Question of liquid

[eternalwytch]

I have a huge slow cooker and so many recipes seem to have too little liquid for my cooker. (so it loooks to me) Is there a set amount needed to make it safe to cook or are the new cookers okay with little liquid?

Comments

[shlafe]

I'm not a huge crock pot user, so others may have more informative things to say, but it probably depends on what you're cooking. I can put in a whole chicken with no liquid and it's fine (it creates its own). However, if I tried that with a roast beef, it would probably come out dry and tough.

[madamecrystal]

actually most beef I put in sans liquid comes out super fall apart tender and moist

I always thought chicken would be tough, I'll have to try it sometime

[madamecrystal]

a lot of dishes use no liquid, heck a favorite of my friends and family has just a few veggies and a beef roast of some kind and its moist, yummy and makes it own liquid

basically the safest amount of liquid is 0-just under making the thing overflow

[vortexshedding]

i hardly ever add liquids to my recipes, unless it's a soup or curry and specifically requires liquid.

but for pot roasts, chicken, etc. i don't usually add liquids.

[vantica]

I think it really depends on what you're cooking. When it comes to meat, I think it really depends on the cut of meat. For beef I find the fattier meats need less liquids added. But a leaner cut needs liquid or else it comes out dry. At least it does in my crock.

[pauldrye]

Slow cooking is a form of braising, and one of the points of braising is that the fat and collagen in meat turn into a savory liquid. So you can get away with next to nothing, especially if there's veggies in there too to supply a little bit of their own water. If there isn't, you want at least a smidgen of extra moisture to mix in with the reduced connective tissues.

As others say above, though, without fat or gristle you get nothing useful so you want to up the added liquid under those circumstances.