Slow cookers work on the basic principle that the food is cooked at a fast enough pace to ensure that bacteria will not set in but at a slow enough pace that allows whatever you are cooking to become ultra-tender. Whenever you use your slow cooker, you want to make sure that the top is securely in place. You do this for two reasons. First, the top keeps the heat in, allowing your meal to get done in a timely fashion. Second, that top traps the moisture, which, along with the low heat setting, helps to make your dinner savory.

Here are a few tips for fully utilizing your slow cooker:

1 Remember that you can combine meat, potatoes and vegetables all at once. Chilies, stews and roasts and especially good in crockpots.

2 Lower grades of meat are best when it comes to slow cookers. Even the toughest cut of beef will be cooked to a melt in your mouth texture.

3 Because seafood gets done quickly, it’s tough to properly cook it in a Crockpot. Often shrimp, scallops and other types of fish will, unlike beef and poultry, come out dry and flavorless.

4 When using a slow cooker, you don’t need to add as much liquid as you do for oven or stovetop recipes. If converting a non-crockpot recipe, the basic rule of thumb is to add about 1/3 the amount of liquid you’d normally use.

5 If you have the time, cook your meal on the lowest setting. It seals in flavor and tenderizes the best.

6 When purchasing a slow cooker, buy one with a large pot, that has at least four settings, and that includes an automatic warming feature. All of these options are invaluable.

These are just a few hints that you can utilize when using your Crockpot. For more information on slow cooker recipes and great secret recipes from your favorite restaurants go to this link:  Recipe Secrets Review.

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• Barbecue Grilling

The summer is a great time for barbecuing and grilling. Often people will use the terms barbecue and grill interchangeably. But the fact is that one has very little to do with the other. Let’s take a look at each to see how you can best utilize each type of cooking method.

Barbecue Vs. Grilling

Here’s the difference between barbecuing and grilling. When you barbecue foods you cook them over an indirect heat source and at a low temperature. Additionally, barbecuing tends to involve using smoke generated from the burning of certain types of wood, such as mesquite, to add flavor to the food. Barbecuing takes hours—often four to eight. The beauty of this method is it slowly infuses flavor and it makes meats and poultry extremely tender. Often rubs are used to flavor meats prior to putting them on the BBQ.

Grilling is done at high temperatures and directly over the heat source. Grilled food is cooked rapidly. Searing and plank cooking are two popular methods of grilling food. Searing involves cooking meats at extremely temperatures that quickly blacken the outside, cook the inside to medium and seal in the flavor. Not all grills are capable of reaching temperatures high enough to sear foods.

Plank cooking, which was popular amongst Native American tribes in the Northwest, utilizes a slab of wood. The food is placed on the wood and then put directly on the grill. This is sort of a quick way of infusing wood flavor into a meal. This technique is especially effective with fish.

The Barbecue Vs. the Grill

Most of us end up buying some form of grill for summer fun and fall football tailgating festivities. The fact is some grills are just that—grills. They can only be used for high heat cooking.

If you want to barbecue, there are grills that can be outfitted with a wood box and, in effect, turned into a barbecue. The wood box is put into the bottom of the grill and wood is loaded into box and slowly burned. The grill is put on a low setting and the meat is placed away from the heat source.

Another device, known as a smoker, can be used to barbecue foods but not grill them. Smokers are really traditional barbecues and they are designed to utilize wood smoke to its fullest.

Which Do You Want?

If you’re like me, you want both. The fact is that meats, poultry, seafood and vegetables will simply taste differently depending upon which method you use. Both are great! Grilling is especially effective if you’re in a hurry, whereas the BBQ is wonderful for one of those long, lazy summer days.  By the way, if you want versatility, buy a grill that you can add a wood box to, allowing you to turn your grill into a barbecue. That way you can have the best of both worlds.

Here’s a review on a site that offers a wealth of barbecue and grill recipes, tips on outdoor cooking and secret recipes from your favorite restaurants :  Read review here.

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• Slow Cooking – Savor that Flavor