Begin your crockpot cooking by avoiding overfilling the crockpot, as tightly packed food will not cook properly and could cause illness. Prep ingredients like chopping meat and vegetables in advance for easy assembly. Browning meat before adding to the crockpot is not required but will provide more flavor, and any browned bits from the pan should be added. Pay attention to temperature changes when adding food to avoid cracking the stoneware, such as only adding cold or room temperature food to a cold crockpot or preheating for hot additions.

1. A Beginner's Guide
to Crockpot Cooking
Lalitha Rao Pentapati

2. Avoid Filling the
Crockpot Too
Much
Food that is tightly packed
into a crockpot won't cook
properly which can lead to
foodborne illnesses. Be sure
to use the right sized
crockpot for each dish and
only fill the ingredients two-
thirds of the way full.

3. Prep Ingredients
in Advance
Meat and vegetables that are
chopped ahead of time
makes it easy to throw dishes
together quickly. Try to chop
ingredients in similar sizes so
that each item cooks evenly.
Trimming the fat off of meat
will help to avoid a greasy
finished product.

4. Brown meat for
more flavor
Although it's not a necessary
step, browning meat before
adding it to the crockpot will
lead to a more flavorful dish.
Add any browned bits that
end up at the bottom of the
saute pan to the crockpot for
even more seasoning.

5. Pay Attention to
Temp. Changes
Cold food added to a hot crockpot
and vice versa can crack the
stoneware. Only place cold or room
temperature food in a cold crockpot.
When adding hot sauces or browned
meat, preheat the crockpot for a few
minutes first. Never add frozen food
to a crockpot since it takes too long
to defrost and can lead to improperly
cooked food.