Everything too watery?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone that enjoys cooking.
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

mariafitz

Assistant Cook
Joined
Feb 12, 2007
Messages
4
just got a 6 qt crock pot.
made beef stew the other day, use the required amount of liquid (3 cups) and it was like soup! VERY VERY LIQUIDY!!
Tonight I made chicken with onions, potatos, corn, peas and mushrooms, used 2 cups of chicken broth... again VERY VERY LIQUIDY and the chicken tastes kinda boiled?!?!

I am following the recipe which says the liquid needs to cover the meat but it just seems like too much??

I've looked at alot of other recipes on this site (and will try them soon) but as a general rule of thumb, what should be the liquid ratio??

I'm going to try pot roast tomorrow and I don't want to taste boiled meat!

Thanks for your help!
 
Welcome to DC Mariafitz....

It sounds as if you are starting with to much liquid...Meats and veggies will produce more liquids as they cook...I would think that just a small amout to start out would solve your problem..I don't do Crock Pot that often but that would be my take on the To Liquidy...

Hope this helps...and again Welcome to the site!
 
With crock pot cooking you will always end up with more liquid than you started. There really isn't a rule of thumb for how much to use because every recipe is different. I would try those recipes again, but maybe this time cup the liquid in half and see if that is better.
 
Welcome - If I ever do one in the crock pot, (Roast) I sear it first, then put in with maybe a cup of water or beef broth.
 
thank you all for your help!

thing is, i followed the recipes exactly and it's been too much both times!
should I just assume it's always too much and half it? I know that's a hard thing to say yes too. I like to cook meals by just taking ingredients I have and throwing them together instead of following a recipe which is why I am looking for a rule of thumb to go by.

Any quick tips on my pot roast? My plan is to throw it in the crock pot with potatos & carrots, some beef gravy and beef broth, salt and pepper. Any ideas?

As far as searing it goes, is it just a quick 10 minute sear? Do you have too?
 
The only way you will know how much or how little liquid to use is to try the recipes and play around with them. Every slow cooker is different, every recipe different. The only rule of thumb is that you will end up with more liquid than you started with. Certain veggies will let out a lot more liquid than others (think celery, very watery). Meat will also let out a lot of liquid. The more meat you use the more liquid you will end up with.

After a while you will get the hang of it and will learn that for you it is better if you half the amount of liquid or third it or whatever. It is just going to take some practice.
 
Boiled meat

mariafitz said:
As far as searing it goes, is it just a quick 10 minute sear? Do you have too?

If you don't want the "boiled" taste you have to brown all the sides of the meat.
Generally the liquid should just cover everything - the liquid is how the heat gets distributed.
For a stew are you adding a thickener at the end (ie flour)? Before you add the flour just pour off some of the excess liquid (I use this liquid to cook rice/potatoes/barley/quinoa to add more flavour).
 
Browning adds flavors. It is not something that is necessary, but IMO it almost always makes things taste better.

Poutine, I agree that liquid is one way the heat gets distributed, but it is not the only way. You can cook things in a crock pot with very little liquid. The heat will be distributed just as it would in a dry oven. Certain dishes call for the food to be just covered, but those are generally dishes where the end result is supposed to very very liquidy. In this case where the OP wants dishes with less liquid I would think covering the food would result in way too much liquid at the end.
 
I have put a whole chicken in the crockpot before with absolutely no liquid. It still produced a bunch by the end of cooking. I used a rub on the outside though and kept in fridge overnight before cooking. It was GREAT!

Liquid is just what happens when crockpot cooking. You will soon find a happy medium.
 
I would sear the chicken breast or whatever part you're using unless its a whole chicken and then deglaze the pan with stock and let it reduce. This should thicken the sauce up. If it is not thicken remove the sauce from heat and and whisk in cold very small, maybe small dice sized cubed of butter one at a time and it will thicken up. However you must remove from heat and add COLD butter or the sauce will break.

i hope some of these techniques are useful.
 
Poutine said:
For a stew are you adding a thickener at the end (ie flour)? Before you add the flour just pour off some of the excess liquid (I use this liquid to cook rice/potatoes/barley/quinoa to add more flavour).

No I didn't do this. Do I just mix some flour into the stew? When? About 1 hour before it's done?
 
You may even want to dredge your pot roast in a seasoned four and then brown it off prior to putting it into the crock pot. This will actually cook out the flour taste and make a bit of roux which will give a little thickening power. If things are still too wet at the end, drain off the liquid and pour it into a seprate pan and put that onto a burner and give it a taste. If it's bland season it or reduce it to increase your flavor and then thicken it with a white wash ( flour and water) or some more roux. Return it to your meat and veggies. There are some crock pot recipes especially chicken base that use canned cream of mushroom soup as part of the sauce which will give you a thick sauce at the end.
 
I hardly ever use much water in my crock pot. Usually just enough tocover the bottom of the crock. Post roast is set on trivet or rack inside and veggies added later after meat has cooked a bit. If I think it needs more water it can always be added later.
 
When I make pasta sauces, stews, goulash, etc. in the crock pot, I always start my cooking on the stove in a stock pot, bring to a boil then simmer for an hour or so. I then transfer it to the crock pot and let it simmer for 5-6 hours. If you start everything in the crock pot it will always taste boiled. Sear your meats & veggies in a pan/pot first to give it the best flavor. Also, unless your adding a thickener/potatoes to your stews it will not reduce enough in the crock pot to thicken.
 
Jeekinz said:
When I make pasta sauces, stews, goulash, etc. in the crock pot, I always start my cooking on the stove in a stock pot, bring to a boil then simmer for an hour or so. I then transfer it to the crock pot and let it simmer for 5-6 hours...quote]

If you do all that work in the stock pot on the stovetop, why bother with the crockpot at all?
 
Less gas, makes room on the stove, less chance for burning, I can go about my daily business w/o worrying, I can have fun cooking in the am, and enjoy it in the pm. As I said, those recipies simmer for 5-6 hrs. I get the stovetop taste with crockpot ease.
 
Jeekinz said:
Less gas, makes room on the stove, less chance for burning, I can go about my daily business w/o worrying, I can have fun cooking in the am, and enjoy it in the pm. As I said, those recipies simmer for 5-6 hrs. I get the stovetop taste with crockpot ease.


Fair enough.

Where I live, gas is a lot less expensive than electricity so I don't use a CP.
 
Poutine said:
on this web site Electric Bill Estimator - Department of Water and Power
they estimate it costs $0.043407 (just over 4 cents) to run a crock pot for 7 hours
an electric oven at 350F for 7 hours is $0.87 (still not a lot but 20 times more expensive than a crock pot)
I knew that crock pots did not take very much energy but that is crazy!

I wonder how much it costs to run a gas stove for 7 hours?
You would not cook something for as long on the stove as you would in the crock pot. Crock pots are slow cookers. The same meal (usually) can be made on the stove top in a fraction of the time.
 
Back
Top Bottom