination.
Ground meats used in the Slow Cooker should be browned rst. We strongly
advise against cooking a meatloaf in the Slow Cooker. (The Country Paté in our
recipe book is an exception. The meat is ground fresh in the Cuisinart® Food
Processor and is cooked in a simmering water bath on the High Setting. When we
tested with a probe thermometer, the Paté had reached safe food cooking
temperature well within suggested U.S.D.A. recommendations.)
› Most of the recipes in this book are cooked on Low using the timer function, to
allow you maximum freedom to go on to do other tasks. Most meats are better
when cooked on Low (slower) than on High, and the recipes are written as such.
If you prefer to slow cook on High, cut the cooking time in half.
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To adapt your own recipes to the Slow Cooker:
› For most recipes, reduce the cooking liquid by at least 50% (soups are the
exception). Liquids do not evaporate as they do in traditional cooking, and you
often will end up with more liquid than when you began.
› In most cases, all ingredients can go in the Slow Cooker at once and can cook all
day on Low setting. While it is not necessary to brown or sauté vegetables (onions,
carrots, celery, peppers, etc.), it may add to the avor. Browning meats adds to their
taste and visual appeal, and helps to remove fat.
› Certain cuts of meat are more appropriate for Slow Cooker cooking: brisket, tip
roast, chuck or rump roast, beef bottom round, pork shoulder or Boston butt,
lamb shoulder, venison, chicken legs and thighs. Particularly lean cuts such as bone-
less, skinless chicken breast or “new generation” pork loin or tenderloin may seem
dry when prepared in a Slow Cooker. See list of meats that are best in Slow Cooker
(page 6).
› Dairy products (milk, sour cream, some cheeses) will break down and curdle
during slow cooking. Substitute canned evaporated milk or nonfat dry milk, or add
dairy products during the last 30 minutes of cooking.
› When making soups, add solid ingredients to Slow Cooker and then liquid to
cover. If a thinner soup is desired, add more liquid to taste.
› If your recipe calls for precooked pasta – UNDERCOOK it.
› Add cooked rice to recipes during last hour of cooking.

Important Guidelines
› The Slow Cooker should always be at least half full for best cooking results; how-
ever, the Slow Cooker should never be more than three-quarters full (about 1 inch
from the top rim).
› Because the Slow Cooker heats and cooks at low temperatures, food should be
at room temperature before it goes into the cooker. If the food is refrigerator
temperature, heat it on the high setting for about 2 hours to heat the contents to
140°F before changing to the low setting.
› If foods are to be cooked the next day in the ceramic pot, do not store in the
refrigerator overnight.
› Any leftover food should be removed from the ceramic pot and stored in plastic
containers up to 2 days, or frozen for future use.
› NEVER use the Slow Cooker to reheat food, as potentially harmful bacteria could
develop during the slow cooking process. Remove food from the ceramic pot and
reheat in a heat-safe container on a stovetop, or in an oven or microwave. Return
food to the ceramic pot and keep warm in an oven, covering with foil, if desired.
DO NOT use the glass lid in an oven. DO NOT place the ceramic pot on a
stovetop or in a microwave.
› Do not place the ceramic pot directly on a table or countertop.
› Do not add frozen food such as meat or vegetables to Slow Cooker dishes. Heat to
room temperature before adding.
› For food safety reasons, whole chickens should not be cooked in a Slow Cooker.
They may not reach safe temperature in the proper amount of time.
› When cooking meat, the USDA recommends setting the unit to High for one hour
and then reducing the heat to Low.
› Avoid sudden temperature changes. Really cold food or water can crack a hot
ceramic pot.
› Never heat the ceramic pot when it is empty.
› Do not touch sides of Slow Cooker ceramic pot or Slow Cooker base while food is
cooking.
› Always use potholders or oven mitts when removing the lid or ceramic pot from
the base after cooking.
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Suggested Foods
Meats
Beef / Veal: Choose cuts that are full of avor and benet from braising.
› Arm pot roast
› Beef brisket or corned beef brisket
› Beef short ribs
› Bottom round roast
› Chuck or rump roast
› Chuck shoulder steak
› Veal shanks
Pork: Less tender cuts work best – the lean “new generation pork” may become dry
when cooked in Slow Cooker.
› Boston butt roast
› Pork shoulder pieces
› Sausages
› Country-style pork ribs (bone-in)
› Pork shoulder or blade roast
Lamb: Choose avorful cuts that benet from braising to tenderize.
› Lamb shoulder
› Lamb stew meat
› Lamb shanks
Poultry: Best choice: dark meat – bone-in and skinless. Breast meat can become
dry in texture if cooked too long.
› Chicken or turkey legs and thighs (remove skin to reduce fat)
Game: Game generally tends to be less tender so it is perfect for the
Slow Cooker.
› Venison roasts or stew meat
› Pheasant, duck thighs and legs
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Recipes
Starters/Beverages/Miscellaneous
› Country Pâté with Cranberries and Pistachios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
› Chili Spiced Nuts ..............................................11
› Spinach, Gruyère & Artichoke Dip ............................... 12
› Mulled Cider .................................................13
› Irish Oatmeal .................................................14
› Apricot Pecan Brown Bread .....................................15
Soups & Stocks
› Spanish Bean Soup with Chorizo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
› Cuban Black Bean Soup ........................................17
› Caramelized Onion Soup .......................................18
› Sausage & Lentil Soup with Tortellini ..............................19
› Curried Yellow Pea Soup.......................................20
› Classic Split Pea Soup ......................................... 21
› Tomato Soup ................................................22
› Brown Beef Stock ............................................ 23
› Chicken Stock ...............................................24
› Roasted Vegetable Stock .......................................25
Stew & Chilis
› White Chili with Chicken ...................................... 26
› Beef Chili for a Crowd ......................................... 27
› Heart Smart Turkey Chili ......................................28
› Corn and Green Chili Chowder ................................. 29
› Veal Stew with Mushrooms & Artichokes ..........................30
› Mediterranean Seafood Stew .....................................31
› Seafood Chili ................................................ 32
Entrees & Sauces
› Chicken Cacciatore ........................................... 33
› Lemon Chicken with Rosemary ................................. 34
› Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic................................. 35
› Barbecue Beef Brisket ......................................... 36
› Barbecue Sauce .............................................. 37
› Dilled Pot Roast .............................................. 38
› New England Short Ribs ....................................... 39
› Corned Beef with Vegetables....................................40
› Pulled Pork Barbecue ......................................... 42
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(continued)