7. Bacon
This one surprises people!
You can use bacon in a slow cooker recipe, but putting raw bacon straight into the pot isn’t usually the best way to get that delicious crispy texture we all love.
Instead, bacon can become soft, chewy, and lacking in its characteristic browned flavor.
What to do instead
Cook bacon separately until crisp, then crumble it over your finished slow-cooker dish.
Alternatively, brown it first if the recipe calls for bacon as part of the cooking base.
That little bit of extra effort? Totally worth it.
8. Large Amounts of Frozen Meat
Here’s an important one: don’t rely on a slow cooker to safely cook a large block of frozen meat from frozen.
A slow cooker heats gradually, so a large frozen piece of meat can spend too long in temperatures where bacteria can multiply.
What to do instead
Thaw meat safely in the refrigerator before putting it into the slow cooker.
Also, avoid placing a huge frozen mass of meat into the cooker and assuming that several hours will automatically make it safe.
Food safety should always come before convenience!
9. Wine and Other Alcohol
Wine is delicious in slow-cooked dishes—but adding a large amount at the beginning isn’t always ideal.
Because a slow cooker is covered, less liquid evaporates than it would during conventional stovetop cooking. That means the alcohol and flavors can behave differently than they would in an uncovered pot.
Too much wine can also leave a dish tasting harsh or overly acidic.
What to do instead
Use the amount specified in a tested recipe. For extra depth, you can also reduce wine separately before adding it to the dish.
A little wine can be wonderful. A swimming pool of wine? Probably not so much!
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