Healthy
Slow Cooker
REVOLUTION
ONE TEST KITCHEN. 40 SLOW COOKERS. 200 FRESH RECIPES.
BY THE EDITORS AT
Americas Test Kitchen
Copyright 2015 by the Editors at Americas Test Kitchen
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.
AMERICAS TEST KITCHEN 17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Healthy slow cooker revolution : one test kitchen. 40 slow cookers. 200 fresh recipes. / by the editors at Americas Test Kitchen.
pages cm
Includes index.
ISBN 978-1-936493-95-1 -- ISBN 1-936493-95-0
Kindle ISBN 978-1-940352-20-6
1. Electric cooking, Slow. I. Americas Test Kitchen (Firm)
TX827.H38878 2015
641.5884--dc23
2014032533
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback: $26.95 US
Distributed by Americas Test Kitchen
17 Station Street, Brookline, MA 02445
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Jack Bishop
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, BOOKS: Elizabeth Carduff
EXECUTIVE FOOD EDITOR: Julia Collin Davison
SENIOR EDITOR: Dan Zuccarello
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Danielle DeSiato-Hallman
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT: Kate Edeker
TEST COOKS: Lawman Johnson, Sebastian Nava, Russell Selander, and Meaghan Walsh
DESIGN DIRECTOR: Amy Klee
ART DIRECTOR: Greg Galvan
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR: Taylor Argenzio
DESIGNERS: Allison Boales and Jen Kanavos Hoffman
PHOTOGRAPHY DIRECTOR: Julie Cote
ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR, PHOTOGRAPHY: Steve Klise
STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER: Daniel J. van Ackere
ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY: Keller + Keller and Carl Tremblay
FOOD STYLING: Jen Beauchesne, Catrine Kelty, and Marie Piraino
PHOTO SHOOT KITCHEN TEAM:
ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Chris OConnor
TEST COOK: Dan Cellucci
ASSISTANT TEST COOK: Cecelia Jenkins
PRODUCTION DIRECTOR: Guy Rochford
SENIOR PRODUCTION MANAGER: Jessica Quirk
PRODUCTION AND TRAFFIC COORDINATORS: Britt Dresser
PRODUCTION AND IMAGING SPECIALISTS: Dennis Noble, Heather Dube, and Lauren Robbins
COPYEDITOR: Barbara Wood
PROOFREADER: Ann-Marie Imbornoni
INDEXER: Elizabeth Parson
PICTURED ON COVER:
Welcome to Americas Test Kitchen
This book has been tested, written, and edited by the folks at Americas Test Kitchen, a very real 2,500-square-foot kitchen located just outside of Boston. It is the home of Cooks Illustrated magazine and Cooks Country magazine and is the Monday-through-Friday destination for more than four dozen test cooks, editors, food scientists, tasters, and cookware specialists. Our mission is to test recipes over and over again until we understand how and why they work and until we arrive at the best version.
We start the process of testing a recipe with a complete lack of conviction, which means that we accept no claim, no theory, no technique, and no recipe at face value. We simply assemble as many variations as possible, test a half-dozen of the most promising, and taste the results blind. We then construct our own hybrid recipe and continue to test it, varying ingredients, techniques, and cooking times until we reach a consensus. The result, we hope, is the best version of a particular recipe, but we realize that only you can be the final judge of our success (or failure). As we like to say in the test kitchen, We make the mistakes, so you dont have to.
All of this would not be possible without a belief that good cooking, much like good music, is indeed based on a foundation of objective technique. Some people like spicy foods and others dont, but there is a right way to saut, there is a best way to cook a pot roast, and there are measurable scientific principles involved in producing perfectly beaten, stable egg whites. This is our ultimate goal: to investigate the fundamental principles of cooking so that you become a better cook. It is as simple as that.
If youre curious to see what goes on behind the scenes at Americas Test Kitchen check out our daily blog, AmericasTestKitchenFeed.com, which features kitchen snapshots, exclusive recipes, video tips, and much more. You can watch us work (in our actual test kitchen) by tuning in to Americas Test Kitchen (AmericasTestKitchen.com) or Cooks Country from Americas Test Kitchen (CooksCountryTV.com) on public television. Tune in to Americas Test Kitchen Radio (AmericasTestKitchen.com) on public radio to listen to insights, tips, and techniques that illuminate the truth about real home cooking. Want to hone your cooking skills or finally learn how to bakefrom an Americas Test Kitchen test cook? Enroll in a cooking class at our online cooking school at OnlineCookingSchool.com. And find information about subscribing to Cooks Illustrated magazine at CooksIllustrated.com or Cooks Country magazine at CooksCountry.com. Both magazines are published every other month. However you choose to visit us, we welcome you into our kitchen, where you can stand by our side as we test our way to the best recipes in America.
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Preface
In 2011, we published Slow Cooker Revolution, and, if I say so myself, it was a book that offered a truly revolutionary look at this appliance. (The cover featured slow-cooker lasagna after all!) We had to solve the problems with using a slow cookerlong cooking times mean that sauces become watery, flavors get washed out, and food can end up tasting dull rather than fresh. We also had to address the differences between different models of slow-cookers. But, at the end of the day, we did a solid job of rethinking how to use a slow cooker in exciting new ways. We continued our kitchen work to produce Slow Cooker Revolution: The Easy-Prep Edition.
In the last few years, we received letters from home cooks about how to use the slow cooker to prepare healthy recipes. Now, dont get me started on healthy. There is nothing unhealthy about beef stew or a nice bowl of spaghetti and meatballs. But these missives got us thinking about the very nature of slow cookers.
In effect, a slow cooker steams food since it is a closed environment containing liquid. This requires less fat than other cooking methods, which worked to our advantage in this new book. Of course, building flavor is always an issue in a slow cooker and that means starting out with a flavorful base, using spice rubs, and creating strong flavor combinations.
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