How to Remove Hot Spots in a Slow Cooker
One of the main reasons a slow cooker is popular is because you do not have to watch the food as much as with stove-top cooking. As units age, they tend to develop hot spots of uneven temperature. When using your slow cooker, if you smell the food burning or if it appears to cook too quickly or unevenly, you may have hot spots. You do not have to get a new unit. Instead try to work around the hot spots and remove their effect on your meals. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Check to see where your slow cooker's hot spots are. Typically these are the areas where food touches the surface walls or bottom of the cooker. Halfway through your cooking time, take your food thermometer and insert it into the the food touching the walls. Wait for the thermometer to stop rising and compare it to the temperature that your cooker is supposed to be at. Do this with several areas until you find where the hot spots are.
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Move the food away from the surface walls where the hot spot has appeared. If you are able to make sure that the newly positioned food will not touch the surface, you can continue to cook as planned. If not, you will need to check regularly and stir your food so that it does not cook unevenly near the hot spot.
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Place a slow cooker liner in the pot before adding your food. If you have had problems with the cooker before and know that it has a tendency to have hot spots, you can address the problem beforehand by using liners. Follow directions as to the size of the bag. Spread the bag evenly over the cooker surfaces.
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Peel back one corner of the slow cooker liner bag, and add 1 1/2 oz. of water. This water should go not go in the bag. Pour it directly onto the slow cooker inner surfaces. The water will heat the bag, steam the surfaces, and prevent the bag from sticking. The steam acts as a coolant and counters the hot spots.
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References
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