When choosing a fish for your slow cooker, select sturdy fish like swordfish, salmon, halibut, cod, and tuna. The fish should be cut into 1-inch pieces or larger, and they are added during the last hour of cooking, at the most. To test whether or not the fish is cooked, flake it with a fork. If it’s fully cooked, it should flake easily. Shellfish toughens if it’s overcooked, so the same timing principle holds true for shellfish such as shrimp and scallops. Stir them in for the last 15 to 60 minutes of cooking time, depending on the quantity and cooking temperature. Delicate fish like sole and flounder should not be used in slow cooked recipes. They are too thin for slow cookers and will fall apart.
Versatile Veggies
Sturdy vegetables like carrots, potatoes, and celery are staples for the stew pot and, by extension, the slow cooker. And believe it or not, it takes longer for these vegetables to cook in the slow cooker than it takes most meats or chicken. When prepping hard vegetables, peel and trim them as usual, then cut them into bite-size pieces so they’ll cook faster. More delicate vegetables, like green beans, peas, and snow peas, should be added for the last hour of the cooking time. If you’re anxious to serve food as soon as you walk in the door, it’s better to cook these tender vegetables in the microwave and then stir them into the slow cooker. If they cook for the whole time, they will be an unappealing gray color and very mushy. You’ll see that in most recipes one of the first steps is to sauté the onions and garlic before being adding them to the slow cooker. This preliminary cooking process makes the onions and garlic sweeter and less sharp. (I’ve skipped the step in recipes where this doesn’t matter.)
