Converting slow cooker recipes to oven and cooktop

[Mary]

Does anyone have a basic method to convert slow cooker recipes to the oven or cook-top? I see many intriguing flavor combinations, but I'm unsure of temperatures and timing.

If a recipe say "cook on low for three hours or cook on high for six," what does that mean to a cook without a slow cooker? I realize the liquids will need to be changed. Just looking for guidelines on time and temp.

[Kchurchill5]

I can honestly say ... NO CLUE. Because some recipes say to brown the meat first. Some say chicken thighs but they may use breasts; some may use a large crock pot, or a slow crock pot. I have NEVER been able to recreate the exact recipe. I have always just used the same ingredients and improvised. I know, NO directions. But I have never been able to use the same amounts and made it work.

I wish I could be of more help.

[Felix4067]

The easiest is to go from slow cooker to stove top. Just put your burner on low, cover the pan, and treat it exactly the same as far as time. Liquid may need to be increased, so check it periodically and add more as needed.

It gets trickier when you go to the oven, because temperatures vary so greatly. Take a pot roast, for example. In the crock pot/slow cooker, a roast usually takes 8-10 hours, depending on how done you want it. If you put it in the oven at 350F, it takes about 3-4 hours. But that's not true of other things, and the liquid ALWAYS needs to be increased, by a lot. If I'm putting a roast in the crock pot, I almost never add liquid. If it's in the oven, I start with at least a cup of water, and usually end up adding at least another cup or two.

Honestly, if I was going to change from a slow cooker to something else, I would choose the stove top. It's going to get you a lot closer..

[Sue]

Here is an info page from about.c
http://homecooking.about.com/library/we ... cktips.htm

Also, low=200F; high=300F

[Dissie]

I could help you if you were going the other way. I can usually change recipes from oven baked to the crockpot with success.

I reallly think it depends on what you are cooking. Is it meats? Or just all recipes, all types of things in general? Soups and stews, don't change anything, just cook as normal. You may need to increase liquid as you are making it, but if you do add liquid, you will have to adjust spice, as it will water it down. Each recipe will be different. Roasts and such, you need to keep an eye on the oven because they will dry out in the oven where they wouldn't in a crock as they are constantly being basted with the condensation that happens. A crockpots lid is always covered with it while its doing its thing.

[Kchurchill5]

I agree with that; I too wish there was an easy conversion, but unfortunately not.

[Mary]

Many thanks for the suggestions and cautions. I see I'm not alone in my quandary; however, I think the charts you linked (Sue) will be a place to start my backwards journey.

I really would love a formula -- hey, I'm a formula kind of cook, even when I improvise -- that would help me with meats, vegetables, grains, and pastas. Not going to happen!

So I'll start with a recipe for bell peppers stuffed with rice and beans (3 hours high/6 hours low) and try it at 350* for 35-45 minutes (oven) and then do it again on low for 30 minutes (cook-top). However, my cook-top is less reliable than the oven when I simmer things for a long period, and I end with overcooked bottom layers, so I'm betting on the oven here.

[Dissie]

Stuffed peppers with rice and beans. Cook your meat first before stuffing. Then 30 minutes will be fine. Do you like tender crisp peppers or completely cooked peppers? Really soft?

I tend to like more cooked peppers, so I make my stuffing on the top of the stove, meanwhile I add a small amount of water to a glass 9x13 pan and clean the peppers. I put them concave down and bake for about 15 minutes at 375. I take them out and stuff them. At this point the peppers are tender crisp. Still hard enough to hold the stuffing, then I bake, not reallly bake, but cook with the already cooked stuffing and drizzle with tomato sauce and cheese. They come out great. Not mushy but able to cut with a fork and no knife needed. If you don't use the pre baking of the bells, you will have to use a knife to cut the peppers. I hope this makes sense to you.

[Mary]

Thanks, Dissie. I do want the peppers less cooked, so I'll try it without the pre-cooking the first time. There isn't any meat in my recipe, just cooked rice (maybe even left over rice) and beans with tomato sauce and cheese. A simple meatless dish that should come together in minutes -- just long enough to preheat the oven and clean the peppers before stuffing. I'll let you know how it comes out.

Edit: Not a satisfactory trial run. Edible, but not as good as it sounded. The thirty minutes was not quite long enough -- so I'll try again sometime, perhaps with different "stuffing" and sauce ingredients.