What Cooking Equipment You can Use for Low and Slow Cooking
Low and slow cooking need not be complicated. All you have to do is browse your kitchen and you’ll be surprised to find the right and appropriate kitchen equipment and tools you need to create the perfectly tasty and mouth-watering meal!
Do you need specialised equipment for low and slow cooking?
Low and slow cooking may sound like it’s complicated and needs a lot of expensive and specialised kitchen equipment. But the truth is, it doesn’t! Low and slow cooking means cooking at low temperatures for long periods of time, so it doesn’t matter if you’re using your stovetop, your oven, a smoker, a slow cooker, or a Dutch oven. If you’re able to cook at low temperatures for hours, you’re good to go!
Where can I buy low and slow cooking equipment?
If you have an interest in learning and applying low and slow cooking methods for your meals at home, don’t worry because it’s so easy to look for low and slow equipment. For all your low and slow cooking equipment needs, you can search the internet to find many options or visit your local butcher like The Meat Inn Place to ask for recommendations or if they have available equipment at their butcher shop.
Is there a difference between the Crockpot and a slow cooker?
Setting confusion aside, the Crockpot and the slow cooker are essentially the same. The Crockpot is a popular brand of slow cooker that gained popularity during the 1970s. This boosted the popularity and the sales of slow cookers during that time.
Why do people choose low and slow cooking?
Low and slow cooking is one of the most popular and convenient cooking methods that you can use in your home or in any restaurant business. There are reasons why low and slow cooking has a following and here are just a few of them. This cooking method allows you to retain the nutrients and flavour while making tough cuts of meat melt-in-your-mouth tender. Did you know that when cooking in high temperatures, a substance called ‘Acrylamide’ is produced? This substance, reportedly harmful, is released when cooking at very high temperatures. Low and slow cooking uses low temperatures, which reduces the risk of the intake of Acrylamide in your body. We love one-pot cooking because ultimately, it saves you time and effort, making it a wonderful solution for busy families.
Essential Kitchen Equipment for Low and Slow Cooking
As Lilydale butchers, we know how low and slow cooking greatly benefits everyone who wants to have a tasty and memorable meal at home. Low and slow cooking is a type of cooking method that uses tough cuts and parts of meat and places them in a long cooking process utilising lower cooking temperatures to create fork-tender and absolutely flavourful meals. We love low and slow cooking because it gives us the opportunity to experiment with different recipes while achieving the texture and taste we want without dealing with really tough and hard-to-chew meats.
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Dutch Ovens – Dutch ovens are not ovens but are thick pots that are made out of seasoned cast iron, aluminium, or ceramic. It’s an old and well-known cooking equipment that has been used for more than 100 years to make delicious stews, soups, sauces, and even bake bread.
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Slow Cookers -When you talk about low and slow cooking, slow cookers may be the first kitchen equipment that can come to mind. They are cost-effective, efficient, and convenient for cooking food that requires a long cooking time. Contrary to an oven, using a slow cooker takes up less electricity and can be used any time of the year.
- Smokers – Smokers are also a great alternative if you don’t have a slow cooker around. Low and slow cooking breaks down tough cuts of meat by using low temperatures and long periods. Smoking also does this with the addition of preserving and enhancing flavour because you expose your meats to aromatic wood chips.
- Roasting Pans – If you have an oven, the roasting pan is the perfect vessel to use the low and slow cooking method. You can roast meat and let it cook in its own juices for hours at a steady temperature resulting in juicy and tender meats that burst with flavour.
- Sous Vide Machine – The sous vide machine is one of the most recent discoveries in the realm of low and slow cooking. Cooking through sous vide machine requires you to place your meats and their seasonings in sous vide bag and put it in a bin filled with water that’s set to a low temperature and left for hours.
Low and Slow Cooking Equipment FAQ
Yes, you can use a regular oven for low and slow cooking by regulating the temperature and the cooking time.
When you use the low and slow cooking methods, it’s important to note that using low temperatures from 79°C – 93°C is common.
Slow cookers are not the only kitchen equipment you can use for low and slow cooking. You can use your stovetop, ovens, Dutch ovens, smokers, and even sous vide machines for your cooking.
Contrary to popular belief, slow cookers don’t take up so much energy use even though they are used for long periods. Experts say that the slow cooker is one of the most energy-efficient kitchen equipment that you can use for cooking and its energy use is equivalent to the use of a standard light bulb.