April 2008 Weddings
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
brown mush
is what it seems like I get whenever I cook in the crock pot. The food might taste just fine, but the color and texture are unappealing.
Help!
Re: brown mush
What are you making?and what kinds of ingredients are you using? If they're a lot of mushy ingredients that could explain the mushy texture (like soft veggies). If the meat has too much fat that might explain it too. Or it might be that you're cooking it for too long or on high when you should use medium.
I'm really not a big cook so all of these are guesses but sometimes I can guess pretty good
If you're cooking meat, do you sear it first? For more flavor on the stovetop, first brown any meat, onions, garlic and some of the flavorful veggies like onions and bell peppers.
You could also have layers of veggies in the crockpot or use potatoes, then have your meat on top - so it doesn't mix.
Maybe cooking temp is off, too. Try cooking it at low for 6 hours instead of high. Or switch the temp after cooking on high after the first hour. that way you can still lock in the flavor.
I found more crockpot tips here for ya!
When I hear mush, it isn't too long or too high, it's actually more likely because of too much liquid. You can't cook forever in a crock or at high for too long, but the culprit of mush is moisture. General rule on a roast is half way up. Half way, 6-8 hours on low and you should be good to go. Post what you are making and I'll give you some specifics.
Happy cooking.
My favorite dish to make is my crock pot is white chicken chili. Here's the recipe:
White Chicken Chili:
3-4 chicken breast cut into bite size
1 onion (diced)
1 (14 oz) can of chicken broth
1 ( 14oz) can of stewed tomatoes (don't drain)
1 (14 ounce) can diced tomatoes w/ green chilies (don't drain)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed
1/2 teaspoon of ground & red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1 15 oz can white kidney beans (don't drain)
1 15 oz garbanzo beans (don't drain)
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
Directions:
Using a large 5qt crock pot add all ingredients to crock pot and set on low to cook for 8 hrs.
**Serve over rice and top with sour cream and shredded cheese
~~~MARRIED BIO~~~
The tip in the link and what Krystal mentions above about putting veggies under the meat to lift it out of the juices is a good one and plays into the moisture issue. I would not ball up aluminum foil but that's just my craziness about aluminum poising and it's link to brain disorders. :-)