Slow cooking is all the rage right now, and for a good reason. There’s nothing more comforting than digging into a bowl of slow-cooked meat and vegetables on a cold night. But sometimes the flavour can fall a little flat. The reason comes down to the way slow cookers actually cook your meat.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Slow cooking is a serious set-and-forget time saver when feeding a family.
- Why slow cookers cause blandness: Nagi explains they essentially ‘poach’ food rather than caramelising it
- The fix: Creating the ‘Maillard reaction’ (browning meat or caramelising veg) before setting the lid.
Addressing this common cooking problem, Nagi Maehashi of RecipeTin Eats recently shared a tip with her Instagram followers, admitting she’s been “a bit fussy” about slow-cooker recipes because they often “taste same-same or a bit bland.”
“I finally figured out how to make a really easy beef stew in the slow cooker,” she said.
She added that her new beef stew recipe “has one little step and one simple ingredient that makes all the difference.”
Why can slow cookers make things taste a little bland?
While Nagi is keeping the exact mystery ingredient under wraps until her new recipe drops, her explanation of the ‘missing step’ points to a key technique for creating flavour before putting meat into a slow cooker.
“[Slow cookers are] basically just poaching,” says Nagi.
“With stove and oven slow cooking, you get caramelisation on the edges and surface of the sauce that adds a stack of flavour,” Nagi wrote. “So, for the same reason seared steak is so much tastier than a boiled steak … colour equals flavour.”
Put simply, adding colour before slow cooking, whether by browning the beef or cooking ingredients until they are sweet and golden at the start, is the key to a better-tasting dish.
That said, this doesn’t apply to all slow-cooker recipes. Many dump and bake recipes have been adjusted to add extra seasoning to account for not browning the meat, so you’ll still end up with something delicious at the end of the day.
Editor’s Picks
if you haven’t had luck with a slow cooker to consider upgrading to a multi-cooker (with a searing function).
Why browning meat can make a difference
The process Nagi is talking about is called the Maillard reaction. When meat is browned at high heat, proteins and natural sugars combine to create delicious new flavours. So taking a few extra minutes to brown beef before adding it to your slow cooker can make all the difference.
