Authors: Deborah Schneider
Take a moment to read the recipe all the way through before you start to cook. The recipes in this book will satisfy 4 to 6 average appetites. If you are cooking for fewer people, the recipes can be halved to serve 2 or 3, in which case they can be cooked in a smaller slow cooker, such as a 4-quart variety. Everything in this book freezes well, with the exception of the fresh salsas.
Some recipes call for browning or sautéing ingredients before placing them in the slow cooker. This extra step adds color and an extra layer of flavor, but in most cases it can be skipped if you are in a hurry. One exception is charring or toasting chiles (see below), which is necessary to get the desired results.
Chiles are primarily used to add flavor—
not
heat—and many famous dishes, such as mole, are not at all spicy. Any step involving fresh or dried chiles, such as roasting, toasting, soaking, pureeing, or frying them, is essential for developing authentic Mexican flavor. These very simple steps will make an enormous difference in the taste, color, and texture of your finished dish and should not be skipped. (If you’re concerned about a chile being too spicy, you can knock down the heat factor by simply removing the seeds and ribs.)
Dry toasting whole spices and grinding them just before adding them to the slow cooker will give you a remarkable boost in fragrance and flavor. Long cooking times can dull the taste of spices, so the quantities in these recipes have been increased slightly to compensate. Some salt should be added at the beginning of cooking, but always taste the final dish and adjust the seasoning to your taste before serving.
Slow cooking coaxes the juices out of the food and intensifies natural flavors, so don’t be tempted to add too much liquid to your slow cooker. If necessary, you can always thin a well-flavored sauce at the end of cooking, which is better than drowning your food in a watery sauce.
Meat will cook faster than vegetables in a slow cooker, so arrange hard vegetables on the bottom and around the sides of the slow cooker insert. Cut vegetables in cubes of about ½ inch so they cook evenly. Root vegetables—carrots, potatoes, and the like—must be peeled.
Cooking times may vary slightly depending on the brand of your cooker. The food is done when the meats are very tender and the food smells wonderful. If you want something to cook faster, preheat the cooker and use hot ingredients, like browned meats and hot stocks. If you want something to cook more slowly, start with cold ingredients. And, though it might sound like odd advice in a book on slow cookers, don’t overcook the food. Longer is not necessarily better. A slow cooker with a digital timer and an automatic
warm cycle
will ensure that your lovely
guisado
doesn’t cook to mush while you are away.
Long, slow cooking works magic on food, so nearly all of the recipes in this book are cooked on the low setting. Slower cooking allows flavors to develop, sauces to thicken, and meats to become meltingly tender. Foods cooked on high might be done more quickly, but they also might taste watery and boiled.
After the ingredients start to simmer, it is perfectly okay to stir the food occasionally; the cooking time should not be affected.
If the lid of your slow cooker clatters while it simmers, slip a small piece of folded paper towel under one edge of the lid.
Slow cooker food tastes even better the next day, and once a dish is chilled overnight, it’s easy to remove any excess fat, which floats to the surface.
Chill leftover food as soon as possible. Remove the food from the slow cooker insert as soon as it is done and spread it in a thin layer on a rimmed baking sheet until cool enough to refrigerate. (
Caldos
and soups should be transferred to smaller containers and either immersed in ice or stirred until cooled.) Next, thoroughly chill the food
uncovered
to minimize crystallization, then freeze. I fill quart- and gallon-sized zippered freezer bags with the food, date them, and freeze them flat. The food freezes quickly, stores neatly, and thaws in a hurry.
Thawing is best done overnight in the refrigerator. To reheat, place the thawed food in a pot or pan, bring to a high simmer or boil, and cook, stirring, for at least 5 minutes. Never thaw or reheat food in the slow cooker.
Having the right tools makes cooking easier. For an efficient kitchen, try to purchase fewer, smaller, and more versatile tools. Call me old-fashioned, but simple is often best.
BLENDER.
A basic 2-quart blender with simple settings is all you need. I prefer one with a narrow-bottomed jar, which makes it more efficient for blending small amounts.
COMAL
OR GRIDDLE.
A heavy cast-iron griddle, known as a
comal
in Mexico, is useful when making these dishes, but if you have limited space, a large cast-iron skillet works just as well for toasting ingredients and cooking and warming tortillas. Nonstick
griddles are not suitable for high-heat cooking.
CUTTING BOARDS.
Buy wood or plastic cutting boards that are generously sized. Use one for vegetables and a separate one for raw meat or chicken. Wash and sanitize cutting boards immediately after using them.
FOOD MILL.
A plastic or metal food mill (I like the Moulinex brand) sits over a bowl and quickly cranks out velvety moles and salsas. It can also be used to make fluffy mashed potatoes, creamy purees, and perfect sauces.
FOOD PROCESSOR.
A processor with a 2-quart bowl and on, off, and pulse switches is all you need.
KITCHEN TIMER.
A small digital timer with a large display is always useful. Mine, which clips to my apron, helps me stay on track when I have many jobs going on at once.
KNIVES.
You will spend a lot of time with your knives over a lifetime of cooking, so I recommend that you buy at least one top-quality knife, preferably an 8- or 10-inch French-style chef’s knife, and a good sharpening steel. Have your knives professionally sharpened every 6 months and use the steel before each use. A couple of inexpensive paring knives and a serrated knife are all you need to complete your set.
PANS.
For high-heat cooking, such as dry roasting or browning, you can’t beat well-seasoned cast-iron skillets. They never warp or break or lose their handles, and, if you treat them right, they will last at least a couple of lifetimes. I buy mine for a few dollars apiece at yard sales or swap meets and reseason them myself. If you buy new pans, buy the heaviest ones you can find. Nonstick pans are not suitable for high heat cooking.
SIEVES.
Inexpensives sieves are useful for rinsing, straining, and sifting. A 4-inch nylon or metal fine-mesh sieve and an 8-inch metal coarse-mesh should be all you need.
SLOW COOKER.
The ideal slow cooker should have low, high, and warm settings and a digital timer. A moderately priced cooker with these features works just as well as a high-end one. If you plan to use the slow cooker a lot, buy a few in different sizes.
SPICE GRINDER.
An inexpensive coffee grinder should be reserved for grinding spices only. Wipe it out with a paper towel after each use.
UTENSILS.
Metal tools will scratch the earthenware insert of your slow cooker. Silicone and wooden spatulas and spoons, on the other hand, won’t scratch your cooker and don’t get too hot (ow!). Metal tongs are always handy for handling hot foods, turning chiles or meat in a
frying pan, or transferring chiles from the soaking liquid to the blender. I often use simple wooden chopsticks for handling food, and they can double as a rack in the bottom of an oval slow cooker.