Stop Slow Cooker Hot Spots From Burning Food With This One Quick Step

The idea of making food in a slow cooker is a very appealing one. You add all your ingredients to the pot, switch it on, and it does the rest. So it can be a little disconcerting when your supposedly set-and-forget meal ends up unevenly cooked or even burnt in some places. The truth is that, just like your oven or microwave, a slow cooker can have hot spots. It will vary from cooker to cooker, but these hot spots are often found on the side opposite to the control panel.

You might be tempted to stir the food to avoid uneven cooking, but if you're making something like a crockpot vegetable lasagna, this isn't an option. A simpler and more effective solution is to rotate the insert, just as you would turn around a tray of cookies in the oven. The insert is going to be hot, so this needs to be done wearing oven mitts. For models with a round insert, you may be able to turn it in place. For oval models, you'll need to lift it out and rotate it 180 degrees. 

Ideally, the operation should be done with the lid still on. One of the biggest mistakes everyone makes with their slow cooker is lifting the lid, which drops the temperature and extends the necessary cooking time.

How often you rotate your slow cooker's insert will depend on what you're making, the cooking time, and the severity of your hot spot. At a minimum, you'll need to do this halfway through cooking, while some suggest doing so every two hours. While this is a surefire way to avoid burning, it's not practical if you want to leave your meal to cook overnight or while you're at work. In this case, a foil collar could be a better option.

By taking a length of aluminum foil and folding it until you have a six-ply rectangle, you can create a protective barrier between the hot section of your slow cooker and the food — and yes, you can put aluminum foil in your slow cooker. The foil collar is particularly useful for delicate foods or those without a lot of moisture. It also makes cleanup easier if foods have a tendency to stick to the sides around the hot spot.

If you find your food is still cooking unevenly after trying these hacks, it's time to get back to the basic tips for using a slow cooker. The size of the cooker you use, how much you fill it, and even the order in which you layer the ingredients can have an impact on how the food cooks.